Psalm 139 : A Commentary (Part 4)
In our last study we discovered that the LORD is all powerful and the creator of everything that exists in the entire universe. David in awe and wonder was reflecting on just how precise God was when He created him in the womb of his mother. He was experiencing a sense of being overwhelmed by this fact and knew from past experience how wonderful all of God’s works were and how He was working in David’s life. Also David was realising afresh all of the ways that God had delivered him in the past.
David, reflecting on the creation of Adam, marvelled at how God had designed him and could not fathom how He could do such wonders. He revelled in the fact that God foresaw him even before He created him in his mother’s womb and that his days were already ordained for him before they came into existence. David recognised the absolute sovereignty of God’s awesome creative power and His foreknowledge of all things.
God’s thoughts were very precious to David and David’s thoughts very precious to God. In contemplating them he knew that it was not possible to count them because they were so vast. Even after sleeping when he awoke his thoughts were still fixed on God and the wonders of His ways which were far beyond human comprehension. Now after we have seen the divine attributes of the LORD in this section of the psalm there is a change of focus. Let’s now consider this…
Psalm 139: Exposition
The LORD’s enemies are our enemies (Vs. 19-24)
(Vs.19) “O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.”
Here we have David distancing himself from those who revelled in shedding the blood of others. While David himself had shed blood in fighting the LORD’s battles he was never one to revel in the shedding of the blood of others.
The exception was when he arranged the death of Uriah the Hittite after taking the man’s wife in an act of adultery, acts that God forgave when he repented but that produced a legacy of murder and adultery within his own family members.
In recognising the ways of the wicked who did not know God and the blood they shed of others in their thirst for conquest David despised and did not want to associate with those who delighted in shedding the blood of others. David’s plea was one that was asking God for justice, not revenge. Why was he asking this of God? The answer is in the text.
(Vs.20) “For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain.”
Here we see that David thinking of God’s honour among men and was asking God to deal with His enemies and those of David as well who spoke wicked things about God especially in the pagan sacrifices and idolatry in those who had no desire for God or for His laws. David was incensed which describes a strong emotional reaction, often in response to something perceived as unfair or unjust.
He wanted to have God deal with those who dared to take His name in vain, and there were those within Israel even in the royal court that had it in for David, and while professing to know God in fact they wanted nothing to do with Him or His ways. We see this when David’s son Absalom started a revolt which came to the point where David had to flee for his every life. David continues…
(21-22) “Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.
While God does not hate individuals as such He hates what they say and do. God hates in this way. As we read in His Word; “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19).
Now we also read in scripture we see the LORD speaking to the Israelites; “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, and I have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals” (Malachi 1:2-3).
As the author of Hebrews writes; “See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He could find no ground for repentance, though he sought the blessing with tears” (Hebrews 12:16-17).
What was it then that God hated about Esau?
It is clear that he did not value his birthright but discarded it for the sake of feeding his fleshly selfish appetite revealing his contempt for God. Afterwards when he realised what he had forfeited by this act of reckless disobedience and defiance, he shed tears over it and exhibited remorse, however remorse was not repentance.
Esau continued to hate Jacob and to this very day this hate with a murderous intent is what the Arab nations have inherited from Esau and Ishmael for that matter in their militant hate for the Jewish people, the descendants of Isaac and Jacob, not the decedents of Ishmael and Esau.
What was it then that God loved about Jacob?
It is clear that even though Jacob inherited the birthright using deception instigated by his mother, the fact is that Jacob valued the birthright more than anything and wanted God’s blessing.
After having to face many afflictions because of his character he had allowed the LORD to deal with his fleshly nature and difficult character and after encountering the pre-incarnate Messiah and wrestling with Him Jacob’s character was changed as well as his name changed to Israel.
The primary meaning of Jacob is “supplanter,” referring to someone who takes the place of another, particularly in the context of his struggle for the birthright with his twin brother Esau in the womb of their mother Rebekah. It also means “He who follows on another’s heels” indicating his birth order as the second born and the act of grasping Esau’s heel at birth.
