←Psalm 139→BSB

In This Chapter 15 terms 3 themes 2 resources

Key Terms

Fear 3 Perceive 2 Knowledge 2 To Acknowledge 2 Intention (Evil) Praise Fear (State) Awe (State) Fear (Terror) Fear (Reverence) Fear (Awe) Fearful Respect Respect (Among People) Plan

Themes

The Cloud and Fire The Heart in the Psalms Wisdom Psalms

Resources

Foreknowledge Articles Imprecatory Psalms Articles

You Have Searched Me and Known Me

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

ⓘ In this wisdom psalm, the psalmist opens every...

In this wisdom psalm, the psalmist opens every aspect of his being, character, behavior, and speech to God’s examination. As hard as life is, he wants to ensure his own growth in wisdom so that he does not come under God’s judgment of the wicked (141:5; 142:3; 143:8, 10; 144:3–4). Further, the poet recognizes that he cannot escape from the Lord. His sense of stress disappears when he considers the Lord’s loving care for him, even before birth (139:13–18). He then invites the Lord to continue examining him as he walks in the path of wisdom (139:23–24).
ⓘ The Lord knows the psalmist well; God has...

The Lord knows the psalmist well; God has examined him thoroughly, in an inescapable examination that is painful at times (Job 7:17–19).
1O LORD, You have searched meand known me.2You know when I sit and when I rise;You understand my thoughts from afar.
ⓘ The Lord’s omniscience and omnipotence provide comfort to...

The Lord’s omniscience and omnipotence provide comfort to the godly, but they imprison the hearts of the wicked (2:3).
3You search out my path and my lying down;You are aware of all my ways.4Even before a word is on my tongue,You know all about it, O LORD.5You hem me in behind and before;You have laid Your hand upon me.6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,too lofty for me to attain.
ⓘ The psalmist expresses his awe at the Lord’s...

The psalmist expresses his awe at the Lord’s omnipresence.
7Where can I go to escape Your Spirit?Where can I flee from Your presence?8If I ascend to the heavens, You are there;if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,if I settle by the farthest sea,10even there Your hand will guide me;Your right hand will hold me fast.11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,and the light become night around me”—12even the darkness is not dark to You,but the night shines like the day,for darkness is as light to You.
13For You formed my inmost being;†You knit me together in my mother’s womb.14I praise You,for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Marvelous are Your works,and I know this very well.15My frame was not hidden from Youwhen I was made in secret,when I was woven togetherin the depths of the earth.16Your eyes saw my unformed body;all my days were written in Your bookand ordained for mebefore one of them came to be.
17How precious to me are Your thoughts,† O God,how vast is their sum!18If I were to count them,they would outnumber the grains of sand;and when I awake,I am still with You.
ⓘ The psalmist’s sense of awe leads him to...

The psalmist’s sense of awe leads him to consider the wicked and to reflect on himself. The Lord, as the examiner of all people, judges the wicked for their destructive acts and speech; thus, the psalmist prays that he will not be among them.
19O God, that You would slay the wicked—away from me, you bloodthirsty men—20who speak of You deceitfully;Your enemies take Your name in vain.†21Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD,and detest those who rise against You?22I hate them with perfect hatred;I count them as my enemies.
ⓘ The psalmist’s prayer against the wicked leads him...

The psalmist’s prayer against the wicked leads him also to reflect on himself; he does not presume that he is righteous. This prayer has been repeated by believers over the centuries.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart;test me and know my concerns.24See if there is any offensive way in me;lead me in the way everlasting.