Psalm 139
139
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
1O Lord, you have #Jer. 12:3; See Ps. 7:9; 17:3; 44:21searched me and known me!
2You #2 Kgs. 19:27; Lam. 3:63 know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you #[Job 14:16; 31:4; Matt. 9:4; John 2:24, 25]discern my thoughts from afar.
3You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, #Heb. 4:13you know it altogether.
5You #Job 19:8 hem me in, behind and before,
and #Job 9:33lay your hand upon me.
6 #
Rom. 11:33 Such knowledge is #Job 42:3too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 # [Jer. 23:24] Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where #Jonah 1:3shall I flee from your presence?
8 # [Amos 9:2] If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
# [Job 26:6] If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10even there your hand shall #ver. 24; Ps. 23:3lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11If I say, #[Job 22:14]“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 #
Job 34:22; [Dan. 2:22] even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13For you #Deut. 32:6 formed my inward parts;
you #[Job 10:11]knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.#139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart
# See Ps. 72:18 Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 # [Job 10:8-10; Eccles. 11:5] My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in #Ps. 63:9the depths of the earth.
16Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your #Ps. 56:8book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17How precious to me are your #Ps. 92:5thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 #
Ps. 40:5 If I would count them, they are more than #Gen. 22:17the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19Oh that you would #Isa. 11:4; [Ps. 9:17] slay the wicked, O God!
O #Ps. 5:6 men of blood, #See Ps. 6:8depart from me!
20They #[Jude 15] speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies #Ex. 20:7take your name in vain.#139:20 Hebrew lacks your name
21 # See Ps. 26:5 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not #Ps. 119:158 loathe those who #Ps. 59:1rise up against you?
22I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23Search me, O God, and know my heart!
#
Ps. 26:2
Try me and know my thoughts!#139:23 Or cares
24And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and #ver. 10 lead me in #[Jer. 6:16; 18:15]the way everlasting!#139:24 Or in the ancient way (compare Jeremiah 6:16)
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Psalms 139
139
For the music director. A psalm of David.
1Lord, you have examined me from the inside out—you know everything about me!
2You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know what I'm thinking even when I'm a long way away.
3You observe where I go and when I rest. You're familiar with everything I do.
4Lord, you even know what I'm going to say before I say it.
5You're always there—behind me, in front of me, and all around me. You place your caring hand on me.
6This amazing knowledge#139:6. God's knowledge of the psalmist. you have is far beyond me, way beyond my understanding!
7Where can I go that you're not already there? Where can I run to escape your presence?
8If I go up to heaven, you are there. If I lie down in Sheol,#139:8. The place of the dead. look—you are there too!
9If I were to fly away on wings of the dawn to the east; if I were to live on the far western shore of the sea,
10even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would support me.
11If I asked the darkness to hide me, and light to become night around me,
12Even darkness would not be dark for you, and the night would be bright as day, for darkness is like light to you.
13You made me from the inside out,#139:13. Literally, “kidneys,” as representative of internal organs. shaping me in my mother's womb.
14I praise you for making me in such an awesome and wonderful way. What you do is incredible—I realize this completely!
15My growing body#139:15. “My growing body,” literally, “my bones.” was not hidden from you as I was formed in secret, as I was intricately put together “in the depths of the earth.”#139:15. “In the depths of the earth”: this may relate to a belief that children were formed in the earth before entering the womb, or it may simply be a metaphor for the womb. In any case the point being made is that God observed the process that is hidden from human eyes.
16You saw me as an embryo, and in your book all my days were written down—the days that were made for me before any of them existed.
17God, your thoughts are so valuable#139:17. Or “challenging.” to me! Taken together, they can't be counted!
18If I tried to count them, they would be more than every grain of sand. Yet when I awake#139:18. “Awake”: or “come to an end of counting.” I am still with you.
19God, if you would only kill the wicked! Murderers,#139:19. Literally, “men of blood.” get away from me!
20When they speak of you they're being deceptively evil. Since they are your enemies, they call on you in vain.
21Lord, don't I hate those who hate you? I despise those who rebel against you!
22I hate them with absolute hatred—they have become my enemies!
23Examine me carefully, God, so you can be sure of my true feelings. Check me out so you can know what I really think.
24Please show me if I'm following any kind of idol, and lead me along the path of eternal life.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com