Psalm 139

Now tonight we’re going to look at this whole song, but I’m going to just read the first six verses to begin. And then as we go along, I’ll read the appropriate sections. Psalm 139 to the chief musician, Psalm of David. O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising. Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down and aren’t acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain unto it. 1715, Louis XIV, 14th of France died. Lewis was fond of adding the word the great behind his name. His court was the most magnificent in your and his funeral was spectacular. His body was laid in a golden coffin. And the dramatized the deceased king’s greatness, orders were given that the cathedral would be very dimly lit. And there would be one candle sitting on top of the coffin, representing his greatness. Thousands waited in hushed silence. as the eulogy began concerning Lewis the Great. Bishop Massalon began to speak. As he began to speak, he slowly reached down and snuffed out the lone candle, saying, only God is great. Psalm 139 in a wonderful manner lays before us the greatness of God. It talks about his omnipotence. It talks about his omniscience, his omnipresence, his omnipresence, all these things we find in this Psalm. Now, this is not just a private meditation of David, as we see from the preface, that is meant for the whole congregation of Israel to sing. They might know the greatness of the God they serve. It’s for public worship. So it’s vital to know what God really is like. And I think half the battle in dealing with people today is they don’t know what God is like. And I feel like you sort of have to start with Paul on Mars Hill. This is who God is. And I think, that’s where we have to start even in our witnessing today. So it’s proper to know what God is like in order we might have a fear and reverence of him as such. I remember I grew up as an Armenian and my God was very small. And when I became one who believed in the sovereignty of God, my God got a lot bigger. And I thought, boy, I had a really poor view of God, almost as if Satan and God were rivals, instead of God being in total control of everything. So I think it is, you know, it’s important that we know what God is like. But let me begin by saying this. God is great for he knows all about you. As we see here in the first six verses of this Psalm that I I just read. God’s omniscience is pointed out here. God sees and he knows everything. God’s omniscience is not expressed here as just some cold doctrine from a theology book, let’s say, but you’ll notice that he confesses it with wonder and what haderation. It amazes him. It amazes him. God is perfectly acquainted with every detail and the life of every human being. Nothing can be hidden from him. David puts it in this way, God searched me. He did a thorough search. He knows me well. Everything is exposed. You know, the scripture reveals that the Lord perceives your thoughts. He knows what you will. say even before the words come out of your mouth, as we see from verse four. God knows the very number of hairs upon your head. He knows the exact location of every blood cell in your body. He can read your mind. Remember how Jesus read the minds of the scribes and the Pharisees. And he can tell you tomorrow’s news before it even happened. For the Bible says he declares the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things which are not yet done. That’s something an omniscient God can do and only an omniscient God. David had some first-hand knowledge of this. You remember there was a time when David and his men were hiding from King Saul and Saul’s army. And the Philistines attacked the Israelites city of Kila. And the Lord was asked by David, shall I go up? Shall I try to rescue the city? God says yes. And he would deliver it into his hand. So David and his men defeated the Philistines, rescued the city. And of course King Saul heard about this. And he directed his army to go to the city and get David. So David went back to the Lord to ask another question. Will the men of Kila deliver me up? Where they keep me safe? And God says they’re going to deliver you up. So David hurried and made his escape so that he was not captured and harmed. He knows what’s going to happen. He knows what men are going to do. And he can relate that ahead of time. So no matter which way you turn, God is certainly one who knows every single detail about you. Such knowledge of everything is incomprehensible to you and I. It’s something it’s hard for us to grasp. It’s beyond our capabilities. This verse six seems to point out. Now there is, what I will call. the threat that’s associated with omnisions. I’m reminded of the story about the French general and statesman Lafayette. He served as a volunteer in the Continental Army in the American Revolution. He related once he was captured, and he was shut up in a little room in a gloomy prison for a great wife. he said in the door of the room was a very small hole that was cut and he said at that that hole was a soldier looking in at all times upon him so that if he looked at the hole he would see this eye looking in the room he said when I went to sleep it was watching me when I woke up it was watching you I was eating it was watching me there was no escape he found it dreadful to be under the eyes of the soldier night and day think of how dreadful the eye of God upon you must be and all knowing God is very disturbing this is one of the reasons why people try very hard to put God out of their minds they try not to think about such a God it’s one for you to believe that God knows all things like when a hurricane is going to strike and what the path of that hurricane will be. However, it’s another thing when you consider God knows all about you. He can know all about the hurricane, you can live with that. But when he knows all about you, he knows every secret, every dirty little secret about us. Neither is there any creature. that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and open under the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Hebrews 413. There are people who are not very happy when they go to the airport and have to go through those body scans because it’s my understanding that they can basically see you naked in both body scans. There’s no way to conceal a weapon. There’s no way to conceal some type of explosive. So people are up in arms in some cases because they don’t want to be seen in their birthday suit. While God’s omniscience is a fascinating thing, it’s also a terrorizing thing. It’s like someone armed with an x-ray camera and laser probes that knows every detail of your existence and everything about you. You remember when the Israelites