Getting to Know the God Who Knows You

 Temple Baptist Church - 12-28-2025

Psalm 139

 

Introduction: 

A.  This Psalm was written by David, a man after God’s own heart.  Psalm 139 invites us to consider the depth of God's understanding and involvement in our lives.

 

B.  Psalm 139 is an invitation given to every believer to reflect upon and understand the all-knowing, ever-present, and purposeful nature of God.

 

C.  Psalm 139 elaborates on the reality that God knows every detail about us: our actions, thoughts, faults, failures, trials, tribulations, and words which we speak.  His presence surrounds us wherever we go.

 

D.  Through its poetic verses, Psalm 139 reassures us of God's intimate care and challenges us to respond in humility and reverence to the One who created us with intention and love.

 

E.  Psalm 139 stands as one of the most intimate and probing passages in all of Scripture. In this psalm, David is not debating theology; he is bowing before it with reverence and humility.

 

F.  His words are not the musings of speculation, but the confessions of a man who knows God by personal experience. Here, we encounter a God who knows us perfectly, remains with us continually, and has formed us purposefully. This psalm both confronts the sinner, comforts the saint, and humbles every heart that reads it honestly.

 

G.  David teaches us that no life is hidden from God, no place is devoid of His presence, and no person is beyond His sovereign purpose. The proper response to these truths is not fear alone, but a reverent submission and heartfelt surrender before God.

 

H.  Now, let us look at this Psalm through the eyes of faith to comprehend the incomprehensible One.  Here we find the four attributes of God that are beyond our ability to understand: 

 

1.  His omniscience, as He knows all things.

 

2.  His omnipresence, as He is always with us to protect and provide for us.

 

3.  His omnipotence, as He has made all things and by Him all things consist.

 

4.  His lovingkindness for His own as He guides us in the way of everlasting.  

 

1. Omniscience:  God Knows Us Completely (Verses 1-6)  “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.”  With this declaration, David begins by proclaiming the divine omniscience of God. God does not merely observe us from a distance; He has searched us thoroughly. Nothing about our lives is either superficial to or hidden from Him.

 

a.  God knows our actions: “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising.” Even the ordinary moments of daily life—our sitting down and standing up—are fully known to God. Nothing is too insignificant to escape His notice.

 

b.  God knows our thoughts: “Thou understandest my thought afar off.” Before a thought is even fully formed in our minds, God already understands it. Our hidden thoughts are laid open before Him.

 

c.  God knows our words: “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.” God knows what we will say before the words ever leave our lips. This reality should shape both our speech and our silence.

 

d.  Our knowledge of God humbles us. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” This profound truth humbles us, reminding us that we are fully known and yet fully loved by God.

 

2.  Omnipresence:  God’s Presence Is With Us Continually (Verses 7-12)  “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?”

 

a.  With these questions, David moves from what God knows to where God is. The answer is unmistakable: God is everywhere.

 

b.  No place is beyond His presence.  “whither shall I flee from thy presence?”  Whether in heaven or hell, in the heights or the depths, God is there. There is no escaping His presence, no matter if one wishes to flee in rebellion or hide in despair.  “You can run, but you can’t hide!”

 

c.  No darkness hides from God: “The darkness hideth not from thee.” While darkness may conceal us from the eyes of men, it cannot hide us from God. To Him, night and day are alike.

 

d.  For the believer, this truth brings comfort: we are never alone. For the lost, it serves as a warning: no sin is committed in secret.

 

3.  Omnipotence:  God Formed Us Purposefully (Verses 13–18)  “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.”

 

a.  Life is God’s work. God is both Creator and Designer of life.  “From the womb and conception until death and the grave!  Conception and birth are in God’s time.  Death and the grave also belong to Him.  I am glad that He holds our lives in His hands!

 

b.  Our bodies are the work of God’s hands as He is active in the womb.  “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.”  Our DNA is the work of God that makes every individual different!  At conception, our structure was designed to be fashioned in continuance.  The color of our flesh, eyes, and hair was determined, the hairs of our head (or the lack thereof) were numbered.  What a God we serve.

 

c.  David testifies that he is “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Life is not the result of accident or randomness; it is the product of God’s intentional design.

 

d.  Our days are appointed: “In thy book all my members were written… when as yet there was none of them.” God knows the length, purpose, and direction of our lives before we ever draw breath.

 

e.  God’s thoughts toward us are precious: “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!” The believer finds rest in the truth that God’s purposes are always good, wise, and loving.

 

4. Lovingkindness:  God Searches Us Righteously (Verses 19–24)  “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.”

 

a.  David’s prayer.  “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.”  David surrenders his life to the knowledge and will of an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God!  God knows best and His will and guidance are our best!

 

b.  David’s desire.  Here, we find a hatred for sin: David aligns himself with God’s holiness and actively rejects wickedness, expressing a deep longing to walk in God’s way.

 

c.  David’s plea.  A prayer for cleansing and guidance: “And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” This is the appropriate response to a God who knows all, sees all, and is always present: humble repentance and yielded obedience.

 

Conclusion:  What a beautiful, enlightening Psalm!  It leaves us without excuse and without fear in this world. We cannot hide from God, and we do not need to. The same God who knows us completely, remains with us continually, and has formed us purposefully, invites us to walk with Him in the way everlasting.  May our prayer echo that of David: “Search me… and lead me.”