Psalm 139

A personalized paraphrase

Psalm 139| a personalized paraphrase
by C.S. Griesë
 
You have investigated
everything about me;
You know it all, O Lord—
every single detail.
 
Even my resting and rising,
You understand,
all my routines and ways—
though You dwell in heaven.
 
Before I think of something
wise or foolish to say,
You know all my utterances
and the reasons why I say them.
 
You are before and after me,
above time and space.
You surround and bless me—
with no beginning and no end.
 
Where can I escape your Spirit,
the constant companion beside me?
 
If I traveled to the outermost rim
of the undiscovered universe,
You would be there.
 
If I rested in the depths of the earth,
with heat, rock, and shadow,
You would be there.
 
If I could catapult from one end
of earth to the other,
In both those places,
Your guiding hand would find me.
 
If I lamented, “This pit is too dark,
too far from the goodness of God,”
You would brighten the darkness
with the light of Your goodness.
 
For You created my very essence
when the spark of light flashed
in my mother’s uterus—
and two genetic codes intertwined.
 
I praise the God who made me.
I don’t ever want to end my life.
I’m here for a reason—
and that reason is good.
 
You know the beginning of my story—
the middle, and the end.
It’s already been written
before I was born.
 
It is my wish that evil
didn’t even exist—
that wicked people wouldn’t
hurt the vulnerable.
 
But here we are,
on this side of Eden—
and sometimes
I’m part of the problem.
 
If my own heart were examined
by your holy gaze, O Lord,
I know that I would need
Your grace for my own failings.

Based on Psalm 139

“For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well” (Psalm 139:13-14).