captured the city of Jericho. The entire city was dedicated to. God. No plundering was to take place. However, the one soldier named Aiken coveted what he saw, a Babylonian garment that was beautiful, 200 shekels of silver, a wedge of gold that he found among the spoils, and he took them secretly and hid them in his tent and then buried them under his tent. And he thought no one would be the wiser. And yet the Lord knew what had been done. And as soon the Lord tells Joshua to separate the Israelites and the tribes and have each tribe come before him. And Judah is chosen. Then the families will have to parade from the tribe of Judah. And the Zerheites are selected. Then the families will have to parade from the tribe of Judah. And the Zerheuts are selected. households must come before the Lord. Zabdi’s is picked. Finally, then the households must come, the individuals. And, of course, Aiken is taken. The Lord knew all about what Aiken had done. Nothing escaped his notice. He was exposed and killed for his, executed, for his disobedience. for the sinner God’s omniscience is frightening because God’s going to judge the secrets of men and every detail thought and deed will be revealed for the believer who has been forgiven through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ God’s omniscience is a refuge because he knows about how you’ve been mistreated he knows the evil perhaps that’s been done to you. None of that has escaped him. He’s fully aware of your circumstances. So God is great. He knows all about you. Secondly, God is great, for he’s always active in your life. Let’s look at verses 7 through 12. Whether shall I go from my spirit or whether shall I flee from my presence. If I ascend up into heaven, from thee, let the night shineeth as the day and the darkness and the light are both alike to be. Here we have God’s omnipresence. Now, if God knows everything about you, you want to perhaps escape his presence and get away. So we can see why perhaps David turns to his omnipreasons next. David knows such an attempt is impossible because wherever he might go, God goes also. We’re told in verse 7 that God is a spirit. He doesn’t have physical dimensions. He doesn’t have a human body, as you and I, so he can be everywhere at once. He fills heaven and earth, the scripture tells us. Jeremiah 23. So try as you might, you cannot escape God. Now think about this for a moment. Where could you go that God’s presence is not? And we find here him going up and down or down in verse 8. Can you climb can you climb higher than God can reach? Can you descend low enough that you’re beneath his grass. The highest point you can arise to is what the scripture calls the third heaven. You know, you have the atmosphere, you have outer space, and then you have paradise. Well, he’s there for sure. You know that. The lowest point to which you could descend is hell. Place of departed spirits here. And behold, wonder at this too. God is there. despite the popular myth that hell is run by the devil I’m I hate to inform you this, but the truth of it is God runs it. Our God is a consuming fire. It is in hell that God meets out punishment and the incurably miserable cannot escape him there either. Could we go to the east or to west and escape God? Versus 9 and 10. Suppose you could travel at light speed, like the light of dawn flashing to the far side of the sea and hide out on some uncharted island somewhere. Would it help? Ask Jonah how well he did trying to escape God’s presence. He tried to flee to Tartius, which we believe is on the coast of Spain, on the very edge of the Roman Empire. God pursued him in the storm and brought him back inside a great fish. Flight from God is impossible. You can change countries. You cannot seek out some secret remote location, but God is there. God is present. I don’t can do you any good. What about the darkness? Can I hide under the cover of darkness verses 11 and 12. you know, people often pursue evil things under the cover of darkness thinking that no one will see them. They will get away with it. But even the darkness were told is light to God. God’s presence is found in the densest darkness imaginable. So that offers no escape for you if you want to be a fugitive from God. These verses which describe darkness lead us into the next stanza when he talks about the formation of man in the womb. And does God know about that too? Yeah, he knows all about it. In fact, he formulates it. And so we’ll get to that in a moment. So here’s God’s omniscience. There’s no escape from God. I suppose some people reason God, God may not even know all about what I’m doing, but he won’t do anything about it. Because, you know, I’m not going to be, you know, I’m going to stay away from him. But they fail to realize that God is present. He’s always active in your life. You can’t, you can’t get away from it. See Adam and Eve attempting to hide from God after partaking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And God shows up and says, Where art thou, Adam? He wasn’t playing the hide-and-seek. He was pointing out. Now, what did you do, Adam, that you have to hide from me? See Elijah, running from his duties out of fear, and he traverses the trackless desert. He’s hiding out in some cave. And God appears and says, What doest thou here, Elijah? couldn’t escape there. See Shadrach Meshach and Abendigo as they are pushed thrown into the burning fiery furnace of Nebuchadnezzar and there in the midst the son of God walks among them. He’s with him. See Paul, driven and tossed the great storm at sea. Lost in the darkness, all hope is gone, and yet the Lord appears unto him with a message of hope. You should always be mindful of God’s presence. As a sinner, his hand of judgment can always reach you. But as a saint, his hand grants mercy and support regardless of where you may find yourself. So God is great, for he is always active in your life. Thirdly, God is great where he is your create. Versus 13. 