GOD KNOWS US COMPLETELY
Passage: Psalm 139:1~24  
Key verse: 14
Psalm 139For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 You have searched me,(A) Lord,
and you know(B) me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;(C)
you perceive my thoughts(D) from afar.
3 You discern my going out(E) and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.(F)
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.(G)
5 You hem me in(H) behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,(I)
too lofty(J) for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee(K) from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens,(L) you are there;
if I make my bed(M) in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,(N)
your right hand(O) will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark(P) to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;(Q)
you knit me together(R) in my mother’s womb.(S)
14 I praise you(T) because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,(U)
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made(V) in the secret place,
when I was woven together(W) in the depths of the earth.(X)
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained(Y) for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a](Z) God!(AA)
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,(AB)
they would outnumber the grains of sand(AC)—
when I awake,(AD) I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!(AE)
Away from me,(AF) you who are bloodthirsty!(AG)
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries(AH) misuse your name.(AI)
21 Do I not hate those(AJ) who hate you, Lord,
and abhor(AK) those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.(AL)
23 Search me,(AM) God, and know my heart;(AN)
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way(AO) in me,
and lead me(AP) in the way everlasting.
1 You have searched me,(A) Lord,
and you know(B) me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;(C)
you perceive my thoughts(D) from afar.
3 You discern my going out(E) and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.(F)
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.(G)
5 You hem me in(H) behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,(I)
too lofty(J) for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee(K) from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens,(L) you are there;
if I make my bed(M) in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,(N)
your right hand(O) will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark(P) to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;(Q)
you knit me together(R) in my mother’s womb.(S)
14 I praise you(T) because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,(U)
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made(V) in the secret place,
when I was woven together(W) in the depths of the earth.(X)
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained(Y) for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a](Z) God!(AA)
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,(AB)
they would outnumber the grains of sand(AC)—
when I awake,(AD) I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!(AE)
Away from me,(AF) you who are bloodthirsty!(AG)
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries(AH) misuse your name.(AI)
21 Do I not hate those(AJ) who hate you, Lord,
and abhor(AK) those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.(AL)
23 Search me,(AM) God, and know my heart;(AN)
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way(AO) in me,
and lead me(AP) in the way everlasting.
Footnotes
- Psalm 139:17 Or How amazing are your thoughts concerning me
Cross references
- Psalm 139:1 : S Ps 17:3; Ro 8:27
- Psalm 139:1 : Ps 44:21
- Psalm 139:2 : 2Ki 19:27
- Psalm 139:2 : Ps 94:11; Pr 24:12; Jer 12:3
- Psalm 139:3 : 2Ki 19:27
- Psalm 139:3 : S Job 31:4
- Psalm 139:4 : S Heb 4:13
- Psalm 139:5 : S 1Sa 25:16; Ps 32:10; 34:7; 125:2
- Psalm 139:6 : S Ps 131:1
- Psalm 139:6 : Ro 11:33
- Psalm 139:7 : Jer 23:24; Jnh 1:3
- Psalm 139:8 : Dt 30:12-15; Am 9:2-3
- Psalm 139:8 : Job 17:13
- Psalm 139:10 : Ps 23:3
- Psalm 139:10 : Ps 108:6; Isa 41:10
- Psalm 139:12 : Job 34:22; Da 2:22
- Psalm 139:13 : Ps 119:73
- Psalm 139:13 : S Job 10:11
- Psalm 139:13 : Isa 44:2, 24; 46:3; 49:5; Jer 1:5
- Psalm 139:14 : Ps 119:164; 145:10
- Psalm 139:14 : S Job 40:19
- Psalm 139:15 : Ecc 11:5
- Psalm 139:15 : S Job 10:11
- Psalm 139:15 : S Ps 63:9
- Psalm 139:16 : S Job 33:29; S Ps 90:12
- Psalm 139:17 : S Ps 92:5
- Psalm 139:17 : S Job 5:9
- Psalm 139:18 : Ps 40:5
- Psalm 139:18 : S Job 29:18
- Psalm 139:18 : S Ps 3:5
- Psalm 139:19 : Ps 5:6; Isa 11:4
- Psalm 139:19 : S Ps 6:8
- Psalm 139:19 : S Ps 59:2
- Psalm 139:20 : S Ps 65:7
- Psalm 139:20 : S Dt 5:11
- Psalm 139:21 : 2Ch 19:2; Ps 31:6; 119:113
- Psalm 139:21 : S Ps 26:5
- Psalm 139:22 : Mt 5:43
- Psalm 139:23 : Job 31:6
- Psalm 139:23 : S 1Sa 16:7; S 1Ch 29:17; S Ps 7:9; Pr 17:3; Jer 11:20; S Rev 2:23
- Psalm 139:24 : Jer 25:5; 36:3
- Psalm 139:24 : Ps 5:8; 23:2; 143:10
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
This may sound frightening, but in truth it is a source of great reassurance. When we are in trouble or deep personal distress, we can feel we are totally isolated in a dark place (11). But even then, we are not alone. God knows every detail of our situation and we are upheld and guided by him (10). He has been doing so since he created us wonderfully in our mother’s womb (13-16). The Psalmist ends by asking God for protection from powerful enemies, and by asking God to show him his own sins so he may walk in the holy way of salvation. Today, let’s meditate on God’s complete and personal knowledge of us and let it fill us with amazement, reassurance, and conviction.
Prayer: Father, thank you for creating me with perfect knowledge. Thank you that your knowledge always surrounds and protects me.
One Word: God’s perfect knowledge guides me.