Psalm 139
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
O LORD, You have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to You; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with You. For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with You. Oh that You would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against You with malicious intent; Your enemies take Your Name in vain! Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (ESV)
We see in the text:
- The Psalmist Praise
He extols:
a. God’s Omniscience – He knows all things, even our thoughts before we think it! See Prov. 15:3, Heb. 4:13. Understanding this will make us melancholic – if we knew a little bit more about what God knows.
b. God’s Omnipresence – if we know that God is everywhere, then we will be careful how we act in all circumstances.
c. God’s Omnipotence – God’s works are all powerful.
(i) His Wonderful Weaving – in the wombs of mothers. The most vulnerable among us is being woven by God. Abortionists say that abortions are safe, but safe to whom? Not the baby! They say that a woman has the right over her body, but so does the baby! Gen. 1:27 – God created man in His own image – male and female. Jer. 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you…” Abortion is messing with what God is doing in the womb! Proofs of life in the womb: Luke 18:15, Luke 1:41.
(ii) His Wonderful Works – not one baby being formed in the womb is hidden from the Lord. See Ps. 139:15,17-18; Is. 40:26; Eph. 2:10.
(iii) His Wonderful Wisdom. - The Psalmist Plea
He wants God to slay the wicked for their violence, malicious talk, animosity, blasphemy and hatred – even for the little ones in the womb.
Immediately having said that they are his enemies the Psalmist asks God to search him and help him that he will not to be like his enemies.
In Ps. 94:23 and Rev. 21:8 we read that God will destroy (cut off) the wicked in their own wickedness – which includes baby killers!
We cannot contain what is inside of us, so we need God to search us and know our hearts! Ask God to help you and try you and know your thoughts – should there be any wicked way in you.