Psalm 139: God's Intimate Knowledge Of Us

O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!

I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

Can you come away from this psalm without feeling loved and treasured by God? I can't. It is the dearest passage of Scripture to me of all. This psalm speaks of God's intimate knowledge of us. David reflects on the truth that God knows us better then we know ourselves. God knew our every thought, action, and word before the world was made. My mom used to say,"Before you were born you were a twinkle in your Daddy's eye." She spoke of my human Daddy. But it is true of our Abba (Daddy) Father as well. Before the world was made, in eternity past, we were a twinkle in God's eye. He had us all planned, and it was good.

"You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed"

In this psalm, we also see David's recognition that God is the one who made us and all our intricacies. I actually get a visual in my mind of a dark, warm, womb, hidden from the eyes of the world, and God's hands are inside that womb, putting us together. "Aw, let Me make the ears." He shapes them with His hands. He creates stick out ears, large ears, small ears, ears with a slight fold. Then it is time to make the facial features. "I will give this child his mother's eyes, his father's nose, his grandmother's mouth and chin." And He creates our hearts, not only the physical heart, but the soul and spirit. " "I will make this heart tender and compassionate." All our physical, spiritual, and mental/emotional features were created by Him. David is in awe of it all and declares,

"Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it."

Some Bible versions say, "for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." And finally, David expresses to God that he knows God is with him everywhere, at all times.

"I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!"

David goes on to say in such beautiful language and word pictures (a communication gift given to him by God) that God's Spirit is with him in heaven, in the grave, in the wings of the morning, in the depths of the sea, and with a great hope that God sees us even in the darkest places. Glory to God. Isn't that what Jesus mean when He promised "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Do you feel bad about yourself? Do you feel like you are ugly, a loathsome person, that God could not possible love someone such as you? Don't believe those lies. They are from the pit. Meditate on this beautiful psalm and join David in speaking your thanks to God for putting you together with such love and care and complexity. Read it over and over again, that there is no where you can go that God's Spirit is not with you. There is nothing you can do that He will not love you. The apostle Paul affirms this in Romans 8:38-39:

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Abba Father, thank you for creating us with such love and care. Thank you that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank you, Lord, that no matter where we go, no matter what we do, Your Spirit and Your love will always be with us. Praise you Father, from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him above the heavenly host, praise You Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen and Amen.

© Lori Colbo 2011