Psalm 139:1-12

The Omniscience, Omnipresence, and Omnipotence of God

To the chief musician, for performance in the liturgical part of public worship, a psalm of David, in which he first describes the chief attributes of God and then adds a prayer for a pure heart and a faultless conduct. David addresses himself, first of all, to the omniscient God, vv. 1-6.

V. 1. O Lord, Thou hast searched me, making a careful survey of his innermost heart and mind, and known me, having a full understanding of all the motives which prompted his every thought and act.

V. 2. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, every movement which every person in the world makes; Thou understandest my thought afar off, being familiar with it even before the desire is fully formed or the idea takes shape.

V. 3. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, literally, “my walking and my lying down Thou siftest,” that is, the Lord proves it out; He weighs it even before it happens and while the act is going on, and art acquainted with all my ways, his entire conduct being uncovered before the eyes of God’s omniscience.

V. 4. For there is not a word in my tongue, uttered or unuttered, but, lo, O Lord, stated with emphasis, Thou knowest it altogether, in every respect, both as to motive and performance.

V. 5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, so that there is no way for him to escape from the Lord’s surveillance, and laid Thine hand upon me, holding him in bounds, guarding against an unbridled use of freedom, for the consciousness of the omniscience of God will act as a curb against an undue assertion of what men claim as their rights.

The contemplation of these facts causes David to cry out: v. 6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it is beyond the reach of man’s mind; it is high, I cannot attain unto it; it is beyond man’s comprehension, it is an article of faith.

David next sets forth the omnipresence of God, vv. 7-12. V. 7. Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? the Spirit of God and God Himself being identified in all their acts. Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? in a strenuous effort to escape from the Lord after some act challenging the vengeance of the Lord. Is it possible to find a place where His presence is not found, to which His arm does not extend?

V. 8. If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there, for there is the throne of His majesty; if I make my bed in hell, the realm of the dead, behold, Thou art there. Compare Amos 9, 2; Job 26, 6.

V. 9. If I take the wings of the morning, or, “of the dawn,” as it rises upward with the speed of wings and spreads over the eastern heaven, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, in the most remote part of the universe, v. 10. even there shall Thy hand lead me, with the guiding power of omnipresent providence, and Thy right hand shall hold me, for God is everywhere.

V. 11. If I say, as criminals are wont to do, since vice and crime seek the cover of night, Surely the darkness shall cover me, making him invisible to the eyes of the Lord, even the night shall be light about me, for with God, who Himself is the Source of light, there is no distinction between day and night, His eye pierces the darkness of created night as though it were the brightest noonday.

V. 12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee, it cannot produce a darkness which His eye cannot penetrate; but the night shineth as the day, emitting light at His command; the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee, literally, “as is darkness, so is light,” it makes no difference to Him whose omnipresence is aided by His omniscience, before whom nothing in all the universe is hidden.