The name Israel was given to Jacob after he wrestled with His pre-existent Messiah before His incarnation. This encounter is described in Genesis 32:28, where God renames Jacob, stating, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” As “one who struggles with God” refers to Jacob’s wrestling match with God Himself.
Secondly where God prevails in that wrestling match teaches us that God is ultimately victorious and thirdly, it teaches us that Jacob entered into a relationship of a strong faith and perseverance.
We see this reflected in the way God has dealt with Jacob’s descendants the Jewish people down through the centuries and is still dealing with them today, not to discard them or reject them, but to bring about a change in their character and to a reunion with the Messiah our Lord Jesus.
After a long period of struggle with GOD the blessing of God fell upon Jacob. Likewise after the wrestling match Israel has been having with the God of Israel down through the centuries continuing to the present day will ultimately bring about their reconciliation to Him as a people when the encounter the Messiah at His Second Coming (Zechariah 12:10-13:1) (Romans 11:25-29).
God wrestling with Jacob through the dark night and receiving the victory when daylight broke foreshadows God wrestling with Israel through the night of the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, also called the Time of Great Tribulation, and bringing them into the light of the revelation of their Messiah when He comes back (Zechariah 12:10-13:1).
God in His foreknowledge of all things saw that before Jacob and Esau were even born or had done anything right or wrong, He saw that Esau would reject the birthright and that Jacob would value it and accept it. God’s choice was based on His foreknowledge (Romans 9:11-18). In the case of Pharaoh’s heart being hardened by God, it was Pharaoh that hardened his heart first and God had foreseen this. God knew already that Jacob would respond to His grace whereas Esau would not respond to His grace.
Spiritually speaking it also teaches us that it is not the first birth that counts but the second birth. In His foreknowledge God bestows His salvation on those whom He foresees will respond to the gospel and be saved. To teach that God arbitrarily chooses some for heaven and others for hell is a terrible thing to say and to teach about God. It dishonours His character and the many texts that teach otherwise. Here are just a few; (John 3:16) (2 Peter 3:9) (1 Timothy 2:4) (1 Timothy 4:10).
There is a story told about a very rich man who was a believer. He had two sons that were both unsaved. Also the man had a best friend who was an evangelist and he asked his friend to preach the gospel at his funeral with an invitation to respond knowing that his two boys would be there.
Well the day came when the rich man fell asleep in the Lord Jesus and became absent from his body but present with the LORD. Now at the funeral his friend the evangelist preached the gospel and gave the invitation to respond. One of the two boys responded while the other boy didn’t. When the will of the father was opened the bulk of the inheritance had been bequeathed to the son who responded.
In His foreknowledge of the boy’s character and knowing it very well their father knew which one would respond. In the matter of election God in His foreknowledge the freedom of choice is still given. Esau rejected the birthright and forfeiting the inheritance, whereas Jacob valued the birthright and receive the inheritance.
Now David elsewhere sheds further light on God’s attitude to the wicked an illuminates why and what God hates. David writes; “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You” (Psalm 5:4-7).
David was recounting the types of men that God hated. His hate is perfectly justified against the wicked, especially those who wilfully and deliberately reject His Son, His salvation and the Word of God. God takes no pleasure in the wickedness of men. No evil can stand in the light of his pure and untainted presence.
No boastful person can stand in His presence. Those who practice iniquity (rebellion) and speak lies and practice deception and shed the blood of others undeserving of it God abhors.
We see David’s attitude in this whole matter expressed in cry of the martyrs for Jesus whose souls under the altar cry out for God to avenge their shed blood. It is not vengeance they seek but justice and righteous judgements and that their fellow brothers and sisters who are to be martyred as they had been that God would judge the wickedness of their persecutors and establish His righteous kingdom (Revelation 5:9-11).
We also need to keep in tension the fact that when the Messiah our Lord Jesus was dying on the cross He prayed to His Father for God to forgive them in their ignorance. Likewise Stephen when he was being stoned to death asked God to forgive those who were killing him. Another factor to consider is that in a time of war that God will raise up armies to fight against wicked nations that are seeking to enforce their ungodly ideology on other nations. Imagine in WW2 if the allies had not fought against Nazi Germany and Japan what the outcome would have been.
