Psalm 139

To the person who trusts the LORD, the fact that he knows everything about us is both a comforting and a restraining notion. Since his knowledge is coupled with his covenant loyalty to us (“steadfast love”), we should feel secure in his strong embrace. On the other hand, if we are tempted to do something wrong, the fact that “God knows” even when no one else does, can restrain us even from secret sin.

That is the point of Psalm 139. This beautiful psalm deserves to be pondered with “all our heart”—bringing our minds, emotions, and choices before the LORD and his inerrant word. The psalm opens and closes with God’s knowledge of his people:

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me!” (verse 1)

“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!” (verse 23)

Note that the opening verse is a statement of fact—God knows everything! The last is a request—Please ‘know’ me in order to shape me in godliness! That is the attitude of a person who is seeking to conform his or her life to God’ will.

In the psalm, the word know is used five times of the LORD’s comprehensive knowledge—in verses 1, 2, 4, 6, and 23. The movement of the psalm carries the worshiper from wonder to commitment:

• LORD, you know everything about me—I cannot fathom that fact! (vv 1–6).
• LORD, I could never go anywhere that you would not embrace me and guide me! (vv 7–12).
• LORD, you even saw me, formed me, and loved me before I was born! (vv 13–16).
• LORD, I delight in my knowledge of your knowledge! (vv 17–18).
• LORD, I willingly give you my complete loyalty—banish wickedness from your presence! (vv 19–22).
• LORD, in light of your searching knowledge, turn your searchlight on me and banish wickedness from my soul! (vv 23–24).

It is important that we use God’s word as it was meant to be used. This is especially true of the psalms which are the inspired expressions of holy people to the LORD. God has given us these words to make our own. If we allow ourselves to trace David’s thoughts through this psalm, owning them ourselves and considering how his reflections are shown as well in our own lives, God uses that to bring glory to himself by shaping our lives as instruments of his glory.

NOTE: This psalm has figured prominently among Christians and Jews in the abortion issue in the United States. Verses 13–16 in which David expresses wonder at the LORD’s involvement in his pre-birth development, indicate that even before birth, he was a “person” whom God “knew” in depth. There has long been a tradition (long before this was a political issue) among more orthodox Jews that life begins at “quickening,” that is, at the point the mother begins to feel the baby’s movement in the womb—while this point is not universally held among Jewish interpreters, it does have an ancient pedigree. We should note that it is also held by Muslims and among some Christian groups.

One can understand this perspective—in pre-scientific cultures, pregnancy was not certain until “quickening” (which by the way is still a “quasi-medical” term) which was the first discernable sign of “life.” This helps to explain why Jewish people have less frequently taken a stand about abortion on demand than have Christians—though there are notable exceptions and devout Jews are rarely ardently pro-choice and often oppose abortion beyond the first trimester.

This psalm, however, seems to say that life begins before “quickening.” This is found in David’s words in verse 15:

“My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth” (Psalm 139.15).

The phrase “when I was made in secret” means before my existence was known by my mother, before any person knew I was being formed…except God. The “depths of the earth” is parallel to “in secret” and is a poetic phrase to denote the womb as a dark and hidden place. In other words, the psalm invites us to marvel that from the moment of our conception, God knew everything about us even to the length of our lives and the day of our death (v 16). As the psalmist said,

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it” (Psalm 139.6).

On the complexity of Jewish tradition on abortion, see the following articles:
“What Do Orthodox Jews Believe About Abortion and Why?” By Judith Shulevitz, http://www.slate.com/id/1005956/.
“Judaism and Abortion,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism_and_abortion.