Psalm 139

Psalm 139: The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God·       This psalm celebrates the various attributes ofGod. The key word in the Psalm is “know.” God knows us and we know Him (see verse 14).·       David addresses God as LORD. “LORD”  in all capitals stands for God’s personal name, Yahweh (or Jehovah). This comes from Exodus 3, when Moses encounters the burning bush. God speaks to Moses and gives him His personal name – Yahweh. This was a symbol of knowing someone in a personal way. God isn’t some distant deity, He has made Himself known to His creation!  ·       One commentary puts it this way – Big picture: God knows everything. Personal picture: He knows me. Big picture: God is everywhere. Personal picture: He is everywhere with me. Big picture: God created everything. Personal picture: He created me.·       139:1-4 – The verbs “know,… understand… observe… and are aware” can be read as a timeless truth. It speaks of God’s eternal nature; He’s outside of time. ·       139:1 – God knows our hearts, our minds, and everything about us. ·       139:5 – God hemmed David in, and he was grateful for God’s close contact. Wherever he turned, he found God. He was comforted and awestruck by God’s care and protection.·       139:5 “You have encircled me” – This phrase literally means “back and front, You enclosed me.” God is omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere. He surrounds us.·       139:5 “Lay Your hand on me” – Refers to a gentle gesture, giving reassurance.·       139:6 “I am unable to reach it.” – God’s attributes of omnipresence and omniscience are beyond human comprehension. *Scene from Bruce Almighty when he hears everyone praying at once.·       139:7-12 – This section makes it clear that there’s nowhere in the universe that God will not be present. There is nowhere too dark. God will lead and hold the believer. ·       139:7 “Where can I go? Where can I flee?” – God’s presence is everywhere. This is a comfort to some and sobering to others.·       139:8 – Sheol means “place of the dead.” It doesn’t imply reward or punishment. David was saying that God’s sovereignty extends even to the grave and beyond. ·       139:8-9 – David uses opposites (heaven/Sheol and east/west [wings of the morning = east; the sea refers to the far of the Mediterranean = west of Israel] that show that everything in creation is included in God’s reach. ·       139:10 “Even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me” – God’s authority stretches beyond the cosmos and His rule doesn’t have a limit. All of humanity is under His rule.·       139:11 “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me…” – Evildoers can’t hide their actions from an all-present God.·       139:12 – Light and dark are artificial distinctions for the Lord. He transcends creation. ·       139:13 – Inward parts is literally translated as kidneys. The Hebrews thought of the kidneys as the center of a person’s emotions and conscience, similar to how we see the heart.·       139:14 “wondrously made” – God’s creation testifies to His power and majesty. ·       139:15 “Depths of the earth” – This phrase is usually associated with death, but here it refers to a mother’s womb.·       139:17-18 – God’s thoughts of us are vast, even more than we can count! ·       139:17 “God, how precious Your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is!” – God’s thoughts toward us are precious and more than we can think. ·       139:18 “when I wake up, I am still with You” – God’s presence and relationship with us are never-ending. ·       139:19-22 – Why did David’s tone change from praise to vengeance? In essence, he was saying, “I hate evil just as You do Lord.” ·       139:23-24 – A prayer for God to search us and us being open to Him, for Him to lead us in the everlasting way (i.e. the way that He loves).