Psalm 139
interpretation - meaning - commentary - explanation
Psalm 139 is so rich that many articles could be written on various topics based on it. This psalm is divided into four parts.
Part One - God's omniscience, wisdom knows no bounds
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
(1) O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
(2) Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
(3) Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
(4) For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
(5) Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
(6) Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
God knows everything about every person and animal, as well as what is going on in the entire universe. This may seem unreal and incomprehensible to you, but that is just how God is. How is it possible to know the thoughts of all the people in the world at the same time, to know what they will do and what they want to say before they utter a word? For us this is such an unreal thing that many don't believe it, but for God there are no limits, He can do anything. 200 years ago, no one even knew what a computer was. The speed difference between the supercomputer of 1990 and 2023 is as high as 47,913,043! Man in 30 years has increased the speed of the computer almost 48 million times (23.2 GFLOPS - 1102.00 PFLOPS) / 1PFLOPS=1000000GFLOPS). If we with a limited mind can do such great things how much more can God, who created man, do.
The length of blood vessels in an adult human is as long as 160,000 km / 99,420 miles. and all this was created from a small embryo. If we do not understand why God works in such a way and not in another way, it is due to our ignorance, not God's error. Let's not blame God for all the misfortunes, let's not throw mud at Him for the fact that there is suffering going on in the world, and He supposedly does nothing about it. It is our stupidity that accuses God. Trust Him, He knows better why this is so.
Part Two - Omnipresence. God is everywhere
(7) Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
(8) If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
(8) If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. - better translation New International Version (NIV)
(9) If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
(10) Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
(11) If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
(12) Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
There is no escape from God, He is everywhere, you have no way to hide somewhere. The only way to get rid of God from your life is eternal death, which will happen only after the earth has rested for 1000 years, but it involves "disappearing" forever. Unfortunately, but many people today follow the path of death, rejecting the Creator. Wherever you go, whatever you do He will be there. We can reject the Creator and live being exposed to the forces of darkness. Just what sense does that make? With such an all-powerful Creator who is our only savior, it is illogical to behave in a way where people want nothing to do with Him.
Interesting is the second part of verse 8 "if I make my bed in the depths, you are there" God is also in the place where our souls/body are waiting to be awakened to eternal life or eternal death. The place where we feel nothing is graced by God's presence.
Part Three - God's Power and Wisdom
(13) For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
(14) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
(15) My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
(16) Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
(17) How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
(18) If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
David admires God for his wisdom and miraculous works of creation. Verse 13 indicates that God cares for us before we start counting down the days of life after coming out of our mother's womb. Once again, the power of God's knowledge is shown; moreover, the power to see the future is indicated. We read that each of our future deeds is written in a book. Just because God knows our future doesn't mean that we should act the way we want, because everything is already determined anyway. If it didn't matter, then why then did Jesus come to teach, after all, he could only die for us. The apostles' teaching would have been meaningless. Don't think shallowly by recognizing that we have no influence on our lives, because God has already written everything down!
Let the fact that Jesus, prayed for us, suffered so that we could be saved, talked to people and tried to guide them to the right path, be eternal proof that we are the ones who influence our lives, otherwise prayers with requests would be foolishness or a waste of time, and these Jesus taught. God's knowledge of our future has no bearing on how we act. We do not have the power to know the future, but our Creator does. One does not condition the other.
The fourth part - David's hatred of the godless, enemies of God
(19) Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
(20) For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
(21) Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
(22) I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
(23) Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
(24) And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
The fourth part may shock those who, in the name of love, do not understand how one can hate. Is it possible to love evil? The abnormal can love it, but can a person driven by love love love it? If you love good, you automatically hate evil, otherwise it is impossible. David prays for the death of the ungodly. Is there anything wrong with that? It depends on how we look at it. If we want someone's death because we are motivated by personal motives, then it's wrong, but if our motivation is so that evil doesn't destroy good, then it's positive.
Have you ever prayed for Jesus to come to earth again, for evil to be destroyed? If so, then you are also praying for the death of the ungodly! Do you think praying for Jesus to come again is wrong? Of course not! However, as we read in the Bible, especially in the Book of Revelation, before the Second Coming there will be such persecution on earth as the earth has never seen before, and what's more, after the 1000th anniversary all the wicked will be destroyed, so they will suffer eternal death. David looks at the death of the wicked with eyes of love for good.
When someone takes revenge on us or even wants to kill us, the safest solution is to pray to God to do with that person what is in accordance with His will. Directly praying for the death of the ungodly, lies close to the limit beyond which are our personal desires, not always motivated by the defense of good. Note that David at the end asks God to examine his thoughts, to guide him along the eternal path. Let's take the example of David, who, despite his close spiritual relationship with God, constantly asked God to direct his actions.
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