The Beautiful Miracle That Is Your Life -- a study of Psalm 139
- mww
- Aug 13
- 14 min read
God knows you better than you know yourself. And that's comforting.
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Psalm 139
In this beloved psalm, David marvels about God's all-knowing and all-seeing, how God created David to be unique and wonderful, and how with everything God knows and sees, God still wants to have a relationship with David. This leads David to ask God to help him deal with the pressures of life without abandoning who God made him to be.
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. (139:23)
Getting Started: Things to Think About
I have a variety of ideas here. Maybe one of these will resonate with you.
Know Yourself -- K-Pop Demon Hunters
No, wait! Hear me out!
My daughter and I bond over KPop, so of course she wanted me to watch the latest Netflix sensation "KPop Demon Hunters" with her. It's adorable and bonkers, which is kinda how KPop works.
Anyhoozie, the central conceit of the movie is that one of the demon hunters has been hiding a secret about herself, and the resolution of the film is how the main characters deal with this revelation. How does a relationship change when someone has been lying about themselves the whole time? Because it's a kids movie, you can be sure that friendship wins out in the end, and everybody has learned a lesson about what's really important.
What's your favorite movie or book about a character who has been trying to hide a secret about themselves? How does that work out for them? Personally, I'm partial to the original Aladdin movie for this plot device. Which is similar to the plot device in Beauty and the Beast. (And The Lion King. And The Little Mermaid. Hmmmmm.)
This week, we're studying Psalm 139, one of the most beautiful and encouraging chapters in the Bible. You can already guess where I would be going with this opening topic -- God knows you inside and out, and He loves you. You can't hide from God, so don't try. But with that, if you can't hide from God, don't try to hide from yourself. Ask God to show you exactly who you are, and then He can help you become who He created you to be.
13 For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Helping Kids Learn to Know and Love Themselves
I'll talk a little more about this below, but various cultural agendas try to take advantage of kids' insecurity to convince them that they need to become somebody else. In it's most extreme form, kids are encouraged to have surgeries to change their appearance or even their body's functions. But we all know the peer pressure to act a certain way, dress a certain way, etc.
When your child (or grandchild, or young person in your orbit) has doubts about their identity, how do you help them navigate that? And more to the point, how have you used Psalm 139 to help with that? And if you have never used Psalm 139 in this context, circle back around to this question at the every end, after you have studied the psalm.
14 I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.
Identity Crisis! (Mid-Life Crisis, Retirement Crisis, Newly Married Crisis, Graduate Crisis, etc.)
Which "identity crisis" have you most recently experienced? And how have you handled it? I have been going through a kind of mid-life crisis (I just turned 50, after all), where I look at where I am in life, and I think about my "plans" when I was 25, and then I wonder where all the time went.
Many people go through some kind of "crisis" after a major life change. From single to married. From childless to parent. From student to employee (and probably not in the job you thought you would be in). From working to retired. Our identity is often wrapped up in our life situation, so it only makes sense that when our situation changes . . .
How have you handled those sorts of "identity crises"? What advice would you give to a friend going through such a crisis? (And yes, just like with the previous idea, how does Psalm 139 help you with that?)
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.
"I Always Feel like . . ."
Privacy has become a bigger and bigger topic the more technology becomes embedded in every part of our lives. Tech companies sell the "convenience" of being observed 24-hours-a-day. "Never forget a conversation!" "Update your To-Do- List instantly!" Our location is constantly tracked. Our computer behavior is constantly tracked. Some device nearby is listening to everything we say.
In what way can that be good? In what way can that be bad?
(Often, these things are both good and bad. Like many of you, my family uses Life360 and is glad for it. But I've read the stories about how it has been used for stalking.)
But I want to do a twist on how I ended each previous idea. We know from Psalm 139 that God is always "watching us", even listening to our thoughts. How is God's observation different from a tech company's or a government's observation? (Your answer should involve motives, accuracy, and consequences.)
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
This Week's Big Idea: Handling Psalm 139 Rightly
Used Rightly: Psalm 139 Protects Us from Burnout and Discouragement
Yesterday, I read an article from Lifeway Research about why pastors leave the ministry. I'm actually not worried about that part of the article. (You can read it if you want. The numbers and reasons for pastor turnover are not what the media blows them up to be. Former pastors share reasons behind their ministry exit | Baptist Press.)
