An Exposé of Psalm 139

Do you realize how much and how deeply God thinks about his children? Do you know that he watches you carefully every day with the purpose of doing good to you, to protect you, and to lead you in the way of life? Sometimes I unconsciously think that God is too busy running the universe to care about why I am crying on my couch or that he has ‘holier’ people to pay attention to. The inspired David shows us in Psalm 139 that this could not be further from the truth. But what even David could not fathom, ‘things into which angels long to look’ (1 Peter 1:10), is a God who put on human flesh, dwelt among us, and gave his life for us so that we might have eternal life in him.

Last week, I burst out laughing at a TV ad that claimed this (I am paraphrasing): ‘At [Company XYZ], we promise to always do what is best for you because your well-being and happiness are at the forefront of our mind’ (emphasis on the ‘you’). Company XYZ may be sincere in desiring the best for their customers but how can they promise to always do what is best for me, Aymone? They don’t even know that I exist. They don’t know my deepest desires, needs, friends, family, or how I spend my days. I laughed at their absurd and unrealistic promise, instantly distrusting them.

The opposite picture emerges from Psalm 139. We see the Sovereign Creator, the Good and Faithful God who knows us deeply and is personally involved in every aspect of our lives. We can therefore fully trust him to lead us in the way of life (emphasis on him).

God’s Knowledge of Us

The Psalm begins with David expressing how intimately, beautifully, and thoughtfully God knows and pursues him:

You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139:1-7)

God’s Making of Us

Though David is awestruck, he understands why only God can have such knowledge of him:

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:13-14)

God knows every cell, molecule, DNA strand, muscle, hair, vein, pimple, etc. in our bodies. He ‘knitted ‘ and ‘intricately woven’ us together. He knew us when we were but an undistinguishable form, an embryo. He knew when we would be born and when we would die before we even existed (Psalm 139:13-16). Every aspect of our existence and being was lovingly and thoughtfully planned.

God’s Thoughts for Us

At this, David’s heart burst with awe and praise, as ours should:

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

How precious to me are your thoughts, God (Or How amazing are your thoughts concerning me)! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand (Psalm139:6; 17-18)

God’s Love for Us and in Us

The next section of the Psalm seems a bit strange at first glance, but it makes total sense when put in context.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? (Psalm139:21)

How can David’s knowledge and experience of the beauty of God’s great love for him (however limited) not lead him to hate anything that seeks to pervert the reality of it in his life? David wants wickedness eradicated because He knows the Love of God. David hates evil because He knows the Love of God.

God With and for Us

Unlike Company XYZ, God’s promises lead us to trust him because of who he is. Like David, we should be amazed, moved, delighted, and comforted by how deeply God thinks about, knows, and cares for us. I can trust that indeed He can do what is best for me. I can joyfully welcome and invite Him to continue to ‘Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me’. I can trust God to ‘lead me in the way everlasting’!

Christ, Our Immanuel

‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14)

Christ is the ultimate revelation of how intimately God dwells with his children. What David could not have fathomed and what even angels long to look into (1 Peter 1:10), is that God had always planned to condescend, put on human flesh, live and walk among us and, in the ultimate proof of his great love for us, die on the cross. On that cross, Jesus took David's, my, and your many sins on him. He drank the wrath, took the punishment so that, by faith in him, we might have eternal life (Romans 8:3; Philippians 2:7-8; Colossians 1:21-22; Hebrews 2:14). In him, we are treasured in ways that we can’t even grasp. The Father loves us as he loves his Only Son. His Spirit dwells in us, never to leave. Whatever experience of God’s nearness David had, pales in comparison to what Christ purchased for us.

I hope you are encouraged and revitalized as I am by meditating on God’s thoughtfulness and love for us from eternity past. If you are His in Christ, he is near and in you right now, watching, caring, protecting, leading, and loving you!