Psalm 139
1. A Wonderful Psalm
2. My God Is Omniscient
3. My God Is Omnipresent
4. My God Is My Creator
5. My God Is A Caring God
6. David Aligns With His Awesome God
7. “Search Me, O God, And Know My Heart”
1. A Wonderful Psalm
I was reading in the book of Psalms and I mentioned some of the verses that I like from Psalm 139. Michael said that it was his favorite Psalm. He is going to write the next few devotions from this wonderful Psalm.
2. My God Is Omniscient
Psalm 139 is a Psalm that focuses on God and His attributes. Every time a Bible character sees God clearly, he sees himself more clearly. David experiences in this Psalm what Isaiah experiences in Isaiah 6. When Isaiah saw the Lord “high and lifted up” he does not say, “Oh, what a blessing! This is great!” instead, he says “Woe is me, for I undone…” Seeing how great God is will always help a person see how small he or she is in comparison.
Verses 1-6 deal with the Omniscience of God.
“1 <<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.>> O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.”
David says very simply to God in verse 1 “You know me.” He does not say, “God, you know all.” He understands that God knows him personally. Verse 2 shows that he knows our thoughts. People occasionally tell me, “I know what you’re thinking…” and I always reply, “No, you don’t, and I am so glad that you don’t!” But God knows every thought that goes through our mind. It is amusing to read the conversations that Jesus had with the scribes and the Pharisees and watch Jesus address comments that they did not even make aloud, but only thought. Verse 3 says that God knows our path and where we are every moment of every day. Verse 4 says that God knows every word that we utter. Verse 5 says that God has His hand on us and protects us in front of us and behind us. In verse 6 David is overwhelmed by the knowledge that God has of him, and says simply, “I cannot attain unto it.” Like David, my mind cannot imagine a powerful and awesome God taking note of everything I think, say, and do. I cannot comprehend a God this great. Remember who is writing this Psalm. It is King David, a man who let down his family, his country and his God. And yet God knew this, and still loved him. There is no use trying to understand the knowledge of God. David accepts it, and moves on to another attribute…
3. My God Is Omnipresent
Psalm 139: 1-6 deals with David’s Omniscient God, and his response is simply that “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” In verses 7-12 David moves on to the Omnipresence of God.
“7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”
David asks, “Where can I go that God’s Spirit will not be with me?” From the heights of heaven, to the depths of the grave, God is there.” The word translated “hell” is the Hebrew word “sheol” which means “the grave”. Many people think death is the end of everything, but if you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, death will not get you away from God’s presence. Paul explained that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. In verses 8-12 David says even in the “uttermost parts of the sea” God’s hand will still be holding us there. That could be in the middle of the ocean, or even in the deepest depths of the ocean. Our God is with us everywhere! There is no place on earth that God will let us go there alone. In verse 12 David says there is no hiding from God. Crime rates always go up at night because criminals know that they can hide in the darkness and not be easily seen. But God sees in the light and in the dark just the same.
When my children were young, I told them the Bible story of Jonah. When I explained that Jonah got on a boat to go and hide from God, my son David said simply, “You can’t hide from God!” Even a young child can have enough faith to know that God is simply everywhere!
4. My God Is My Creator
After describing God’s Omniscience and Omnipresence, David describes God as his creator in Psalm 139 verses 13 to 16.
“13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”
I do not understand how any intelligent person can think that a human evolved randomly without any sort of plan or design. One great scientist said he believed in evolution until he started studying the design of the human ear. He came to the conclusion that God alone could have designed something so intricate and delicate that we have the sense of hearing from birth. David understood that even in the womb our Almighty God formed us as a unique individual different from all other humans. He praises God that he was “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Verses 15 and 16 tell how God saw David in the womb and knew exactly how his fingers and toes looked, even before they were formed. Anytime you are confronted with the theory of evolution, praise God that He is our creator, our maker. Let people know that God’s creation work from Adam and Eve until today is “marvelous.” He deserves our praise!
5. My God Is A Caring God
As David continues describing our amazing God, he is struck by the fact that this Omniscient and Omnipresent Creator cares about each of us as an individual. Psalm 139:17-18 says:
“17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”
God’s thoughts about you and me are both precious and plenteous. David says they are “more in number than the sand.” Next time you think God has forgotten you, pour a tablespoon of sand onto a dark plate. Then count the grains. Good luck with that! Hebrews 13:5 contains this statement: “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
At the end of verse 18 David makes a startling statement: “…when I awake, I am still with thee.” David does not say that God is with him. He is saying that he is with God! I am not sure that I can explain that statement, but I believe it. When I wake up in the morning, I do not have to start getting close to Him again—I am already with Him! My dad told me several times, “If you could understand everything about God, then you would be God!” So I will not try to explain these two verses again. I will simply praise God for His thoughts and care for me!
6. David Aligns With His Awesome God
Psalm 139:19-22 takes an unusual turn from where David has been describing the attributes of God. He suddenly lashes out at wicked people who oppose God.
“19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.”
Like David we should be upset at people who speak against God wickedly and those who “take thy name in vain.” David says that he hates those who hate God. I realize that statement does not match up with what a lot of people think should be a Christian attitude. But we are to stand strong against people who are ungodly. I read about a group of elementary students who took a tour of a hospital for a field trip. At the end of the day, the nurse who was guiding the tour asked if there were any questions. One young boy asked, “Why do you wash your hands all the time? We’ve been washing our hands all day!” The nurse smiled and said, “We wash our hands because we hate germs! Germs make you sick, so we hate them, and we wash our hands to get rid of all the germs.” If you love God and Godliness, you must hate ungodliness and wickedness. In verse 21 David says, “…am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?” In verse 22 he says, “I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.”
I challenge you to hate sin, and yet love the sinner. Sometimes I hate the sin in others, but I justify it or overlook it in my own life. That will be the subject of David’s last point in the closing of Psalm 139.
7. “Search Me, O God, And Know My Heart”
We come to the end of one of David’s greatest Psalms. He has been meditating on his all-knowing, all-present Creator who cares for each of us individually. As a result, David has aligned himself with God, agreeing to hate those who hate God and declare those people his enemy. And David ends his Psalm by looking inward, asking God to help him to see sin in his own life and help him turn away from it. Remember that David was “a man after God’s own heart,” yet he committed adultery and murder.
“ Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)
David knows that God knows his thoughts, and he asks God to reveal those thoughts to him. He wants God to show him his sins, so that he can deal with them, and then walk in “the way everlasting.” I am reminded of one of my favorite stories about D.L. Moody. Moody and a friend were walking down the streets of Chicago one day, when Moody suddenly sank to one knee on the sidewalk and bowed his head. His friend asked, “Are you alright, Brother Moody?” Moody did not answer, so his friend asked again, “Brother Moody, are you okay?” Moody slowly rose to his feet and said, “I am sorry. An evil thought came into my mind and I had to deal with it and ask the Lord to forgive me.” Help us to be that sensitive to sin in our life. Help us to say to God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. Let us keep “short book accounts” when it comes to sin in our lives.
