The Hound of Heaven
Though we deeply long for God, we all try to evade him too. And since everyone refusing his embrace falls prey to evildoers intent on keeping them from him, our loving God relentlessly pursues us.
For the leader. A David psalm.
1 YHWH, you’ve searched me and know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up.
You discern all my thoughts from afar.
3 You scrutinize my every move, my every pause
and are well-versed in all my ways.
4 Not a word comes out of my mouth, YHWH
that you don’t fully comprehend.
5 You’ve hemmed me in, before and behind
and you’ve got your hand on me too.
6 Such knowledge is utterly staggering to me—
far beyond anything I can take in.
7 Where could I go from your Spirit?
Where could I flee from your presence?
8 If I soar through the heavens
I find you there.
If I lie low in the underworld
there you are!
9 If I take wing with the dawn
and settle on the sea’s farthest shore
10 even there your hand guides me
and keeps a firm grip on me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
as day fades to night around me”
12 darkness isn’t dark to you:
night is as bright as day
since darkness and light are alike to you.
13 It was you who fashioned my inmost being
knitting me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you that I’m uniquely set apart—
how wonderful is your workmanship
as I know deep down.
15 Nothing about my body was hidden from you
as I was being formed in complete secrecy
woven together in earth’s deepest sanctuary.
16 You saw me before my body took shape
having already recorded every day of my life
before a single one had passed.
17 How momentous your thoughts are, God
how vast in number!
18 If I could count them all
they’d outnumber the grains of sand…
and when I wake up
I still find you’re with me.
19 If only you’d make an end of the wicked, God!
Get away from me, you cutthroats!
20 They talk about undermining your just rule
all the while mouthing your name
to legitimize what they do.
21 See how much I hate those who hate you
and abhor those who defy you, YHWH?
22 I can’t stand a single thing about them
and count all your foes my foes too!
23 Search me and know my heart, O God
probe me and know my thoughts.
24 Make sure none of my ways offend you
and lead me on eternity’s path.
This psalm’s assurances of God’s presence and care have comforted many down through the centuries. Yet David speaks of God’s being everywhere in relation to not just his gracious care, but also his inescapability. God knows everything about David. He’s been fully involved in his life from conception onward and knows his future too. David speaks of not just God’s understanding everything about him, but also the flip side of that truth: David’s inability to hide anything from God. So, we see God’s relentless pursuit of him and David’s sense of the folly of refusing to yield to the God who so doggedly pursues him.
As uplifting as this psalm is, many would prefer it if David had omitted verses 19-22, where he wonders why God—who knows everything, is present everywhere, and has absolute power—doesn’t quickly set things right by ridding the world of evildoers. God’s not doing so leaves David surrounded by ruthless thugs intent on ensnaring him in their evil ways. Though full of pious talk, they engage in divine namedropping only to cover their defiance of God’s rule. Loving God, David is repelled by all they do and wants nothing to do with them.
Having recalled the evil alternative and professed his fierce loyalty to God, any ambivalence David has toward God melts away as he implores God to search him so thoroughly that nothing within diverts him from the true path. Thus, like Francis Thompson’s surrender to the unrelenting “Hound of Heaven,” David sweetly submits to God’s loving embrace.
In the gospels, we see David’s embrace of God mirrored in Jesus’ giving himself to his Father without reservation—and that despite the extreme opposition he faced from seemingly pious evildoers. To be like Jesus, we must embrace God with open arms—whatever opposition we face—asking him to search our hearts and keep us walking eternity’s path.
Prayer:
Parading their false piety, Jesus, ruthless men tried to trap you in their evil ways. But instead of dodging your Father’s embrace, you fully accepted his holy will and held to eternity’s path. Search me and know me, Lord. And keep me walking always on your path. Amen.
During your free moments today, pray these words:
Search me and know my heart, O God
probe me and know my thoughts.
