In a world where information is available everywhere all the time, people are increasingly concerned about privacy. Cameras intended to detect thieves taking packages outside our front doors can apparently be hacked to spy on homeowners instead. And if Alexa can hear you ask her a question, what else is she hearing (and reporting to others)?

Yes, it seems that the anonymity once afforded by automobiles and urban living is disappearing, and we are all once again effectively living in a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. And the only reasonable response to such transparency is integrity. Just as our village-dwelling ancestors did, we simply must live as if someone is always watching us.

And as we see in today’s passage, this has really always been the case. For as David reminds us in verses 1 through 6, God has always known everything we are doing and everything we say – even before we say it! Moreover, in verses 7 through 10, David affirms that God is everywhere – He’s on the front porch watching when thieves steal packages, and He’s also in the family room listening to all of our conversations.

But is that good news for you? The answer will depend on the nature of your relationship with God, won’t it? If you love Him and trust Him, of course it is a great comfort to know that He is close at hand all the time, willing and able to guard you and guide you. But if you are living in rebellion against Him, if you want to make up your own rules, if you want to get as far away from Him as you can, well, you are out of luck.

So why not give in? Why not admit that God is all-seeing and all-knowing? It’s not like you are putting anything over on Him anyway. So why not surrender to God’s authority and accept His pardon? For then, the fact that God is everywhere will be the best news of all.

Psalm 139 (NASB)

O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me.
2 Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar.
3 Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD , Thou dost know it all.
5 Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
7 Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Thy hand will lead me, And Thy right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even the darkness is not dark to Thee, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee.
13 For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from Thee, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.
16 Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Thy book they were all written, The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with Thee.
19 O that Thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
20 For they speak against Thee wickedly, And Thine enemies take Thy name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate Thee, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against Thee?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.