O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
“I have taken all knowledge to be my province.” These are famous words of hubris from the 16th century thinker Sir Francis Bacon. The modern day translation is, “I know everything worth knowing.” And he wrote Shakespeare’s plays too? Some say yes. No. The psalmist in 139 got it right. He knew the first thing worth knowing about God; that we cannot know him fully. But we can know him truly. He knew enough about God to be in awe, and to be in reality about who God is and who we are.
You do not have to be Sir Francis Bacon to know God. He has revealed himself to the lowly, like you and me. Once you know God, you know yourself. Once you know yourself, you know your sin. Once you know your sin, you know your need for a Savior. Once you know the Savior, you love him and serve him. When this happens, no matter what your education or station in life, you can say like Sir Francis Bacon…
Knowledge of God is my revelation.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church