There is so much glorious wonder to Psalm 139 that we had no choice but to break our study down into four parts:
Psalm 139:1-6 – God Knows Me Intimately
Psalm 139:7-12 – God Knows Me Intimately
Psalm 139:13-18 – God Knows Me Intimately
Psalm 139:19-24 – God Knows Me Intimately
Candidly, I struggled a little with the title of this four-part study on Psalm 139, as other titles entered my head, such as God’s Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence or God’s Omni Attributes. However, David was mesmerized and awed by the Lord’s intimate knowledge of him, His ever-present presence with him, and His provisions for him. Therefore, as the believer in Jesus Christ can and should appropriate David’s divinely given knowledge of the Lord to himself or herself, God Knows Me Intimately – for me, and I suspect for many commentators – really sums up this marvelous and unequaled Psalm.
King David was known as a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22), and no words of David sum up his intense love, awe, and reverence for his Creator than Psalm 139.
A favorite psalm of all children of God, Psalm 139 reveals the heart of David toward the Lord and his intimate relationship with his God, and, in the process, gives us remarkable biological insights into the workings of God in creating every human being. Psalm 139 also reveals God in His breathtaking and astounding character traits of His glorious and majestic omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence.
As we are accustomed to, we will be examining Psalm 139 verse by verse along with commentary and corroborating Scriptures. We will also be analyzing many significant and notable Hebrew words and phrases throughout the Psalm.
Moreover, we added a few notations by Henry M. Morris from The Henry Morris Study Bible, annotated by THMSB. We will also quote a few different translations for the reader to consider; however, this in no way is an endorsement of any translation cited in this article. I always recommend only the King James Version to my brothers and sisters, as this is the best English translation we have.
King David’s insights into God and His sovereign omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence, as outlined in this Psalm, are stunning.
An outline of Psalm 139 concerning God’s omni characteristics, and as divided in our four-part series, as given in the Psalms four stanzas, are: Psalm 139:1-6, God’s omniscience; Psalm 139:7-12, God’s omnipresence; Psalm 139:13-18, God’s omnipotence; and Psalm 139:19-24, God’s omni-righteousness with His abhorrence of wickedness and evil.
THMSB: This psalm is intensely personal. The first-person pronouns (“I,” “me,” etc.) occur 48 times in these 24 verses, and the second-person pronouns (“thou,” “thine,” etc.) occur 28 times.
Underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.
Psalm 139:1-6 – God’s Omniscient Knowledge of Virtually Everything
King David reminds God, and undoubtedly himself, that the Lord knows virtually everything about him.
“O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.” – Psalm 139:1
David, in his Psalm of Prayer, spoke in similar fashion:
“Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.” – Psalm 17:3
The Hebrew for “thou has searched me” is חֲקַרְתַּ / נִי “ḥăqartanî” from 2713 חָקַר “ḥāqar,” in Qal verb form, means to search (for), to search through, explore, and in context of Psalm 139:1, to examine thoroughly, searching a man.
The Hebrew for “and known” – “me” is not in the original and supplied by the translators for greater clarity – is וַ / תֵּדָע “vatēḏāʿ” from 3045 יָדַע “yāḏaʿ,” also in Qal verb form, means, in context, to know, be acquainted with, perceive and see, find out and discern, to have knowledge.
We could paraphrase this opening verse of David’s as follows:
“O Lord, though has thoroughly examined me by searching my inner being, and are completely acquainted with my heart, discerning my every thought.”
Utilizing these definitions of the opening verse of Psalm 139 – and especially as we move forward in our study – we should greatly appreciate David’s perception of God’s omniscient intimate knowledge in his own life, extending this concept out and applying it to every human being He has, is, and will ever create, understanding that the Lord’s omniscient knowledge of those He has created in His own image is perfect on every level, without faults, deficiencies, or shortcomings. There is virtually no limit to God’s intimate knowledge of the human beings He has created.
Incontestably, it would be imperative and of paramount importance for God’s creatures to recognize and realize that, truly, God knows all!
“Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.” – Psalm 139:2
An omniscient God would necessarily know every creature He ever created, observing each one’s “downsitting and.. uprising,” taking great care in the knowledge of every detail of their lives. Jesus did not limit God’s omniscient knowledge to humanity alone, but to every creature, and God even knows the number of hairs on each person’s head!
“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” – Matthew 10:29-31
The Hebrew for “my thought” is לְ / רֵעִ / י “lᵊrēʿî” from 7454 רֵעַ “rēaʿ” – used only twice in the Tanakh, both in this Psalm (Psalm 139:2, 17) – and is understood as purpose, aim, thought (as association of ideas).
Getting back to the Lord’s omniscient knowledge, David knows that God, residing in the Heaven of heavens – the third Heaven – understands every “thought [from] afar off.”
Through God’s omnipresent Holy Spirit, God knows all! And this is the theme that King David continues to recognize the immense value of and share with the reader in his song of praise.
“Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” – Psalm 139:3
Job noted God’s omniscience during his brutal suffering when he said…
“Doth not he [God] see my ways, and count all my steps?” -Job 31:4
The Hebrew for “thou compassest” is זֵרִיתָ “zērîṯā” from 2219 זָרָה “zārâ,” which, in Peil verb form, means to winnow or sift.
David seems to be implying that God is winnowing out and/or sifting out those people or things that would inhibit his path in walking with the Lord and that would hinder his peace when he lies down. It appears to be an understanding that God is with him and making a way for him before he ever gets there and receives his rest in this world – my path and my couch thou siftest.
“Thou didst sift my way and my lying down, and thou knewest all my ways.” – Smith’s Literal Translation
The Hebrew for “art acquainted” is הִסְכַּנְתָּה “hiskantâ” from 5532 סָכַן “sāḵan,” which, in Hiphil verb form, means to be used, be wont, exhibit use or exhibit habit, show harmony with, be familiar with, know intimately.
Surely the Creator God not only knew King David intimately, He knows all of His creations deeply, whether they acknowledge Him or not. God’s acquaintance of David, and by extension all believers, shows an intimate familiarity and harmony with him and us. David not only did not fear that the Lord knew him in this intimate way, he eagerly desired to welcome and proclaim this glorious truth of his amazing and loving God to all who would hear!
The Hebrew for “my ways” is דְּרָכַ / י “dᵊrāḵay” from 1870 דֶּרֶךְ “dereḵ” – a very well-known Hebrew word – meaning way, road, path, direction, distance, journey, manner, habit, course of life, moral character.
All of these definitions are applicable to David, for God knew David’s way, road, path, direction, distance, journey, manner, habit, course of life, and moral character, intimately.
The Lord, David rejoiced, was intimately “acquainted with all [of his] ways.” We should rejoice as well!
Even when David sinned and went astray, David’s fear was restrained by his familiarity of God’s character and could still rejoice in knowing who his Lord was: the one true God who is full of grace, compassion, mercy, and lovingkindness in bringing the king back to Himself following David’s heartfelt confession and repentance. As believers in Messiah Yeshua, we are promised the same with utmost confidence.
“… [I]f we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:7-9
As believers in Christ Jesus, we have the same confidence in our Savior that King David did with God some 3,000 years ago. A loving and compassionate Lord who knows us intimately with every innermost detail of our existence revealed through His omniscient knowledge of exactly who we are should be of enormous joy, peace, and comfort for the children of God!
“For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.” – Psalm 139:4
The Hebrew for “though knowest” is יָדַעְתָּ “yāḏaʿtā” from 3045 יָדַע “yāḏaʿ,” in Qal verb form, and as we noted above in verse one, means to know, be acquainted with, perceive and see, find out and discern, to have knowledge.
Just as David recognized God’s knowledge of himself was intimate and all-encompassing in verse one, David now acknowledges that God knows every word on his tongue.
The Hebrew for “it altogether” is כֻלָּ / הּ “ḵullâ” from 3605 כֹּל “kōl,” which means all, the whole, the whole of, any, each, every, anything, totality, everything.
