Last Sunday we started a new series through Psalm 139 that we are calling, “How Great is our God!” This study will help us to focus on four attributes about God. The first is the fact that He is omniscient. In other words, He knows all things.
In verse 1 of Psalm 139, David begins with the words, “You have searched me.” The word originally meant to explore or to dig. Because God has scoured every detail of my life, He knows me intimately. Matthew 10:30 teaches that He even knows the number of hairs on our head (which requires more usage of His omniscience for some over others). Think about this. God is omniscient which means He is all-knowing. Grab your Bible and read Romans 11:33-36; Hebrews 4:13; and Proverbs 15:3 and allow that truth to sink in. God has perfect knowledge and has no need to learn. In fact, God has never learned and cannot learn. Charles Spurgeon once said, “There never was a time in which in which we were unknown to God, and there never will be a moment in which we shall be beyond His observation.” How cool is that? How great is our God!
According to Psalm 139:2, God knows my every movement. David said, “You know when I sit down and when I rise up.” Even our most common and casual movements are completely familiar to the Lord. David’s usage of the opposite extremes (“sit down” and “rise up”) is a literary technique called a “merism” that represents all actions as a whole. In other words, God knows every movement you make. He knows when you sit down and when you rise up and every movement you would make in between.
He also knows my every motivation. David said, “You understand my thought from afar.” The word, “afar,” refers to time not space. In other words, God doesn’t just know our thoughts as they come into our minds, he knows our thoughts even before they are fully formed. He also knows my every minute (Psalm 139:3). David wrote, “You scrutinize my path (going out in the morning) and my lying down (going to sleep) [both my public and private activities]. This is another “merism” speaking of all activities as a whole. To scrutinize means to sift. God sifts our very seconds. He also knows my every meditation (Psalm 139:4). David said, “Before there is a word on my tongue, you know it.” If He knows our thoughts before they are developed in our mind, He also knows our words before they are formed on our tongues
What an amazing God. His knowledge is unceasing (Psalm 139:5). David writes, “You have enclosed me behind and before.” Enclosed is a military term speaking of besieging a city in battle and cutting off all escape routes. It literally means “to be hemmed in.” There is not one remotely insignificant area of our lives that is not thoroughly and completely surrounded by God’s knowledge. He has laid His hand upon us. God is intimately aware and involved in every aspect of my life. He doesn’t just know me, He cares and is involved in my life. God’s knowledge is also unfathomable (Psalm 139:6). It blows my mind and is beyond my ability to fully comprehend. No more than a teacup can hold the ocean, can a finite mind comprehend the infinite! How great is our God!
In verse 1 of Psalm 139, David begins with the words, “You have searched me.” The word originally meant to explore or to dig. Because God has scoured every detail of my life, He knows me intimately. Matthew 10:30 teaches that He even knows the number of hairs on our head (which requires more usage of His omniscience for some over others). Think about this. God is omniscient which means He is all-knowing. Grab your Bible and read Romans 11:33-36; Hebrews 4:13; and Proverbs 15:3 and allow that truth to sink in. God has perfect knowledge and has no need to learn. In fact, God has never learned and cannot learn. Charles Spurgeon once said, “There never was a time in which in which we were unknown to God, and there never will be a moment in which we shall be beyond His observation.” How cool is that? How great is our God!
According to Psalm 139:2, God knows my every movement. David said, “You know when I sit down and when I rise up.” Even our most common and casual movements are completely familiar to the Lord. David’s usage of the opposite extremes (“sit down” and “rise up”) is a literary technique called a “merism” that represents all actions as a whole. In other words, God knows every movement you make. He knows when you sit down and when you rise up and every movement you would make in between.
He also knows my every motivation. David said, “You understand my thought from afar.” The word, “afar,” refers to time not space. In other words, God doesn’t just know our thoughts as they come into our minds, he knows our thoughts even before they are fully formed. He also knows my every minute (Psalm 139:3). David wrote, “You scrutinize my path (going out in the morning) and my lying down (going to sleep) [both my public and private activities]. This is another “merism” speaking of all activities as a whole. To scrutinize means to sift. God sifts our very seconds. He also knows my every meditation (Psalm 139:4). David said, “Before there is a word on my tongue, you know it.” If He knows our thoughts before they are developed in our mind, He also knows our words before they are formed on our tongues
What an amazing God. His knowledge is unceasing (Psalm 139:5). David writes, “You have enclosed me behind and before.” Enclosed is a military term speaking of besieging a city in battle and cutting off all escape routes. It literally means “to be hemmed in.” There is not one remotely insignificant area of our lives that is not thoroughly and completely surrounded by God’s knowledge. He has laid His hand upon us. God is intimately aware and involved in every aspect of my life. He doesn’t just know me, He cares and is involved in my life. God’s knowledge is also unfathomable (Psalm 139:6). It blows my mind and is beyond my ability to fully comprehend. No more than a teacup can hold the ocean, can a finite mind comprehend the infinite! How great is our God!
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