Instead, I want to focus on a section at the end of the article called "Advice for pastors and churches" -- mainly the top four answers: prioritize your family, spend time with God, remember your calling, and pray.
I see those answers as wonderful applications of Psalm 139. (And yes, I'm pretty sure that some of those responses were made by people who weren't really called to be a pastor in the first place, but that's neither here nor there.)
If Psalm 139 is (roughly speaking) about how God's knows us perfectly and is always with us, how might that truth help us work through struggles we might have in our own ministry/service?
Obviously, this isn't just for pastors, or even just for Christians serving in church ministry. This applies to every part of our life. God created us, God knows us, God is with us. And God will help us grow closer to Jesus. How can that help you today and tomorrow?
Used Wrongly: Psalm 139 Creates Identity Confusion and Despair
I want us to be very careful about this topic because it's getting into things that are way beyond my expertise. And I'll just jump to an extreme example -- I recently read an article by a pastor who basically said, "Thank you God for making my son gay." This card is played rather often in the Identity Politics game. "This is who you are, and God made you this way." It's used to justify sexual misbehavior, but also things like anger, discompassion, selfishness, etc. "God made me this way, so y'all can deal with it."
Humorously, in something like KPop Demon Hunters, it's actually apt, because the secret is about who her parents are, so that actually is her true identity. But for many of these situations, it's about how that person feels. It's about who they think they want to be.
And that can be very deceptive.
(Earlier this week, I read an article by a transgender person who acknowledged that very young people having such surgeries regularly regret them when they get older.)
Here's the thing about Psalm 139 -- David isn't asking God to affirm what David thinks about himself. David wants God to correct his thoughts so that he will see what God sees. David wants God to remove the wickedness and foolishness and deception so that he can live the life that God wants him to live.
Do you see how that's very different from how Psalm 139 can be misrepresented?
About Psalm 139
Psalm 139 is "Of David" and is surrounded by 7 other "Of David" psalms that bring the psalter to a close (not counting 146-150). Whoever compiled the Book of Psalms wanted David's influence to be very clear. And yes, most scholars believe that "of David" here means that David wrote the psalm.
Now for the shock -- Psalm 139 isn't primarily about identity. Psalm 139 is about how David copes/deals with his enemies.
[Please note: the Lifeway lesson skips that part of the psalm. Make sure you take your group through the entire psalm! In Lifeway's defense, it's not a short psalm. You'll have to move quickly if you want to cover everything that's important in it.]
When David gets discouraged by his enemies, or by the presence of wickedness around him, he remembers who he is, how God is with him, and that God is still at work in him.
In other words, Psalm 139 is probably more "useful" than you realized. Sure, when you're having an "identity crisis", David's words should give you comfort. But also when you're dealing with people who are not your friends, Psalm 139 is here for you. And when you're just discouraged at the state of everything around you, turn to Psalm 139.
Psalm 139 has 4 "verses" of 6 lines each:
vv. 1-6 -- God knows everything
vv. 7-12 -- God is everywhere
vv. 13-18 -- God knows and is with David
vv. 19-24 -- David needs help dealing
But finally, to circle back around to the main point I've been highlighting: David isn't asking God to validate him; David is asking God to help him examine himself rightly so that he can deal with his "life situation" the way God wants him to.
God knows David's heart better than David does, and that gives David great comfort. David trusts God to tell him the truth about himself and also lead him down right paths.
Part 1: "Verse 1": God Knows Everything (Psalm 139:1-4 [6])
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. [5 You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. 6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.]
[Just do the whole "verse".]
"Searched" means "examined" -- and God's examination results in true knowledge. The Lifeway material makes the proper observation that God knows us far better than any of our friends ever could. I would add the point that God knows us better than we know ourselves.
God doesn't just know our actions and our location -- He knows our very thoughts and feelings. He knows what we're going to say before we say it.
Google and Meta and the like are trying to get into our heads so they can exploit us (under the guise of convenience). But God simply knows all of it, and He would use His knowledge for our good.
Psalm 23 Connection
The Lifeway lesson skips verses 5 and 6, but that's such a great callback to last week's psalm:
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
Psalm 139:5 is basically, "You squeeze me in and keep your hand on me." And that comforts David.
I know you've sat next to a squirming child. A common solution -- to scoot in close and put a firm but gentle hand on them. Your presence can reassure them, can "warn" them, and can also keep them out of trouble.
