Nothing is Hidden from God

Another one of my very favorite chapters in scripture is Psalm 139 because it talks about how personal God’s involvement is in my development as a specific creation according to His purpose. There is nothing about me that He does not know and with which He is not intimately involved. It is in fact His very love and concern for us that is at the heart of prophecy. If He didn’t care, He wouldn’t bother.

Psalm 139:1 O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.

“Lord” = YHWH, (the) self-Existent or Eternal; name of God

After looking at the Hebrew, I am convinced that David is expressing his knowledge of the fact that God has penetrated to the core of his being and examined his character intently, and He understands David better than anyone else ever could. The word for known indicates the results of that examination; David was God’s “familiar friend.” I think that truth can be verified with scripture that identifies David as a man after God’s own heart.

1Samuel 13:13-14 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

Experience has shown me that the best friends are those who share your heart, who love the things you love, who have the same concerns, and who are considerate of you.

The truth is that God has “searched” each one of us. My desire is to also be known by Him as a “familiar friend,” to have a character that embraces the things He loves, that is jealous for His name, and that lives to see Him glorified in me.

Psalm 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

Not only does David recognize that God knows his character, He also knows where he is and what he is doing at all times. He even knows the thoughts that occupy his mind. I thought the Hebrew root for thought was quite interesting; it states, “to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it; intransitively, to graze.” This seems to be referencing the ideas that dominate our thinking, the things upon which we meditate. The Hebrew for “afar off” was also interesting. It referenced “wandering and precious” among other things. This gives a different perspective to me. Instead of just understanding that God knows our thoughts no matter how far away we may think Him to be, it seems to be saying that He knows where our thoughts like to wander, the meditation on things that are precious to us, things we may choose to hide from others. It really ties in more directly to the Hebrew for thought.

Psalm 139:3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

“compassest” = to cast away, to diffuse, winnow, spread, scatter, to turn aside

The Hebrew for this word has stumped me; it wasn’t what I expected to see. After going to good old Webster, my thoughts were drawn to the word spread. It made me think that the NLT had the best translation, “You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest…”

This fits in with my understanding of God’s working in the lives of His children. We are created with a purpose to bring Him glory, and He doesn’t just leave us to chance regarding that purpose. As God, He can direct our paths without taking away our freedom as to whether to follow that path. Because God is love and He knows us so well, we are given every opportunity to honor Him in fulfilling that purpose—even if we take a few detours from that path along the way.

Psalm 139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.

David knew that God knows us even better than we know ourselves. He is omniscient; He knows everything. He even knows every word that we are going to say before we know it ourselves. Nothing we do or say surprises the Lord.