Well, that is pretty all-encompassing and unmitigated, to be sure!
This implies knowledge not only just before the word is formed on David’s tongue, but before the word was ever thought upon in David’s heart and mind!
The theme of God’s omniscient knowledge, in the Lord knowing every word of our tongue before we ever speak and even before our words are ever thought upon in our hearts and minds, is both logical and essential. But why?
For God to be God, He must know our hearts and thoughts with an omniscient knowledge of every thought and word we shall ever think and speak in our lifetimes, and He must have had that knowledge before He ever began to create. There is absolutely not a single thing about us, or anything else for that matter, that God did not know before He began His creation process during the seven days of Creation Week; in essence, in eternity past.
Here begins David’s revelation of not only God’s omniscient knowledge, but, in a subtle way, of His amazing omniscient foreknowledge. This is what makes God, God.
As challenging as it may be for our finite minds to grasp this reality of God, we instinctively know – or we should know – this incredible truth, regardless of our difficulty in processing the wonderful realization of God’s omniscient foreknowledge.
King David will develop a little more fully God’s foreknowledge in his own life as his glorious Psalm moves forward.
“Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.” – Psalm 139:5
THMSB: Psalm 139:5 notes God’s knowledge of the past, the future, and the present.
Here, David returns to God’s concern and provisions for him in his walk with His Lord on Earth, and God’s omniscient foreknowledge is, again, subtly in view.
The Hebrew for “thou hast beset me” is צַרְתָּ / נִי “ṣartānî” from 6696 צוּר “ṣûr,” which, in Qal verb form, means to confine, secure, to shut in, besiege, to shut up, enclose.
In context, David acknowledges that God has shut up, secured, and enclosed him, by a figurative door to a metaphorical room or a stronghold in a raging war, for protection from his enemies, “behind and before” him.
The Hebrew for “and laid upon my thine hand” is three Hebrew phrases.
The Hebrew for “and laid” is וַ / תָּשֶׁת “vatāšeṯ” from 7896 שִׁית “šîṯ,” which, in Qal verb form, means to put or lay hand upon, to set, station, appoint, fix, set mind to, to constitute, make one something, make like, perform, take one’s stand, to lay waste.
The Hebrew for “upon me” is עָלַ / י “ʿālay” from 5921 עַל “ʿal,” a preposition meaning a host of definitions, primarily upon, above, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, concerning, beside, etc.
The Hebrew for “thine hand” is כַּפֶּ / כָה “kapeḵâ” from 3709 כַּף “kap̄,” a noun, meaning palm, hand, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand, sole. In essence, the idea is that of God’s palm of His hand covering David.
In context, God has set [His] mind to putting or laying the palm of His hand as a covering upon David, seemingly marking him as His own.
“Thou hast hemmed me in behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me.” – JPS Tanakh 1917
Taken together, we might paraphrase the idea behind David’s words as the following:
God has shut up, secured, and enclosed David by a figurative door to a room or stronghold in a war for protection from his enemies that are “behind and before” him, while God has also set [His] mind upon His servant by symbolically putting or laying the palm of His hand as a covering upon David, seemingly marking him as His own.
Now that is a very protective God on behalf of His people! Praise the Lord for His unequaled provisions for His children!
To the chosen people of God who had rebelled and found themselves in captivity and exile in Babylon, the Lord, through the prophet Jeremiah, proclaimed…
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” – Jeremiah
As Paul confirmed the same spiritual truth of divine provision in our walks with the Lord to the Philippian believers in Messiah Yeshua…
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” – Philippians 4:19-20
To the Thessalonians…
“But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:3
And to the Corinthian believers, encouraging them to be generous givers out of a pure heart and joy…
“God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” – 2 Corinthians 9:8-11
God is constantly beholding His people, desiring to give them good gifts, often in the midst of trials, tribulations, afflictions, sufferings, persecutions, and, yes, even death with His agape love, divine presence, and physical and spiritual provisions for their ultimate good and His endless glory.
