1 Chronicles 28:9 And you, Solomon my son, know you the God of your father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind… For the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts. For this conception of God, compare 1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 7:9; Psalm 139:2; Jeremiah 11:20; Jeremiah 17:10; Jeremiah 20:12. The expressions of the text suggest the accuracy and intimacy of the Divine knowledge of men's affairs. Apprehend God rightly, and his interest in us fills us with grateful surprise. Illustrate David's feeling, "When I consider thy heavens... what is man that thou art mindful of him?" Solomon's, "Will God in very deed dwell with man on the earth?" Isaiah's, "To whom then will ye liken God?... He giveth power to the faint," etc. See the Divine interest: 1. In the spheres of natural life; i.e. in us as beings. He is near as Creator, Sustainer, Provider. Birth, preservation, and death are all his. 2. In the spheres of associated life; i.e. as beings in relations. Government, family, and Church are all under his Divine inspections. 3. In the spheres of mental life; i.e. as intellectual beings. All movements of mind he presides over. 4. In the spheres of spiritual life; i.e. as moral beings. God knows and watches all unfoldings of character and religion. All spheres are accessible to him. "All things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do." Dwell on the subtlety of the human heart; its labyrinths and hiding-places and self-deceivings. How imperfect, at its best, is a man's own knowledge of his heart! How impossible it is for one man to know the intricate workings of the heart of another man! Searching the heart is required, that its subtle evils may be discovered. But all depends on who it is that does the searching work, and with what aim and purpose the searching is done. I. GOD CAN SEARCH THE HUMAN HEART. He can, for he designed it, and knows all its possibilities. He can, for he has never let it slip away from his observation and. control, and so all its "latent mazes" he knows, and all its wilfulnesses he controls. II. GOD SEARCHES THE HUMAN HEART WITH A DEFINITE AND GRACIOUS PURPOSE. Even its deliverance from evil and perfecting in holiness. This purpose makes good men regard the Divine searching as a most precious thing. In view of it David can pray, "Search me, O God." He feels, "God does not know me as a mere ordinary matter of knowledge. He is graciously and lowngly interested in me, and so he knows me helpfully, that he may adapt his grace to my various and subtle needs." This personal interest in our highest good, which gives tone to his searching, is brought home to our hearts by the tender interest shown in humanity, and in individuals of humanity, by the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. We feel that we never can resist his searching us through and through, and knowing us altogether. The close inspections of God may be: 1. A terror to us. Illustrate the influence of the words, "Thou God seest me," sometimes on little children. They are even used to frighten them into goodness. Compare Jacob's, "How dreadful is this place!" From Job, Isaiah, and John we learn that solemnity and awe should always attend the consciousness of God's near presence. 2. It may be a real practical help to us, as David expected it to be to Solomon, He who knows us so well, does not only know; he also gives strength. David, who trembles at God's searchings, can only say, "It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect." 3. It may be cherished as our holiest joy. No harm can come to us, for God's eye and hand are always on us. No good thing can fail us, for God knows all our real wants. Our Lord taught so often about the intimate knowledge and care of the heavenly Father, who keeps the sparrows, clothes the grass, watches over the seeds, paints the lilies, waves the harvests, and knows that we are of more value than flowers or sparrows. Show that this truth, of God's knowledge and heart-searchings, bears upon men's tendency to self-deception. It is only possible to sin on when we have deluded ourselves into the idea that "God doth not see." - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. |
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