Psalms 139

You have searched me and know me

Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.a ²You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.b ³You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.c

⁴You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. ⁵You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.d ⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!e

⁷I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!f ⁸If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.g ⁹If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, ¹⁰even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.h

¹¹I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—i ¹²but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.j ¹³You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.k

¹⁴Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.l ¹⁵You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.m ¹⁶You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.n

¹⁷How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!o ¹⁸I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!p ¹⁹O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!

²⁰They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name. ²¹O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?q ²²Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.r ²⁴Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.s

Commentary

Psalm 139 is a profound meditation on God's exhaustive knowledge and intimate presence with every human being. The psalmist moves from awe at God's searching omniscience (verses 1-6) to wonder at His inescapable omnipresence (verses 7-12), then to gratitude for God's personal crafts

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Bible Dictionary· Psalms 139(12)

Body Book Hand Heaven Light Place Red Sea Sand Saw Spirit Strength The Way

References· Psalms 139

a: v.1 — Hebrews 4:13, Jeremiah 12:3, Jeremiah 17:9-10, Psalms 44:21, Psalms 17:3, Psalms 139:23, 1 Chronicles 28:9, 1 Kings 8:39, Revelation 2:23, Psalms 11:4-5
b: v.2 — Matthew 9:4, 2 Kings 19:27, Isaiah 37:28, Luke 9:47, John 2:24-25, Psalms 94:11, Proverbs 15:3, Psalms 56:8, Zechariah 4:10, 2 Kings 6:12
c: v.3 — Jeremiah 23:24, Job 31:4, Proverbs 5:20-21, Genesis 28:10-17, 2 Samuel 11:27, Psalms 121:3-8, Ecclesiastes 12:14, 2 Samuel 12:9-12, Psalms 139:18, John 6:70-71
d: v.5 — Psalms 34:7, Deuteronomy 33:27, Revelation 1:17, Job 23:8-9, Exodus 24:11, Job 9:33
e: v.6 — Romans 11:33, Job 42:3, Psalms 40:5, Job 26:14, Job 11:7-9, Proverbs 30:2-4, Psalms 13:1
f: v.7 — Jeremiah 23:23-24, Jonah 1:3, Jonah 1:10
g: v.8 — Amos 9:2-4, Job 34:21-22, Jonah 2:2, Obadiah 1:4, Proverbs 15:11, Job 26:6, Ezekiel 28:12-17
h: v.10 — Psalms 23:3, Isaiah 41:13, Psalms 73:23, Psalms 63:8, Psalms 143:9-10
i: v.11 — Job 12:22, Jeremiah 23:24, Psalms 94:7, Job 22:12-14, Psalms 10:11-13, Isaiah 29:15
j: v.12 — Daniel 2:22, Job 34:22, Exodus 20:21, Hebrews 4:13, Job 26:6, Exodus 14:20
k: v.13 — Jeremiah 1:5, Psalms 119:73, Isaiah 44:2, Job 31:15, Job 10:9-12, Psalms 71:6, Psalms 22:9-10, Isaiah 46:3
l: v.14 — Genesis 1:26-27, Psalms 111:2, Psalms 104:24, Psalms 92:4-5, Job 5:9, Psalms 40:5, Revelation 15:3
m: v.15 — Ecclesiastes 11:5, Psalms 139:13, Job 10:8-11, Psalms 63:9
n: v.16 — Psalms 56:8, Malachi 3:16, Revelation 20:12
o: v.17 — Psalms 40:5, Jeremiah 29:11, Isaiah 55:8-9, Psalms 92:5, Psalms 36:7, Ephesians 3:9-10, Psalms 31:19, Proverbs 8:31
p: v.18 — Psalms 3:5, Psalms 139:3, Psalms 40:5, Psalms 17:15, Psalms 16:8-11, 1 Thessalonians 5:10, Psalms 63:6-7, Daniel 12:2, Isaiah 26:19, Psalms 40:12
q: v.21 — Psalms 119:158, Psalms 31:6, Revelation 2:2, Psalms 26:5, 2 Chronicles 19:2, Revelation 2:6, Jeremiah 13:17, Psalms 119:136, Mark 3:5, Romans 9:1-3
r: v.23 — Psalms 26:2, Job 31:6, 1 Peter 1:7, Proverbs 17:3, Deuteronomy 8:2, Psalms 139:1, Zechariah 13:9, Jeremiah 11:20, Malachi 3:2-3, Deuteronomy 8:16
s: v.24 — Psalms 143:10, Jeremiah 17:9-10, Psalms 25:8-9, Psalms 119:32, Psalms 16:11, Psalms 5:8, Proverbs 28:26, Psalms 143:8, John 14:6, Matthew 7:14

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