One of the scripture passages for this coming Sunday is Psalm 139. I liked this Psalm for years, and came to love it after hearing it put to music and dedicated to a young man who had every reason to doubt God’s love but who praised God for His love.
In 1975 some friends, Bill and Linda Cates, wrote a song paraphrasing Psalm 139. The title of the song is “Psalm 139”, with a subtitle of “Hal’s Song”.
Bill and Linda wrote this beautiful rendition of the Psalm in memory of a friend of theirs who died at age 17 after suffering from multiple birth defects. In a preface to the song they wrote, “On his last night here on earth he delivered his Youth Speakers Tournament speech, ‘Alive and Unique’…” They quoted a bit from his speech: ’You saw me before I was born…’ Thus this song was written, as a memorial to one who would ever remind us of God’s abiding love and indwelling grace, and as a proclamation of the truth, ‘Oh Lord, you know me…’ ”
The song is out of print as far as I can tell, but you should know about it, and if possible hear it some day, for it is beautiful.
Psalm 139, Bill and Linda Cates
(Copyright 1975 by Bill Cates and Linda Cates).
Oh, Lord, You know me;
You know my thoughts;
You light the path along my way.
If I should ever try to hide in the dark,
Your night shines brighter than the day.
Chorus.
And it’s too glorious, too wonderful to know
That I am always in your heart where-ere I go.
In the morning winds or on the raging sea,
You are always watching, loving, guiding me.
Oh, Lord, You made me
perfect in your sight;
Yes, You were there when I was formed.
You knew me long before I first began to breathe.
You knew me well when I was born.
Oh, Lord, how precious to know You’re there,
And that your thoughts turn to my day.
Oh, gracious Lord, please know my heart and my life;
Lead me the everlasting way;
Chorus. (repeated twice)
As I sing through the song in my head, and as I read the Psalm itself, I am humbled by the witness of one who overcame multiple birth defects to so inspire my musician friends; and I am further humbled by the testimony of David about the God who, knowing everything about David’s life, loved him and kept pulling him back onto “the way everlasting”.
With David I can only say,
“ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”
