Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24
I used to think of this verse as David telling the Lord to search him and “see if there be any wicked way in me…” because he knew that there was no wicked way in him. I thought that David was saying that he was confident that there was no evil in himself. But today as I was reading these verses, I read it with a slightly different perspective. It may be true that David was saying that his heart was right with God and thoughts were pure before Him. But it could also be taken as David’s desire for the Lord to purify him, which is something we can all desire.
At the end of the verse, he asks the Lord to “lead me in the way everlasting.” He wants God to lead him and help him, which is a great prayer for any of us. And, in order to be “led in the way everlasting,” he first needed the Lord to search him, try his heart and his thoughts, “and see if there be any wicked way in me.” I think that this was a legitimate request – he wanted the Lord to search him and try him, so that he could eliminate any wrong thoughts and motives and eliminate any wicked way that the Lord might find.
All of us could stand to ask the Lord to search us and try us, and find any sin in our lives, so that we can get rid of it and draw closer to Him. The problem is, most people don’t want the Lord searching their hearts and thoughts and ways because they don’t want Him pointing out their pet sin that they are trying to hang on to.
How are we doing today? Would we be willing to ask the Lord to search and try us and help us get rid of anything evil that He might find?