PSALM 139 IN THE CHURCH
Psalm 139 gives a strong theology of the presence of God. This is its most distinctive
feature. God is present in every time and situation in Ps 139. The psalmist recounts frustration in
the inability to escape the presence of God. However, Campus Ministry students do not try to
hide from God with the same method that the biblical character, Jonah, used. They do not try to
hide the entirety of their lives, but rather they try to prevent God from reaching parts of their
lives. College students at a Christian University, who comprise most of the Campus Ministry at
Southern Hills,1 are notorious for sectioning off their lives into different spheres. Many Christian
students practice religion faithfully, but separate that aspect of their lives from the rest. Psalm
139 is powerful because it reminds students that God permeates every area of their lives.
THE HIDDEN STUDENT
An ironic feature of twenty-first century college students is that they greatly value
authenticity.2 However, most students lack authenticity. The common phrase, “Be yourself” has
circled around popular culture, and culture encourages people to “follow their dreams” rather
than fit a mold. Authenticity has become a virtue. However, social media and networking sights
have created a subculture where people present a façade. The most prevalent of the social media
among the students of the Southern Hills community is Facebook. The social media and
networking sights empower people to be inauthentic.3 Facebook may serve as a type of social
resume. Students will arrange their Facebook profiles to present the absolute best picture,
however, these pictures may not necessary accurately represent the individuals. Typically,
1
The majority of the students in the Campus Ministry are ACU students, but there are a few from Hardin
Simmons. The only members who do not fall under this category are graduates who have remained in Abilene and
Students from Cisco Junior College.
2
Hyang Jin Jun, “Why be Authentic? Psychological Underpinnings among Baby Boomers in the United
States,” E 39 (2011), 284.
3
Beth Anderson, et al, “Facebook Psychology: Popular Questions Answered by Research,” PPMC 1
(2012), 28.
1
2
students will not put false information on their pages, but neither will they put a large amount of
negative information.
College students perform this charade in other areas of their lives beside social media. At
church, it is very common for students to hide reality and present a façade. Association with a
Christian University may accentuate this in the Southern Hills Campus Ministry. Students are
unwilling to be vulnerable in this setting. It is because of this tendency among the students that
Psalm 139 has a strong message for the church and college aged Christians. It is through these
types of actions that present day Christians in the church try to hide from the presence of God.
This type of hiding is effective because even though students are in the church building every
week, they are still hiding in their own Sheol (Ps 139:8). The twenty-first century message from
this Psalm is that one’s false image does not fool God. God creates all people and knows them
from the womb.4 God is with students from their rising to their resting and he sees their thoughts
(Ps 139:2-3). False images and facades are ineffective means of hiding from God.
The twenty-first century has already had a plethora of wars, disasters and diseases. News
media thrive off reporting stories about calamity. Humans seem to be naturally inclined to look
for negative information. The people have become more aware of the amount of disaster that
takes place on the international scale, and this resurfaces the age-old question of theodicy. How
can an all-powerful and good God direct such a broken world? While Ps 139 does not directly
address the issue of theodicy in the same way that Job does, its theology of the omniscient God
may speak to the darkness in the world. “The Darkness will not be too dark for you”5 (Ps139:12).
The message is that God can see through the darkness. Whether that darkness is metaphorical or
literal, it makes no difference. The source of the darkness may be the author, another person or
the world in general. Despite the source of the darkness, God sees through the darkness and will
see the one whom the darkness hides.
4
Cas J. A. Vos. Theopoetry of the Psalms, (New York: T & T Clark, 2005), 208.
This phrase uses the “comparative mem” in the Hebrew, which gives the sense in this passage of being
more than someone’s ability. For a full discussion of the “comparative mem” See Francis Brown, S. R. Driver and
Charles Brigs, “‫מן‬,” BDB: 582-83.
5
3
THE STAGES OF THE FAITH LIFE OF THE COLLEGE STUDENT
The flow of Psalm 139 represents the natural flow of the life of a believer. The psalmist
begins at a place where he or she is rebellious towards God and works towards a harmonious
place with God. Life is not always a neat linear progression, but frequently students in the
Campus Ministry are moving away from that rebellion towards God. Usually the students who
are in a state of rebellion towards God do not come to the Campus Ministry, and the few that do
come out of a sense of duty, which their parents most likely instilled in them. Psalm 139 can
speak to those who are in both stages of the faith life. For those who are in rebellion towards
God, it tells them that God will always find them and that their rebellion does not distance them
from God. For those who have moved past rebellion, it encourages them to get to that point
where they can say with the author “Search me and know my heart” (Ps 139:23). This is a move
to greater voluntary transparency, but God has already searched the one making this request (Ps
139:1).
