Psalm 139 : A Commentary (Part 1)
In the Book of 2 Chronicles we read, “For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).
There is nothing that escapes the all-seeing penetrating eyes of the LORD. He knows everything there is to know in the whole universe and dwells in the eternal realm where there is no beginning or end as He is the eternal Triune God.
Indeed He Himself says; “Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’ I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, and truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, and I will surely do it” (Isaiah 46:9-11).
For those who walk by faith and seek to have their hearts fully devoted to Him He shows Himself to be strong on their behalf in His sustaining and enduring power because He knows and they know that they are weak and that without His enabling unmerited, unearned favour they would surely fail in every way. What a comfort to know that despite of what is happening to us or around us and in the world that He still has everything under control!
What an exceedingly great comfort to know that He as the good shepherd also reveals Himself in the Messiah our Lord Jesus in that “He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes” (Isaiah 40:11). Indeed does not the LORD say, “Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you” (Isaiah 46:4).
In this psalm of David we have a revelation of the LORD’s absolute knowledge of us and that we can hide nothing from Him and that He can be fully trusted in every way possible to do in us, and for us, and through us, “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).
In this Psalm we see three of His divine attributes that encourage us as His own blood redeemed, blood cleansed, blood protected and blood sanctified children. What an encouragement this psalm is when we are beleaguered on all sides and even at times hemmed in by that implacable enemy of our souls and his cohorts from hell dwelling in the unseen spiritual realm in the atmosphere just above the earth’s surface (Job 1:6-7;2:1-2) (Ephesians 6:12). With these thoughts in view let’s now look at this psalm of David.
Psalm 139: Exposition
The LORD knows everything there is to know (Vs. 1-6)
(Vs.1) “O Lord, You have searched me and known me.”
Every prayer, every longing is known to the LORD. He is always searching us through the light of His Word dwelling is us, and the facilitator of this searching that illuminates every thought and inclination of our innermost being is the blessed Holy Spirit. Indeed the blessed Holy Spirit Himself who searches and knows the deep things of God most certainly knows all about us and in every situation and circumstance we face in life He knows what needs to be said and done and how it should be said and done.
(Vs.2) “You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You understand my thought from afar”
Nothing escapes the LORD’s observation concerning everything that concerns us. Even when we sit to eat, or to start our daily work, He watches over us with an intense longing to be involved in every daily activity of our life, to impart to us His infinitely wise, loving and perfect and will for our life in this world. Every hidden thought, known only to us in the deepest recess of our soul, He sees and knows.
He knows the motives behind our thinking and longings and works in us His good, acceptable and perfect will as we seek to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Knowing that He understands our every thought and motive should encourage us to be transparent before Him (Psalm 51:6). This is where praying in the Holy Spirit can release our spirit to commune with Him even when we do not know how to pray or even what to pray. At such times the blessed Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).
(Vs.3) “You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.”
To scrutinize is to examine or observe with great care and to inspect critically every thought, every motive and every inclination of our hearts leaving nothing out. His critical observation of everything we think say or do is not to discourage us or to condemn us, but to work in us that sanctification of body, soul and spirit that is preparing us to live with Him for ever and ever, and to sustain us as we walk by faith through this life down here.
As David writes; “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (Psalm 16:11). He is intimately acquainted with all of our ways, knowing our personality traits as He deals with us individually because “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who revere Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14).
(Vs.4) “Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all.”
One thing we always need to keep in mind when approaching the LORD in prayer is that He already knows what we are going to say. Of course God the Holy Spirit knows what we are going to say and will enable us to pray in accordance to God’s will and this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him” (1 John 5:14-15).
If we know His Word then we will know how to pray according to His will and we know that His word will never change and that it will say the same thing tomorrow as it does today because His Word is settled forever in heaven (Psalm 119:89). He can be trusted to do everything He has said He will do in His Word without fail. As it is written; “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in Him” (Proverbs 30:5). It is always safe to trust the LORD!
(Vs.5-6) “You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.”
To be enclosed is to be wrapped around or hemmed in with His power. Even in times of uncertainty, trouble, confusion, heaviness of spirit through manifold temptations, in times of doubt and anxiety deep down on the inside of us He remains faithful and never leaves us to the enemy of our souls or to our own devices. He not only wraps His presence around us but lays His loving hand upon our lives.
Through the steering wheel of His Holy Spirit and the rudder of His Word He guides us through the tempestuous sea of life’s storms, steering us away from the rocks that can make shipwreck of our faith and bring us safely through the storm into the safety of our eternal destiny.
Why should He persevere with us? Even when we are aware that we are wretched because of indwelling sin and the power of the flesh, and cry out “who shall deliver me from this body of spiritual corruption and death”, His hand still remains on us giving us the assurance of the ultimate victory through and by the power of the Messiah our Lord Jesus.
Indeed such knowledge and infallible loving wisdom is beyond human understanding. Why He should persevere with us is a mystery known only to Him. I am glad that He does, as apart from Him in our fleshly fallen human nature dwells no good thing that can make us acceptable to Him apart from that faith in the Messiah which brings about His righteousness imputed to us and credited to our account in heaven’s vaults. So we see in this psalm that the LORD knows everything there is to know. He is in fact All Knowing!
