Psalm 139

Psalm 139 is a beautiful discourse on the intimate knowledge that God has of each one of us. David is known as a man made after God’s own heart and this describes the wonder, knowledge, and understanding that the heart in each of us should be aware of. God’s Love for us goes so deep that He is fully concerned with every move we make. Every motion, every thought, every ounce and atom of our very being is important to God’s plan.

Omniscience Of God

In the opening 6 verses we see God’s Knowledge in our thoughts, words and actions.
1Adonai, you have probed me, and you know me.2 You know when I sit and when I stand up,
you discern my inclinations from afar,3 you scrutinize my daily activities.
You are so familiar with all my ways4 that before I speak even a word, Adonai,
you know all about it already.5 You have hemmed me in both behind and in front and laid your hand on me.6 Such wonderful knowledge is beyond me, far too high for me to reach.

This part tells us right away that God knows our every move. Since we have the gift of free will we are given choices to make which determine how we will function throughout the day. What we are inclined to do because of human nature is not always the best choice but God has a way to put us on the right track. Verse four tells us that He already knows the choices we will make in what we say and how that will affect our lives and the lives of those around us. How one eternal and everlasting Omnipotent being can know the heart of every God breathed creation is well beyond what anyone can fathom to understand, but He does. 

How often do we think something to say and then stop ourselves from saying it? Better yet, how often do we think of doing something disregarding the possible consequences but when we begin to take action something tells us to stop. That is the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Sometimes we go through with speaking or acting out our thoughts and have to deal with the consequences of our words and actions. Only God know why He allows us to make mistakes but we do learn from them. Maybe our mistakes are there to help us recognize our need for a closer relationship with God who will forgive us when we acknowledge our mistakes, our bad choices, our sins, through repentance by asking forgiveness first from the person or persons we wronged then asking God. Thus bringing us closer to Him through His Grace and Mercy.   

He knows all things even before we speak or take action on what we think. If we understand this then it makes certain choices we make even harder. When we are tempted to do something we should remember this section and know that we cannot hide what we are considering doing.

Omnipresence Of God

This next section tells us that He is ever present and can be everywhere.
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I lie down in Sh’ol, you are there.
9 If I fly away with the wings of the dawn and land beyond the sea,
10 even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Let darkness surround me, let the light around me be night,”
12 even darkness like this is not too dark for you; rather, night is as clear as day,
darkness and light are the same.

This does not mean He inhabits everything as humans are the only creatures in creation given the breath of God. But it does mean that His presence can be felt in us, beside us, all around us. He is not creation but is all around the creation. His presence can be felt in the rustling of the leaves, the movement of the wind on the grass, the water that pours out from the heavens, the explosions from deep inside the earth that cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. He is everywhere. 

Adam and Eve found this out the hard way because the choice made due to the words that Eve spoke to the serpent. Eve’s words to the serpent adding to what the command God gave made it easy for the serpent to convince Eve to take the fruit of the tree. The consequences of this conversation were placed on all involved to include the serpent so it was not just humanity that suffered.

God hears our groanings and places Himself where He needs to be when He needs to be there. Of course He needs to be with us at all times so when we are desperately searching for Him we do not have to look very hard because He is already there. It is us that blocks Him out of the eyes of our heart, not He who disappears from us.

 Omnipotence Of God

This part continues the discussion of His presence but also describes His knowledge and power.
13 For you fashioned my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I thank you because I am awesomely made, wonderfully; your works are wonders --
I know this very well.15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.16 Your eyes could see me as an embryo,
but in your book all my days were already written; my days had been shaped
before any of them existed.17 God, how I prize your thoughts! How many of them there are!
18 If I count them, there are more than grains of sand; if I finish the count, I am still with you.

God created. Simply enough this tells us how deep His knowledge is of each and every one of us. He created Adam from the dust and clay of the ground then blew His Spirit into him so that He is part of us and lives in us. This section brings to mind Jeremiah 29:11 where He says,” For I know what plans I have in mind for you,’ says Adonai, ‘plans for well-being, not for bad things; so that you can have hope and a future.”. God’s creation did not stop after the six days but continues with each one of us. He provided us with the means of  human creation and takes what is given knitting it together to make two become one. This is one reason why He created man and woman. This is why we complete each other. This is why we are given into marriage. He designed us to continue His creative process. Sin has perverted that.

Although He uses each child born to accomplish certain things, not all are meant to be. Satan, the prince of this world, has placed his hand in creation and many that should be born are not. Some that should not be born (in our minds) are. It is a difficult thing to digest but all human life is precious because it is of God.

God’s power is seen in His creation and doubly so in us as we are to conduct ourselves in the way that God has instructed us through His Word. Keeping His Word in our hearts and minds give us the power to accomplish His work on earth.   

Requesting God to Remove Evil

19 God, if only you would kill off the wicked! Men of blood, get away from me!
20 They invoke your name for their crafty schemes; yes, your enemies misuse it.
21 Adonai, how I hate those who hate you! I feel such disgust with those who defy you!
22 I hate them with unlimited hatred! They have become my enemies too.

This part is rather difficult. God can speak things in and out of existence just by thinking about them. Throughout Scripture, God decides when to rid the world of certain people and places. When studying the words closely we see that it does not please God to order destruction but it is seen as a necessary means to an end for the plan to continue. It is a show of God’s power over Satan’s attempts to rule this world and overthrow God.

 Here, David seems to speaking of those who pretend to do things in His Name but they do it for their own gain. Then he talks of those who do not follow His ways and turn away from God. David’s hatred seems to go beyond what it should. Even in God’s benevolence, He does not destroy like He used to. He uses man as His agents who remove the evil ones from the earth.

God’s Grace and Mercy Guides Us Home

23 Examine me, God, and know my heart; test me, and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is in me any hurtful way, and lead me along the eternal way.

This request is the penitent heart making a plea for forgiveness. We examine our hearts before entering His presence in prayer so that we can repent while praising Him. If we repent even for the smallest wrong that is in our hearts and minds, we can be forgiven. When we repent, we are recognizing our faults and confessing to God that we cannot save ourselves from the damnation that is the effect of sin. We give ourselves over to God and do our best to live the way He needs us to. Living the best Christ-like life we can will help us when the judgement comes. Since we are human we are subject to sin but if we try hard enough, pray long enough, have faith while placing our whole life in God’s hands, we have a great chance of being in God’s presence for eternity.

Brothers and Sisters, this Psalm is one that we should definitely keep on our hearts because it is the reminder that God is in charge of all things. It helps with defending our beliefs of God being the creator and benefactor of all things. It speaks of His presence; even when we do not want Him there, He is. It tells us that we are His because He created us and knows our path before we even take our first breath of air in this world. It speaks of His goodness and Grace.

This is a wonderful reminder of God and His participation in our lives. God is, was, and will always be there if you look hard enough you will feel Him. I ask that each of you do your best to stay in His presence so when the time comes you can see God.

Blessings,

In God’s Loving Embrace,

Rob, Servant of God