In the Old Testament God used armies to fulfil His purposes especially where Israel was concerned fighting for their very survival against overwhelming odds. In the Book of Ecclesiastes we are told that there is a time for everything under the sun, including a time for war. Even in a war God’s righteous purposes can be achieved.
Many of our dear brothers and sisters in Messiah suffering terrible persecution are praying for their persecutors to be saved, but also that God would establish His Kingdom of justice and righteous purposes on earth and deal with those shedding innocent blood.
As David prayed for God’s righteous judgements against the wickedness of men rejecting Him and His Word David realised that he also needed God’s abundant mercy and lovingkindness, knowing the propensity of the human heart to indulge in all manner of wickedness and rebellion, a fact which we see time and time again in the psalms David wrote. Hence we see him ending this psalm with a plea to the LORD…
(Vs23-24) “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any offensive way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”
Having expressed his innermost feelings about God judging wickedness and rebellion David focuses on his own standing before the LORD recognising his own need of God’s unmerited, unearned favour, His mercy and His lovingkindness. He asks God to search his innermost thought and intents. The word “search” is a very strong word describing a deep and thorough exploration, to examine intimately, to penetrate, and to examine or to scrutinize.
He asks God to do this for him, to try him in order that he might walk closer with Him and practice those things in his life that are pleasing to the LORD. He asks the LORD to know, to discriminate, to discern, to be skilful in knowing his anxious thoughts, anxious because he needed to know if there was any hidden unconfessed sin or offensive way in him that he was reluctant to acknowledge in his deepest desire to be led in the way of everlasting life.
As he had been expressing his anger against the wickedness of ungodly and bloodthirsty men he came to the realisation that he too, apart from the grace of God, would do what they were doing. Of course after his sins of adultery and murder even though he had been forgiven and cleansed from them he never forgot that the human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).
For all of us who desire to live godly p[leasing lives in the Messiah Jesus need to keep before us that it is only by the unmerited favour and unearned mercy of God that we will survive spiritually. Apart from the grace of God we are all at best “spiritual basket cases!”
To Sum up
In this psalm penned by David we have seen that God is all knowing, present everywhere, all powerful and the creator of everything that exists. He perceives our thoughts and our words from far away even before we have spoken them. He surrounds us and lays His hand of blessing on us.
Such knowledge residing in Him is far beyond human comprehension yet a wonder to contemplate that He should look upon sinners such as we all are by birth and by nature.
Wherever we go He is always there and His hand will hold us fast in all the changing situations and circumstances of our life we face here on earth. Even in times of spiritual darkness, anxiety, depression, rejection and doubt, the darkness of these experiences is not dark to Him but as light in that they are part of that plan He has mapped out for our lives from all of eternity that will bring Him glory.
He knew us before we were even conceived in our mother’s womb and when we were being woven together as a foetus. All of our days were numbered for us including His set purposes for our lives even before any of them came to be.
His precious thoughts are vast and unnumbered, and as we go to sleep with these thoughts about Him we know that He is thinking about us during the hours of the night and when we awake in the morning our thoughts about Him are still with us and His thoughts about us are the same.
While we can pray that God’s justice and righteousness and His kingdom be established on earth we can in light of this also pray against the wicked, that God would supress and confuse their machinations and plots against us and incapacitate bloodthirsty men. Of course we should also pray for those who persecute us for righteousness sake yet there is a place for praying that He will remove wicked men from positions of power.
In all of these matters we always need to keep asking the LORD to thoroughly search us, to know the anxious thoughts and intents of our hearts so that we might not be led into spiritual deception and defilement, and that we might see any offensive way in us that can only be cleansed by the Messiah’s pure and untainted blood.
Above all of this we need to earnestly desire that we might be regularly led moment by moment by the blessed Holy Spirit into the way of that eternal life which dwells in us, which the Lord Jesus imparted to us when we repented and believed in Him to save us.
Through the power of His indestructible everlasting life dwelling in us we will spend eternity in the presence of our Triune God for ever and ever, Our Triune God Himself at whose right hand are pleasures forevermore! Amen!
