For the music director, a psalm of David.
Psalms 138-145 were written by David. David had tremendous insight into the mind of God. He was one of the few kings in history who could write inspired songs about the mind of God.
139:1 O Lord, you examine me and know.
Jehovah is omniscient. David wanted God to use His divine omniscience to examine and know his human interior motives.
139:2 You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives.
David wrote this as an intensive and personal song. He uses the pronoun “I” 48 times in 24 verses. He uses “you” 28 times. God is omnipresent and omniscient. He is everywhere at once. He knows all things. He is never surprised. He never learns anything new. He sees everything that David does. He understands every thought of David even before he thinks it.
139:3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do.
When David travels, God is there with him. When David goes to sleep, God is there.
139:4 Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it.
Even the words of David are controlled by God. God knows what David will say before he says it.
139:5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me.
God can see the past, present, and future all at once.
139:6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.
It is foolish for man to try and understand the mysteries of God’s omniscience. No man can understand the mystery of the paradoxical relation between divine sovereignty and human free will.
139:7 Where can I go to escape your spirit? Where can I flee to escape your presence?
Here is one of the rare Old Testament verses which mention the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is not an active force as some cults and isms teach. He is the third member of the Godhead. He is omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. No one can escape the presence of the Holy Spirit. He is everywhere, just like God the Father and God the Son are everywhere.
139:8 If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there. If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be.
It is interesting to note that God the Son can sit on a literal throne in heaven interceding for the saints, but He is also simultaneously everywhere at once. God the Father can do likewise. The Holy Spirit has chosen to remain invisible and omnipresent. The Godhead is everywhere, but He cannot be seen unless He decides to appear in a theophany or incarnation.
139:9 If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn, and settle down on the other side of the sea, 139:10 even there your hand would guide me, your right hand would grab hold of me.
David cannot escape the omnipresence and protection of God.
139:11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, and the light will turn to night all around me,” 139:12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, and the night is as bright as day; darkness and light are the same to you.
God can see in the dark just as though it were day. David will never have a dark day with God. David can never hide from God.
139:13 Certainly you made my mind and heart; you wove me together in my mother’s womb.
The abortionist is wrong when he says that the Bible is silent on abortion. God providentially watches over the development of the child while yet in the mother’s womb. Notice that the baby in the womb possesses a heart and a mind. He can feel and he can think. Not only that, but God specially designed the baby in the womb.
139:14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. You knew me thoroughly.
Literally in Hebrew, the first part of this verse read, “I (David) will praise you (God), because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” The second part reads “Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.”
The Hebrew for “wonderfully” is פָּלָה (pala), an adjective which is used only for God. It means “divinely wonderful.” Therefore, God Himself wonderfully and divinely made David in his mother’s womb. Not only that, but this Hebrew word emphasizes that God divinely and wonderfully makes every single human being in the womb of his mother. There is no random variation, because God is the personal Creator. God makes the baby in the womb, so the baby is alive. There will be many feminists, atheists, agnostics, liberals, abortionists, corrupt politicians, and money-hungry doctors who will disagree with this interpretation, but this is what the Bible says in the original languages.
139:15 my bones were not hidden from you, when I was made in secret and sewed together in the depths of the earth.
The marvels of embryonic growth is still largely unexplained by scientists, but God knows! The abortionist does not know, because he is sinful and greedy. He twists the Bible and the laws of science in order to make it fit his own personal human viewpoint. The satanic world system has no problem with abortion, because they wish “to eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow they die.” It is true that those of the satanic world system will die, but they will also face a God who will avenge the human babies that they murdered for profit. They will have to answer for murdering the innocent children in the womb and then selling their body parts.
139:16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb. All the days ordained for me were recorded in your scroll before one of them came into existence.
Not only does God see the baby in the womb as a living being, but God has already ordained the entire life of this human being before he even came into existence. It is a sin to murder a baby in the womb before he has an opportunity to utter a cry in order to cover up the sin of his parents. The parents are responsible for raising the child, not snuffing his life out in order to escape responsibility. Therefore, abortion is murder.
It is important to add that this is not human opinion. The Holy Spirit inspired this doctrine as a warning to fornicating parents, corrupt politicians, godless judges, and greedy doctors. Let the baby grow up and live! Do not murder the child to cover up the sin of fornication. It is God, not the fornicating parents, corrupt politicians, biblically-ignorant judges, and greedy doctors, who is the final authority on this matter.
The Hebrew word for "scroll" is סִפְרְךָ֮ (sipraka), meaning your book. When a person is physically born, then he is written into the Book of Life. Those who believe have their names retained in the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5). The unsaved have their name blotted out of the Book of Life (Psalm 69:28). The blotting out of names will occur at the Great White Throne Judgment. All who appear at the Great White Throne Judgment will be pronounced guilty of not believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Their names will be blotted out of the Book of Life. They will be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever.
139:17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God! How vast is their sum total!
Believers should desire to think God’s thoughts after Him. Mastery of Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the written Word of God is the only way to approach this goal. Many of the early scientists (Kepler, Newton, Maxwell) used to practice science in this way. Today, the godless scientist approaches his study as if there is no God.
The science of the satanic world system is foolishness. The Big Bang teaches that nothing exploded into everything, Evolution teaches that dead dirt became alive. Abortionists teach that a baby is not a human being in the womb, even though it eats, breathes, thinks, and feels. Climate change teaches that Mother Earth will destroy all mankind, even though the Lord Jesus Christ has promised to return and bring in a new heavens and new earth. Homosexuals teach that they are born in their situation, even though many homosexuals have used their freedom of choice to turn away from this sin. None of this is science. It is superstition.
God knows all of man’s thoughts. Therefore, the believer should aspire to bring all thoughts “into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (II Corinthians 10:5). No one can ever exhaust the mind of Christ or the Word of God. Again, this comes from mastery of Bible doctrine from the entire written counsel of the Word of God. Bible Study is a lifetime passion for mature believers.
139:18 If I tried to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. Even if I finished counting them, I would still have to contend with you.
The thoughts of God are so much higher than that of man, that it would be like a man counting all of the grains of sand on all of the beaches of the world. God knows exactly how many stars are in the sky, how many grains are on the beaches, and how many hairs are on the head of every person in existence. There is an insurmountable difference between the intellect of God and man.
139:19 If only you would kill the wicked, O God! Get away from me, you violent men!
When the Millennial Kingdom arrives, God will purge all of the wicked men out of this world. Only believers will enter into the Millennial Kingdom.
David did not associate with evil men. Evil men are those who reject God. They elevate their human opinions above the written Word of God.
139:20 They rebel against you and act deceitfully; your enemies lie.
Men who elevate their human opinions above the Word of God are mastered by the demons who control the satanic world system. These men fit into the satanic world system. They conform to the world. They live their life rebelling against God, as though He does not exist. They live the lie of their father the devil, even to the point of self-deceiving themselves,
139:21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you, and despise those who oppose you?
David hated the enemies of God.
139:22 I absolutely hate them, they have become my enemies!
Believers should love their personal enemies (Matthew 5:44), but hate those who have make themselves enemies of God.
139:23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! Test me, and know my concerns!
The heart (or thoughts) of man are “desperately wicked.” David prayed that God would discover and remove any wickedness which was in his own thought-life.
139:24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency in me, and lead me in the reliable ancient path!
David asked God to find idolatry in his intellect and remove it. He asked God to lead him down the path of righteousness.