IMPRECATORY PSALMS
Imprecatory Psalms cause discomfort to many twenty-first century readers. It is not part
of many westerners’ practice to ask God to curse individuals. Psalm 139 only has a small section
of imprecation, but it is still may cause confusion. The language of this imprecation is mild
compared to others,6 but it calls for the end of other people, namely the “men of blood.” Most
students in the Southern Hills community have had little reason to wish that God would destroy
anyone. However, many people in the Campus Ministry have likely had feelings of hatred
towards someone. The students may have been hurt in their pasts and harbor hatred against
others. In connection with the teaching of Jesus, it is inappropriate to perform acts of hatred
against anyone, even those who openly admit to hating YHWH. It is the call of the church to
love those who hate God. While it may be a bad decision to act on hate, it can be healthy to
6
For examples of harsher imprecations in the Psalm, see Ps 137 and 58.
4
acknowledge feelings similar to the author. However, the proper place to express these feelings
is in dialogue with God rather than other humans and especially not the people whom one may
hate. 7 Similar to the Psalms of lament, the imprecatory Psalms portray real feelings, and
expression of those feelings to God is an act of faith. Recognizing those feelings allows people to
be honest with themselves and God.8
Throughout much of Christian history, pastors have viewed the imprecatory Psalms as
evil emotions, which one should suppress.9 Certainly, no Christian ought to act on the feelings of
hatred, but the imprecatory Psalms do not speak of the psalmist actually carrying out the curses
or violent actions. In most cases, the imprecatory Psalms ask God to carry out the actions (Ps
58:6). In the case of Ps 137, the psalmist does not ask anyone to carry out the atrocious act of
dashing the Babylonian babies against the rocks (Ps 137:9), but pronounces a blessing for the
hypothetical person who would do so. While this may not reflect a Christ like attitude, who gives
strong teachings about loving one’s enemies (Matt 5:43-44), this is a movement to let God
handle justice. The psalmist may hope that his or her enemies would receive such punishments,
but he or she will not execute the punishments, and this refraining is more than an inability to do
so. This may be negative emotions, but the imprecatory psalms only call for God’s action.
A destructive way to view the imprecatory Psalms is to regard them as “Old Covenant,”
theology, which Jesus replaced.10 The Hebrew Bible contains teaching that is similar to Jesus’
command to love one’s enemies (Matt 5:43). Proverbs 25:21 reads, “If the one hating you is
hungry, feed him bread and if he thirsts, give him water to drink.” It is important that Jesus’
quote “You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’” is only partially
from the Hebrew Bible. The command to love one’s neighbor is from Lev19:18, but the
command to hate ones enemy is not in the Hebrew Bible. The claim that the Hebrew Bible is
7
Walter Brueggemann, Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit. (Eugene:
Cascade, 2005), 66.
8
Ibid.
9
John N. Day, Crying for Justice: What Psalms Teach us about Mercy and Vengeance in an Age of
Terrorism, (Grand Rapids: Kregal, 2005), 21.
10
Day, 26.
5
morally inferior to the New Testament is incorrect.11 Brueggemann handles the imprecatory
Psalms in the most productive way, which is a way that is helpful to the church at large and the
Southern Hills Campus Ministry.12
CONCLUSION
Psalm 139 is especially poignant for the twenty-first century Christian. The years since its
composition have not dulled it impact nor compromised its beauty. A strong theology of the
presence of God has been part of the Church’s understanding of God from the beginning, but
often individuals need reminding. Awareness of God’s presence ought to drive people to greater
holiness. College students, who are so adept at hiding from God in what may seem like an
obvious place, may learn much from the words of Ps 139. May the church never forget the words
of the psalmist and live out the calling of God with his imminent presence always in mind.
11
12
Day, 27.
Brueggemann, 66.
6
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, Beth, et al. “Facebook Psychology: Popular Questions Answered by Research,”
Psychology of Popular Media Culture 1 (2012).
Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, Charles Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old
Testament, Peabody: Hendrickson, 2003.
Brueggemann, Walter. Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit.
Eugene: Cascade, 2007.
Day, John N. Crying for Justice: What Psalms Teach us about Mercy and Vengeance in an Age
of Terrorism, Grand Rapids: Kregal, 2005.
Jin Jun, Hyang. “Why be Authentic? Psychological Underpinnings among Baby Boomers in the
United States,” Pages 279-98 in Ethos 39 (2011).
Vos, Cas J. A.. Theopoetry of the Psalms, New York: T & T Clark, 2005.