In recent years, there’s been a lot of talk in the news about government surveillance. I know little to nothing about this earthly sort of intelligence gathering, but I have come to know something about the unearthly sort of personal monitoring revealed in the Bible: “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account” (Heb 4:13). In Scripture, God reveals himself as the infallible and reliable Searcher of hearts. As such, he is the God who sees clearly, and who speaks redemptively to what he sees.

This Bible-revealed truth of divine surveillance is just one of many features that distinguish biblically wise counseling from secular counseling (and even some expressions of “Christian” counseling that uncritically adopt a secular way of seeing). By definition, a secular gaze erases God from the universe. Its logic is like that of the wicked man described in Psalm 10: “He says to himself, ‘God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees’” (v. 11). In stark contrast, a biblical gaze wakens us to the reality that Someone is very much alive and alert, and he is watching us: “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” (Jer 17:10).

Should divine surveillance disturb us? Not if we see and love what King David saw and loved. His prayer recorded in Psalm 139 gives a window to his life under divine surveillance. David begins his prayer by asserting what he knows to be true of God: “O LORD, you have searched me and known me!” (v. 1). David is conscious of the fact that his life is lived Coram Deo, “before the face of God.” David is keenly aware that the God in whose presence he lives is the God who sees David to the bottom of his being. As a result, David understands that he cannot see himself rightly except through the eyes of God, and this only by walking in fellowship with God.

But far from being reasons to run and hide, these truths motivate David to approach God without a mask. The wonder with which he begins his prayer is matched by the vigor with which he closes his prayer: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (vv. 23-24). How can this be? What explains this eagerness to be searched and steered? It can only be unswerving confidence that the Searcher of hearts is also the Savior of sinners. David knows himself to be bound to God in covenant, to be loved by him with an everlasting love. David is certain that if this divine Surgeon sees something that he must excise, then he will only cut in order to heal. David can bear God’s searching eyes because he knows God’s loving heart.

How much more do we have freedom in Christ to live with confidence under divine surveillance! Any sin that God sees in us is answered by the Death of Jesus credited to us, so God can justly say to us: “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:5). And all the righteousness that God requires of us is answered by the Life of Jesus credited to us, so God can truly say to us: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11). This summer, as we continue to take in and walk out Psalm 139, let’s do so with this freedom of being seen by God and found in Christ (Phil 3:9).

In His Service,

Pastor Greg