Psalm 139:23-24
New Living Translation (NLT)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Many of us have read these verses before, whether as a child in Bible school or Sunday school or as an adult in sermon text, etc. On the surface they sound "honorable"... something that we all should be able to repeat for ourselves.
I have heard it said "Be careful what you ask for - you just might get it."
David, the author of this psalm was well acquainted with both God, and sin. We know that David was said to be a man after God's own heart, and that he accomplished many mighty feats by the power of God. We also know that he was not immune to temptation, and that he reaped the consequences of his sins. We can read about a very humbling revelation of God to David in I Samuel 12, where Nathan the prophet was sent by God to tell David a story, which was basically an analogy of David's adulterous relationship that ended in the murder of one of his army commanders (the husband of the woman he had an affair with).
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20samuel%2012&version=NLT God revealed to David very clearly the error of his ways. Although God made it clear to David that He (God) would forgive his (David's) sins, they would not go unpunished. As a result of his sin, David's own son died.
I give this background information to make a point. David knew very dearly the possible cost of his sins being revealed. What could be more painful than losing one of your own children? Even still, David sought a right relationship with God above all possible cost of that relationship. David asked God to reveal ANYTHING - his words, his actions, his thoughts... that might offend God or cause his relationship with God to be less than 100%. In his next phrase, he basically gave God permission to do WHATEVER it took to restore that relationship, knowing full-well what it had cost him in the past, and what it might cost again.
Chew on that awhile...
