Psalm 139:1-18

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. 13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

Some cultures think that their gods are indifferent––and sometimes hostile––toward humans. That couldn’t be further from the truth about the One true God. He knows each and every individual who has lived, is living, or will live. He knows everything we do, even the mundane everyday habits. He knows every thought in our minds; nothing is hidden from the Almighty God. Verse 12 reminds us that “even the darkness is not dark” to the Lord; darkness has no hold over His light! We are not random but crafted with purpose and care; and God has a purpose for every season and circumstance we find ourselves in.

Essentially, God is sovereign; meaning He has ultimate authority over all. This may seem intimidating to some, and––it’s true––we should have a healthy fear of God and His holiness. But when we are confident in the love and care of God, His constant knowledge of us is a comfort instead of a curse. Beyond that, His constant knowledge of every individual’s coming and going, of every event and occurrence in the world, should bring us to a place of constant awe, gratitude, and worship of Him.

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