Adonai, you know all my heart (Psalm 139)

No proper recording of the original choral arrangement seems to have survived, but it made a mighty finale to John Steffensen's second musical.
Melody and Bible-text re-wording: John Steffensen, using the 1978 Norwegian bokmål translation.

Adonai,You know all my heart and fathom me!
Where I sit and when I stand, Aware of it
My mind seen and mapped out beforehand.
Adonai, You know all my heart and fathom me!
If I walk or lay me down, discerning it,
Preserving my coming and my going.
Before the word is on the tongue-tip
Hearing it, everything I say!
Under, over, covering me
You have kept your hand on me.
Under, over, covering me
You have kept your hand on me.
’Tis far too wonderful for the telling.
’Tis far too high For me ever to understand.
Under, over, covering me
You have kept your hand on me
Where can I flee Far from your presence?
Where can I cower from your visage?
If I follow the Milky Way, -You are there! You are there!
If I follow the Milky Way -You are there! You are there!
If my hide-out I make in Hell, —you are there!
Though I try the wings of morning on
And fly away where sky meets ocean
Your Spirit still awaits me there!
The hollow of Your hand Encloses me And if I say:
“Let darkness cover me,The daylight around me be night!”
The dark is as clear as dawn to You!
The dark is as clear as dawn to You!
The night is as clear as morning,
The dark of night, as brightest day.
Ransack me God.
Discern my thinking.
Sift to the heart of my very most soul!
Discover where I Cling to roads of wrong,
And take me the paths everlasting.

The language is deliberately somewhat archaic.
X

Where would you like to share this video?

X

Embed

Choose your height, width and share options, then copy the generated script and paste it to your website in the location you want the video to appear.

Width:
Height:
Show share links with embed video?

Today's Devotional

A Prayer for Gratefulness Amid Trials - Your Daily Prayer - November 16

In seasons of pain, gratitude feels like the last thing on our hearts. But what if it’s the very thing that unlocks peace? This heartfelt reflection explores how thankfulness, even in grief, opens the door to healing and anchors us in God’s enduring presence.

Read Today's Devotional