Text: Psalm 139
This psalm is about God – His omniscience and His omnipotence. Omniscience means He is all-knowing. There is nothing hidden from Him (which is related to the idea of “omnipresence”). Omnipotence means He is all-powerful. There is nothing that He cannot do. Let us consider what this psalm has to teach us about God.
God Is All-Knowing
- The psalmist knew that God was aware of him (v. 1) – He took a personal interest in him; God knew his actions (v. 2-3), He sees what is done in secret (Matthew 6:4, 6); God knew his thoughts (v. 4), He knows our thoughts and intentions (Hebrews 4:12-13)
- No one is able to know what God knows (v. 6) – no man knows us as God does (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:11)
- The psalmist described God as being “omnipresent” (v. 7-10) – present everywhere; God is in heaven and not on earth, yet His omniscience makes it AS IF He is present everywhere; God is not limited as man is (v. 11-12); nothing is hidden from Him (cf. Job 34:21-22)
God Is All-Powerful
- God formed the psalmist in the womb (v. 13-16) – personally acquainted with the unborn; He gives life and breath and all things (Acts 17:25); we have been fearfully and wonderfully made (v. 14) which means we have worth, identity, place, and purpose
- God’s thoughts are precious (v. 17-18) – His word is true and valuable (Psalm 119:160; 19:7-10); God was able to reveal His will to man; His power is seen in creation (Romans 1:20), but also in communication (cf. 1 Kings 18:26, 29; Hebrews 1:1-2); as our creator, He was able to reveal His will in a way that we can understand it (Ephesians 3:3-4)
- God will punish the wicked (v. 19-22) – He laughs at those who would fight against Him (Psalm 2:1-4); the enemies of Christ and His people may seem powerful, but He will be victorious (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)
We Must Surrender Ourselves to Him
- This psalm clearly describes the greatness of God and our inferiority before Him – no one can fight against God or resist Him; yet instead of resenting this, the psalmist actively invites the Lord to test him
- He tells God to search his heart and know his thoughts (v. 23) – recognition that God sees all; if we want to please Him, we must serve Him from the heart (Matthew 15:8; Romans 6:17)
- He expresses a desire to put away sin and follow the path to eternal life (v. 24) – we must no longer serve sin, but serve the Lord (Romans 6:3-7); follow the narrow way (Matthew 7:13-14)
Conclusion
- God is all-knowing and all-powerful – He is worthy of our service and the praise we can give to Him
- Let us give our lives over to Him – serve Him wholeheartedly
