Psalm 139

Psalm Category: Individual lament, enclosed by praise and prayer

Central Thought: God exercises His majestic attributes for our blessing

Key words: Search, know; wonderful, precious; wicked, hatred

Poetry: A Complete Song

Psalm 139 is often and rightly referenced when declaring that human life unequivocally begins at conception. But it is critical that we understand the Scriptures before we endeavor to apply them. Otherwise, we will subject the Scriptures to our purposes rather than submit ourselves to the Lord’s revealed will. This psalm’s introduction, A Psalm of David, reminds us that every psalm, along with all of Scripture, is ultimately messianic. This psalm is an elegantly crafted whole with links between the parts (hand, vv. 5, 10; darkness, vv. 11, 12, 13–16) and with a doxology closing each of the sections of praise (vv. 6; 12; 17, 18). Verses 1 and 23 tie up the whole with the main point, which is to be known and loved by God for His glory.

Praise: A Complete Savior (vv. 1–18)

In this section, David meditates on the great attributes of God, which are not abstract ideas but majestic power exercised to save and bless His people. David confesses that God has searched him thoroughly for an absolute knowledge of him (v. 1). In His omniscience (vv. 1–6), the Lord knows every thing about him. He knows, intensively and extensively, David’s every thought, word, and deed. He comprehends him absolutely. In His omnipresence (7–12), God knows every place associated with David. Wherever he goes, God is there to help him: heaven and Sheol, life and death; east (dawn, v. 9a) and west (sea, v. 9b); seen and unseen. From the dark womb to the dark tomb and everywhere in between, God sees where we are and never loses track of His people.

Returning to omniscience (13–16), David confesses that God knows every time about him, from the beginning of his physical existence to his death, and every time in between. He knows all these times because He is the author of them (see Ps. 31:15). He wove (v. 13) David together in his mother’s womb and embroidered (v. 15c) the finest details of his being. Every person has an innate sense of this (soul, v. 14b), which must be vigorously suppressed to be denied (see Rom. 1:18). Abortion is a great evil worthy of severe judgment that is overcome only by an infinitely greater Savior (2 Sam. 12:13; Acts 2:23, 38; 1 Cor. 6:9–11).

David’s third and final doxology (vv. 17, 18) concludes this third subsection (vv. 13–18) as well as the first half (vv. 1–18) of this psalm in the same way Psalm 150 concludes the fifth book and the whole of the Psalter. God’s complete knowledge and care for David is supremely valuable and beyond his comprehension (vv. 17, 18). David gets lost in these thoughts and, though he must snap out of it (awake, v. 18), the Lord does not stop knowing him in all these ways (still with You, v. 18).

Prayer: A Complete Salvation (vv. 19–24)

David comes out of his devotional meditation to face people who hate God and who hate him because He loves God (vv. 19–22). The previous meditation (vv. 1–18) gives David courage against his enemies because God knows every thing. He knows David’s suffering for the sake of righteousness and his enemies’ desire to kill him (bloodshed, v. 19b). David appeals to the judge of all the earth to do right, which includes delivering the innocent and destroying the wicked (v. 19).

Because of his great love for God, David hates those who hate Him (v. 21, 22): Those who love God are my brethren (Mark 3:35), and those who hate God are my enemies (v. 22). Those who love the Lord must hate all that is opposed to Him (Ps. 97:10; Matt. 6:24). This hatred is a complete rejection of the principles of wickedness (i.e., other gods) and the refusal to participate in the practices of wickedness (i.e., other gods). Yet we are to love these very same people by doing good to them (Luke 6:27; Eph. 4:15). If they still refuse to repent by loving God and us, we must commit their removal to God and the authorities He has ordained for this purpose (v. 19; see Rom. 12:19f; 13:1).

Having asked the Lord to deal with the enemy without (vv. 19–22), David now asks the Lord to deal with the enemy within (vv. 23, 24; see Rom. 7:23f). As he confessed and praised God for searching and knowing him in the past (v. 1), David prays that He would continue that work until it is complete (Phil. 1:6), putting off his sin and putting on God’s righteousness (see Col. 3:9, 10; 5f, 12f). This was accomplished for him by his very own descendant, Jesus (see Heb. 7:26f; 9:14). In Christ, we can make this psalm of praise (vv. 1–18) and prayer (vv. 19–24) our own.

Kit Swartz | Comments welcome at oswegorpc@hotmail.com. Sermon audio files and PDF outlines on these Psalms are available at reformedvoice.com.