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Psalm 139 teaches us that God knows us completely, is with us everywhere and cares about every part of our lives. These truths bring us comfort and awe, but they also call us to holiness. Therefore we should invite the Lord to search our hearts, expose anything that offends Him, and lead us on the way to everlasting life.

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

Adonai, 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.

The Lord is omniscient. He knows everything ‑ every atom in the universe, every star in the heavens, every plant and animal on Earth, every grain of sand, every molecule of water in the oceans. And He knows everything about us.

And He is omnipresent. He is present everywhere. You go before me and follow me. The Lord is everywhere around us.

The Lord, who is all‑knowing and present everywhere, cares about us. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

David’s response to the Lord’s omniscience, omnipresence and care: Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! Awe. Wonder. Reverence. Respect.

More about God’s omnipresence and what that means for us: 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.

God’s Spirit is not an impersonal force or an energy flowing through the universe. The Spirit is a Person although He doesn’t have a body. The Father sits on the main throne in Heaven. The Son is at His right hand. The Spirit is present everywhere throughout the universe ‑ and beyond.

David gives us examples of places that are farthest away to help us understand that God is present everywhere. If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. Whether we go to the highest place or the lowest place, the Lord is there.

If I ride the wings of the morning: The “wings of the morning” is poetic language for the speed and reach of the dawn as light spreads across the sky. If we could move as fast and as far as the morning light, or reach the farthest oceans, we would find that the Lord is already present.

And no matter where we are, God is there, ready to care for us. Your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

More about God’s omniscience and what that means for us: I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night, but even in darkness I can’t hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. We may hide things from other human beings, and even hide things from ourselves – but we can’t hide anything from God. He sees everything. He knows everything about us.

He knows us so thoroughly because He was involved in our creation. 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.

God created us as unique individuals. And He created us in wonderfully complex and marvelous ways. Consider several examples of the complexity of our bodies. Our nervous system contains billions of specialized cells communicating through an intricate network. Our brains contain an estimated 86 billion neurons and trillions of connections. Our eyes contain millions of light‑sensitive cells that allow us to see the world around us, while our heart, lungs, and other organs work together to sustain our lives. Our bodies and brain work together so that we can think, speak, move, create, love, communicate and relate to God and to other people.

When God is intimately involved in creating a human life in the womb, deliberately destroying that life is not merely interfering with a biological process. It is an offense against the Creator and the life He is creating.

Then David gives us another truth about the Lord. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Not only is God all knowing and all present, He is all sovereign. He knows the beginning of our lives and the end of our lives, and everything in between. Nothing about our lives is outside of His knowledge or His control.

Now David lets us know that the Lord’s infinite knowledge is directed toward each one of us. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They can’t be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! The Lord numberless thoughts about us are directed to help us, to bless us.

And when I wake up, you are still with me. When we go to sleep at night, and when we wake up in the morning, God’s presence and care for us is there.

Next David considers those who are in rebellion against this great and holy God and King. O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers! They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name. O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you? Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

David knows that the Lord is righteous and holy, all‑knowing, present everywhere, in control of all things and cares for His people. So when David considers those who hate God, speak blasphemously against Him, and oppose His righteous ways, he stands with God and against them.

As followers of Messiah Yeshua, we are to hate sin but love the sinner. We should hate peoples’ rebellion against God, while loving them and helping them turn to the Lord and be saved.

David has exposed the wicked. Now he invites God to expose anything wicked within him. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

It’s good for us to ask God to reveal what’s troubling us, what’s disturbing us, and what’s happening in the hidden places of our hearts. It’s good to ask Him to show us what we can’t see, reveal what’s wrong within us and make clear what needs to change. And we shouldn’t be afraid or embarrassed to do this because the Lord knows us completely, so nothing in us will surprise Him. And He cares for us, so when He searches our hearts and reveals the things that are wrong, its to purify us, not condemn us.

How does God make us aware of the things in us that offend Him?

By speaking to our minds and hearts. As we quiet ourselves and ask Him to search us, He will reveal things that aren’t right. He will give us a sense of guilt, shame or uneasiness when our thoughts turn to a certain subject, and that unease will not go away until we deal with what He is showing us.

By showing us ourselves in the Word of God. As we read the Bible, the Lord speaks to us, and we see our motives and attitudes exposed – which explains why so many don’t want to read the Bible.

By people who care for us. Deceitful are the kisses of an enemy but faithful are the wounds of a friend. People will see things in us that we can’t see in ourselves.

By putting us under pressure. Trials, hardships and difficulties can reveal what’s really in our hearts – anger, fear, pride, worldliness, shallow faith – that we did not know was there.

David ends the psalm with these words full of hope: Lead me along the path of everlasting life.

How does God lead us along the derech olam, the way everlasting, the way that lasts forever?

By revealing to us that Messiah Yeshua is the Son of God, who came from Heaven to Earth, became a man and lived a perfect, sinless life. He died on the cross to make atonement for our sins and was resurrected from the dead. When God reveals these truths to us, we become loyal to the Son and the Father, we are born again and receive a new nature, and the Spirit of the Father and the Son takes up residence in us.

God leads us along the path of everlasting life through the Spirit, who guides us into truth. So we should be filled with the Spirit.

God leads us through the Bible. The Word of God teaches us what is good and right and true, and reveals the Lord’s will for our lives. So we should interact with the Bible every day and let the Word of God richly live within us.

God lead us along the way that lasts forever through other believers: rabbis, pastors, elders, teachers and mature believers who encourage us, instruct us and correct us when necessary.

God leads us as we seek Him in prayer, bringing our desires, decisions and struggles before Him and asking Him for wisdom and direction.

God leads us as we hear Him communicating to our minds and hearts. My sheep hear My voice

And God lead us along the way that results in eternal life by disciplining us when we wander. His correction brings us back to the path.

Let’s pray:

Father, we thank You that You know us completely, are with us everywhere, are in control of everything, and care for us continually. Thank You for creating us so wonderfully. Search our hearts, Lord. Show us anything that offends You, anything that needs to change, and give us the grace to turn from those things. Thank you that we know that You will lead us along the path of everlasting life. Amen.