Psalm 139:5-6
You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
On my first readingoif these verses I had an issue with the use of the word “hem” and so looked at other translations to make sense of it. However, when reading around these verses today I read (in NIV Study Notes) that another way to read it is that the hemming in is “to keep me under scrutiny”. And, as I think about it, that does make a bit of sense.
To be hemmed in is to be enclosed or confined, and in our lives this is what God calls us to be. Not in a negative or insular way, but to be separate in how we live our lives. Yes, we live IN the world and WITH the people in it, but we are called to a higher standard of living than the world asks for. God sets a standard that requires us to abstain when what the world says it is ok to do something that goes against God.
God calls us to be a holy people. We can’t be holy if we live as the rest of the world lives. No, our mission (Matthew 28:16-20) is to call the world to be holy, by making followers of Christ. What good are we if we do not live the example we try to teach others?
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.
youthpastablog 
Hemmed in!! Another example of the ‘Oh Lord’ we were talking about the other day. There are some words missed from modern versions that say it all. Thankyou!