“For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.”
“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thought afar off.” Psalm 139:1-2
The Lord searched, knew and understood the thoughts of people in the Scriptures.
In the Gospels, Jesus perceived peoples’ inner thoughts. In Mark 2:6-8, religious leaders thought to themselves that Jesus was blaspheming when He forgave a paralyzed man’s sins. Jesus perceived their thoughts and challenged them. In Luke 9:46–47, when His disciples argued about who was the greatest, Jesus knew their inner thoughts and addressed them directly. In John 2:24–25, Jesus did not trust Himself to some people because He knew what was in them.
In 1 Samuel 9:19, Samuel could tell Saul the matters that were weighing on his heart, he said, “I am the seer. ...tomorrow I will tell you all that is in your heart.”
The Lord knows where we are. He knows our plans. He knows when we sit and when we rise up.
In 2 Kings 6:8-12, the Lord reported the secret war plans of the Syrian army to Elisha. Elisha gave these attack plans to the king of Israel, and thus saved his nation. “This happened on several occasions.” Finally, the king of Syria summoned his advisers and said to them, “One of us must be helping the king of Israel.” One of his advisers said, “No, my master, O king. The prophet Elisha who lives in Israel keeps telling the king of Israel the things you say in your bedroom.”
In Acts 9:10-12, the Lord told a disciple in Damascus named Ananias to rise up and go to the street called ‘Straight,’ and at Judas’ house look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He told Ananias which street Saul was residing on, the name of the home’s owner and what Saul was doing in the house. He told Ananias that Saul had seen him in a vision.
There are incidents in the Bible where God told people to rise up. For example, the Lord told Lot in Genesis 19:15, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” In the case of Philip, the Lord told him in Acts 8:26, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” He directed him to a desert, but while there he met an Ethiopian and led him to faith in Christ.
“You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.” Psalm 139:3
Instead of “comprehend,” the original Hebrew text has the word זָרַה which means to “winnow” or “sift” his path. [1] God examines everything we do and knows which part of our ways our worth keeping and which ways are not.
God knows “my lying down.” When we withdraw from everyone else, go to bed, and think about what happened during the day, God knows what is in our hearts. He knows our thoughts knows the thoughts with which we fall asleep. [2]
“For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” Psalm 139:4
Sometimes we may say something false or exaggerated, and then, add, “I was only joking.”
In Matthew 12:36-37, Jesus said, “I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
In Ephesians 5:3-4, Paul wrote, “Let not fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”
We should use our words to profess faith in God and to express His love for people.
“You have hedged me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me.” Psalm 139:5
God is a good shepherd. He protects His sheep from predators. He advises us to pray against temptation and for deliverance from evil. He lays His hand on us and anoints us with His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us gifts of wisdom, understanding, discernment and power, as well as fruits of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” 2 Peter 1:3 says that the Lord has given us all that we need for life and godliness.
“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high, I cannot attain it.” Psalm 139:6
Yes, God’s protection and provision is more wonderful than human protection and provision. The giftings and fruits of God are unattainable for us, but God can graciously grant them to us.
In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul bowed his knees to the Father and prayed that He would give to us strength through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith; that us, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. Yes, we need this.
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” Psalm 139:7
David is not saying that he wants to escape from God. He loves God’s presence. He is simply considering the possibility, “Where could I possibly go?” The answer is: nowhere. [3]
“If I ascend into heaven, You are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.” Psalm 139:8
Being with God in heaven would be David’s greatest joy. Heaven is filled with countless saints and angels, yet everyone in heaven remains fully known by God. [4]
“Sheol” in Psalm 139:8 can refer to the depths of the earth or to the realm of the dead. If someone could go as deep into the earth as possible to hide, God would still see him. [5]
The presence of God is felt by those who end up in the fire. In Revelation 14:9-10, those who worshipped the beast and his image, and received his mark on their foreheads were “tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” [6]
“If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 139:9-10
The “wings of the morning” picture the rays of the rising sun spreading rapidly across the sky. David imagines traveling with the speed of morning light to the farthest possible place on earth. Even there, he would find God. [7]
If David went to the uttermost parts of the sea, God would be there. The story of Jonah illustrates this truth. When Jonah ended up in the belly of a great fish, God was aware of him and had the fish vomit him up on the shoreline. [8]
Wherever David went, God’s right hand held him up. Christ is seated at the right hand of God. So the right hand of God is a merciful and mighty hand with long reach.
“If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’ even the night shall be light about me. Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day. The darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Psalm 139:11-12
Darkness that might hide a criminal from other people cannot hide anyone from God. Night may conceal things from human eyes, but it does not conceal anything from God. This means that no hypocritical appearance, disguise, or false image can prevent God from seeing the truth. [9]
“For You formed my inward parts. You covered me in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13
Although God hid us from the sight of other people while we were being formed, He never hid us from Himself. He was the One forming us, and therefore He knows us completely. [10]
“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book, they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” Psalm 139:14-16
David gives all the glory for his existence to God. God was the Author and Finisher of his life. His parents were the human instruments God used, but God Himself was the Creator. [11]
“In Your book all my members were written.” The complexity of the human body, the way every part is designed, and the way all the parts work together in harmony is truly amazing. David’s body and ours were carefully formed according to God’s plan. The loss or absence of any of our body parts could make life extremely difficult for us. [12]
“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.” Psalm 139:17-18
God reveals His thoughts to us by His Word and His Spirit. The more that we understand God, the more we love Him. God’s knows everything. He is the best source of information for us.
“When I awake, I am still with You.” When David woke up, God was ready to meet with him and speak with him. Praise God for coming to us day after day, and revealing His thoughts to us.
“O, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.” Psalm 139:19
The wicked may hide their sins from other people. They may carefully disguise their evil and make themselves appear better than they really are. They may even prosper for a time. But God sees the truth. Therefore, David is confident that although God may allow the wicked to prosper for a while, He will eventually bring them to judgment. [13]
“For they speak against You wickedly. Your enemies take Your Name in vain.” Psalm 139:20
Jude 1:15 says that the ungodly will have to answer for the harsh and disrespectful things they have spoken against God. No one is to use God’s name in a meaningless of derogatory way. God created us for His glory not for His dishonor. [14]
Some understand this verse as describing hypocrites. They may talk about God and pretend to be religious, but they use God’s name for selfish or evil purposes. [15]
“Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them my enemies.” Psalm 139:20-21
David explains what he means by hatred in Psalms 101:3, where he speaks of hating “the work of them that turn aside.” His hatred is directed primarily toward their shameless attacks on God. He refused to fellowship with them. [16]
“Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my anxieties, and see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:21-24
A lover of God wants to love God with a pure love. A godly person wants to know the truth about his own heart, even when the truth hurts. David is essentially saying: “Lord, if there is any wicked way in me, reveal it and remove it from me, because I do not want to continue in it.”
David wants God to lead him in the everlasting way. Some understand this expression as referring to the established path of righteousness that God’s people follow. [17]
God documented David’s prayer in Psalm 139 to teach us how well He knows us inwardly and outwardly, and yet, still cares for us and loves us. God wants to keep us one with Him. “Atonement” can be explained as “at-one-ment” with God. Christ died on the cross to make atonement for our sins and to bring us into one accord with God.
In Acts 1:14, the early church Christians were in one accord as they prayed together. In Acts 2:46, they were daily in one accord as they broke bread from house to house, and ate food together with gladness with simplicity of heart. Such harmony among people is truly a miracle of Christ, and a sign that He is indeed leading us in the way everlasting.
[1-17] Material developed and edited from Matthew Henry’s Commentary
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