“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” – Psalm 139:6
The Hebrew for “too wonderful” is פְּלִיאָה “pᵊlî’â” from 6383 פִּלְאִי “pil’î,” meaning wonderful, incomprehensible, extraordinary.
This Hebrew word is used only used twice: in our text, Psalm 139:6, and in Judges 13:18, translated “secret,” when Menoah, the father of Sampson, encountered the “angel of the LORD” (a preincarnate theophany of Jesus Christ) and asked the “angel of the LORD” what His Name was…
“And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?” – Judges 13:18
That Menoah and his wife recognized this “angel of the Lord” as God Himself was apparent…
“And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God. But his wife said unto him, If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as at this time have told us such things as these.” – Judges 13:22-23
Therefore, this Hebrew word, פִּלְאִי “pil’î,” is directly associated with the LORD Himself, as there is no other who could be called wonderful, incomprehensible, and extraordinary, other than the Creator, Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and King, the Lord Messiah Yeshua!
The Hebrew for “it is high” is נִשְׂגְּבָה “niśgᵊḇâ” from 7682 שָׂגַב “,” meaning to be high, be inaccessibly high, and, in Niphal verb form, means to be high, to be set on high, and, in context, conveys that God’s knowledge is high and unattainable.
“Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.” – NET Bible
As we noted above, the sovereign knowledge and unbridled wisdom of our Lord is beyond human comprehension to fully perceive, though we have been given God-given intellect and intelligence to understand – as incomplete as this must be – these wonderful truths of our mighty and awesome Lord as revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures…
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
“Hearken unto me, ye stouthearted, that are far from righteousness: I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.” – Isaiah 46:9-13
And, since the Lord Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, the eternal Son of God, we should pray as Paul did…
“That [our] hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” – Colossians 2:2-3
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power…” – Ephesians 1:17-19
Conclusion
In closing this first installment of our four-part study series on Psalm 139, Bonnie, a dearly beloved sister in Pennsylvania, quoted Psalm 56:8 in a conversation we had. This prompted my response to her, and it seemed more than appropriate when we consider not only God’s omniscient knowledge but His intimate concern for His children.
Here was my slightly paraphrased reply:
Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? – Psalm 56:8
Is this an amazing verse or what?!? In Biblical times, people actually put their tears in tear bottles to remember the times when they shed those tears – and tear bottles have actually been excavated. David notes, however, that God keeps a record of our tears as well, to remember those times when we shed those tears.
Does God actually have a tear bottle in heaven? Maybe. Maybe not, if the tear bottles are meant to be metaphoric in nature. Yet, because the Lord is omniscient, God remembers virtually everything about us, including those times when we shed our tears, and He knew those tears we would shed before He ever created! And it certainly would not be surprising if God has written those tears of ours – and when and why they were shed – “in [His] book.”
Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. – Malachi 3:16
God also has a book of remembrance, noting when His people think upon Him, in addition to His book of life! Does God have actual books in heaven? Since God wrote with His own finger the 10 Commandments, it surely seems He would record these things in heavenly books, as the Bible intimates that He does.
Other books – that we believers do not have to worry about – are the books being kept to judge the unsaved at the Great White Throne Judgment, that contain the records of those things the unsaved had done in their lifetimes.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. – Revelation 20:12
Note that the unsaved dead who are resurrected are “judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Believers do not have to worry about that because we are judged according to Christ’s righteousness, who saved us, and our works are not judged other than those things we have done or not done for the Lord. All our evil works will never be remembered because of our being saved by God’s grace through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ!
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” – Psalm 32:1-2
“For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” – Psalm 103:11-12
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” – Hebrews 8:12
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” – Isaiah 1:18
“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” – Micah 7:18-19
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” – 1 John 1:7
“Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” – Hebrews 10:15-17
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” – Romans 8:1
What a mighty and awesome sovereign and omniscient Creator, God, Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and King we serve! Praise, glory, and honor forevermore to our loving and merciful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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