1391 Yahweh, you have searched me,
and you know me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
but, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in behind and before.
You laid your hand on me. 6 This knowledge is beyond me.
It’s lofty.
I can’t attain it.
7 Where could I go from your Spirit?
Or where could I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, you are there.
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there your hand will lead me,
and your right hand will hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me;
the light around me will be night;” 12 even the darkness doesn’t hide from you,
but the night shines as the day.
The darkness is like light to you. 13 For you formed my inmost being.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 139:1-13
Commentary on Psalm 139:1-6
(Read Psalm 139:1-6)
God has perfect knowledge of us, and all our thoughts and actions are open before him. It is more profitable to meditate on Divine truths, applying them to our own cases, and with hearts lifted to God in prayer, than with a curious or disputing frame of mind. That God knows all things, is omniscient; that he is every where, is omnipresent; are truths acknowledged by all, yet they are seldom rightly believed in by mankind. God takes strict notice of every step we take, every right step and every by step. He knows what rule we walk by, what end we walk toward, what company we walk with. When I am withdrawn from all company, thou knowest what I have in my heart. There is not a vain word, not a good word, but thou knowest from what thought it came, and with what design it was uttered. Wherever we are, we are under the eye and hand of God. We cannot by searching find how God searches us out; nor do we know how we are known. Such thoughts should restrain us from sin.
Commentary on Psalm 139:7-16
(Read Psalm 139:7-16)
We cannot see God, but he can see us. The psalmist did not desire to go from the Lord. Whither can I go? In the most distant corners of the world, in heaven, or in hell, I cannot go out of thy reach. No veil can hide us from God; not the thickest darkness. No disguise can save any person or action from being seen in the true light by him. Secret haunts of sin are as open before God as the most open villanies. On the other hand, the believer cannot be removed from the supporting, comforting presence of his Almighty Friend. Should the persecutor take his life, his soul will the sooner ascend to heaven. The grave cannot separate his body from the love of his Saviour, who will raise it a glorious body. No outward circumstances can separate him from his Lord. While in the path of duty, he may be happy in any situation, by the exercise of faith, hope, and prayer.