1 You, O LORD, have searched and known me,
You know when I sit or rise;
Every thought and deed lies open
To your all-perceiving eyes.
You have laid your hand upon me,
Guarded me before, behind;
Knowledge so sublime, so towering,
Far transcends an earthly mind.
2 Where could I elude your Spirit,
Ever present everywhere?
In the heavens, or deep in Hades?
You are with me even there!
Eastward, westward, still you guide me,
From your grip I cannot stray;
Nor will darkness hide me from you:
Night to you is clear as day.
3 For you made my inmost being,
Wove me in my mother's womb,
God all-wise, who ordered for me
All my days until the tomb.
How profound, how vast, how precious
All the workings of your will
Countless marvels! Endless mercies!
When I wake, I'm with you still.
4 God all-holy, judge the wicked,
Break their blasphemous design!
How can I not hate such evil?
LORD, your enemies are mine.
Search my heart, O God, and know me,
Test my anxious thoughts, I pray;
Take away my sins and lead me
Into everlasting day.
Psalm 139, David G. Preston
© D.G. Preston/Jubilate Hymns
8 7 8 7 D Trochaic