18. For who hath possessed my reins? Thou hast for thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvellous are thy works. And that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect, and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God, how great is the sum of them! them. If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee. God is the creator. Now, why does God have such exact knowledge of you and power over you? Because he made you. He made you in the womb. And in him you live and move and have your existence. Henry Ford, creator of the automobile. Once stopped to help a person who had engine trouble and was stuck on the side of the road. Of course, he quickly diagnosed the problem and fixed the engine as soon as perring like a kitten. And the driver of the model T Ford asked him how he knew exactly what was wrong. He said, I know every single aspect of this car, because I made it. He had designed every part of the motor. He knew it inside and out. So he quickly put his finger on the problem. Same with God and you and I. He knows all about us. He’s made us. The word reigns here in verse 13. It speaks about the inner person, the most hidden and vital portion. In your most secret condition, when you yet unborn, you were under the governorship. of God. And when you contemplate all the intricate aspects of the human body, your own personal personality, your own individual personality, you are God’s wonderful handiwork. God decreed exactly how you would be made as an individual. All of your members were written in a book before they were even fashioned. That’s predestination. And then you would be made as an individual. were molded and shaped accordingly. As what he says, when you consider all the details that go into making a person, the bone, the skins, the organs, the eyes, the personality traits, the mannerisms, the genes, God’s thoughts about you had to be more numerous than the sand on the seashore. These verses plainly teach the individuality. of the unborn child. It’s very pertinent as you look at these verses to the subject of abortion because you can see here this is not a blob of tissue. This is a person, but formed you as a person in the womb. God is creator. God is owner and master. Now you must acknowledge what is recorded in Job. The Spirit of God is an owner and master. Now you must acknowledge what is recorded in Job. The Spirit of God hath made me, the breath of the Almighty, had given me life, Job 33, 4. So here he is. God has formed you. He’s brought you into existence, and he’s the reason you’re here. So if God is your creator, you belong to him, and you owe obedience to him. He’s your owner and your master. So he has the right to decide what what’s right and wrong for you. He has the right to set the rules and the regulations for your life. The theory of evolution is attempt to eliminate God and by implication his rights over you. But look at yourself carefully. Do you believe that you really came from random events? by pure chance? You are fearfully and wonderfully made because God, created you. That’s why you can’t escape your responsibilities a creature. God or obey God. So you will have to answer to God for what you do in this life. This leads, of course, to the final portion for the Psalm. God is great for he is your creator. And fourthly, God is great for he’s your judge. Versus 1924. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God. Depart from me, therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee, wickedly. And nine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee, and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred. I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me. And know my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. In the ancient world, we know that the Greeks worshipped images of their gods and Jupiter was their chief god. There were times that spiders stretched their webs across. the eyelids of the image of Jupiter and the people like that because they thought, well, that means Jupiter can’t see what we’re doing. And they won’t judge us for it. God knows here everything. He sees everything. There’s no blinding him. There’s no hiding his eyes from you and I. And if he knows us inside out, and he demands obedience to his laws and his words and his word. Then there ought to be some fear because you’re going to have to stand before him and give an account and he’s your judge. The psalmist here is absolutely certain that God’s going to slay the wicked. He’s seen all his transgressions and evil doings. He’s heard the curses. He heard the hard sayings these people have said against the Lord. God will bring down his wrath upon them. Sometimes in this life, but certainly in the life to come. David sees here the need to separate himself from evildoers. He doesn’t want to be near them when the lightning bolt strikes, so to speak. He goes so far as to say he hates those that hate God. Now, these are not because they’re his personal enemies, because they are God’s enemies. Similar in the New Testament, where we read, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anath, may Aranatha accursed, our Lord comes. So he hates those who hate God with a perfect hatred. You like David must not approve of those who live contrary to God’s word and blasphemy his name. It should grieve your soul. Don’t throw your lot in with them. But then in verses 23 and 24, David, talks about trying to please God himself. Problem that David perceives as though he wants to keep clear of these evil sinners in their ways, he nevertheless knows there’s evil in himself, and it would put him in the same category here, and he wants to avoid these evil people, because it’s not going to do any good for him to be associated with them. He prays here that God would know him and expose his thoughts, try him, and perfect his thoughts, for God to purge away any evil that remains in him, and for God to lead him in the way everlasting. This is what an understanding of the greatness of God will lead you to do. It should improve your prayer life. It should cause you to repent and believe on the Savior of the Lord Jesus Christ. and it should bring even your thoughts under careful scrutiny. As the scripture says, we’re going to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ in 2 Corinthians 10-5. So you must be willing to put away anything which is grievous to God so that you may gladly run in the way leading to everlasting life. He can’t walk in the ways of the Lord without him leading you by his spirit. And that requires mortifying sin every day. And this is what David is up to. Well, Lewis the Great loved his title, but the bishop at his funeral had it right. Only God is great. In Psalm 139, speaks to us about God’s greatness. The psalmist here, as he writes, ought to humble you. Because God knows everything about you, no dirty secret can be hidden from you. It ought to comfort you because God is with you, no matter what the circumstances are or where you may be. This Psalm ought to encourage you to live for God. An omniscient of my present, omnipotent God should cause you to lead an upright life. And the Psalm should help you to pray. God knows your needs before you ask. Before I call, before they call, I will answer, he says in Psalm, or Isaiah 65, 24. That’s an encouragement to prayer. And so we see this Psalm, it should be a great encouragement. to us as the people of God. Let us close tonight with a word of prayer.