David finds great comfort in that, and I think it's for the same reason he found great comfort in God's "rod and staff". Do you remember why?
Part 2: "Verse 2": God Is Everywhere (Psalm 139:7-12)
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9 If I fly on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the western horizon, 10 even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night”— 12 even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to you.
People have argued about the poetry ("what are the wings of the dawn?"), but that would be missing the forest for the trees. These are just beautiful phrases that, in your heart, you know what David means. Don't ruin a beautiful poem through scientific analysis.
Note that David is approaching this from a desire to hide from God. Sin separates us from God, so when we sin, it makes us "want" to escape from God or "hide" from Him. David, as we know, has committed more than his share of terrible sins, and we have studied multiple psalms of his about his conviction, his suffering, his repentance, and God's forgiveness.
Because he has lived on both sides of repentance, David realizes that one of God's greatest gifts to him is indeed God's unwillingness to let David "escape". God knows David's heart -- He knows that David would languish under conviction of sin, shrivel up, and die. And so God relentlessly pursued him, relentlessly stirred up David's conviction until David could only repent and return. And God was waiting for him with open arms.
"Thank You, God, that I cannot hide from You."
Now -- about the "Sheol" reference. Some have tried to make this mean that God can forgive non-Christians after death. No. Just, no. For one, David has already experienced God's forgiveness; if he lived on this side of the cross, we would call him a Christian. But more to the point, this is poetic. David is imagining anywhere he could try to go to hide from God, and the point is that there is nowhere.
The references to "light" and "darkness" are just that; they are not a metaphor about truth or such. Think back to Psalm 23 and "the darkest valley" -- those places are so dangerous to sheep because predators can hide there that sheep can't see. But God, the Good Shepherd, can see everything. Nothing can hide from Him, even in "pitch blackness". So even if David found the "darkest cave" in the "darkest night", that would not be a hindrance to God.
["Lego Movie" reference -- "Darkness"? Anyone?]
You can't hide from God. And David doesn't want to. He finds comfort in "God's right hand". How can that bring comfort to you?
Part 3: "Verse 3": God Knows David (Psalm 139:13-16 [18])
13 For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. 15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began. 17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is! 18 If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you.
Again, just make the time to do the whole "verse".
This section of the psalm leads to some debate simply because the meaning of the Hebrew is a bit obscure, Again, it's poetry. And more to the point, ancient Hebrews didn't have ultrasounds. They didn't know how pregnancy "worked"; it was all quite mysterious. In other words, "depths of the earth" was a euphemism for something the ancients found unknowable.
So let's establish what David clearly seems to be saying.
Truth 1: David understands that God created him, even back to his time in his mother's womb.
Consequence 1: This is why Pro-Life groups believe that life begins at conception. I don't think you have to go very far down this road (with everything else that needs to be covered), in part because we have a Sanctity of Human Life lesson every year. But just note that many Pro-Life groups invoke Psalm 139 as one of their theme verses.
Truth 2: David understand that his life (and all life) is basically miraculous. But he recognizes that God unique creation of him as a human makes him even more inexplicably wonderful.
Consequence 2a: This is why God takes sin so seriously. Our existence is nothing short of miraculous, and sin treats the miracle of life with contempt.
Consequence 2b: This is also why God takes self-loathing (not conviction for sin, but the result of peer pressure and identity politics that results in a person believing that they were "born in the wrong body") so seriously. You were not born in the wrong body; God created you and loves you. Sure, you might go through phases of wanting to change things about yourself, but your life is wonderfully miraculous as God made you.
Truth 3: God knows every day of your life, including your final day.
Consequence 3: If God knows everything, then He knows past and future. Everything you will ever do, God knows it. But what has God "planned"? Your days, not your actions. Yes, I think this means that God has established how long our life will be, but this does not mean that God has predestined everything we're going to do during those days. I take great comfort in that. No one dies "too early", as if anyone could thwart God's plan for their days. We may not understand why someone died so young, say, but we can trust that God had it in hand and that nothing was wasted.
But now let's move on to verse 17. David is overwhelmed by the consequence of everything he has just realized. God knows everything. God knows when David will be born and when David will die. God created David to be a beautiful, unique human. God gave David the ability to "choose his own path in life". And with all of that -- with every unique human being on the planet and their choices -- God still brings about His perfect goal for history.
David's mind is blown. As it should be.
There's confusion about the meaning of verse 18. I think it's pretty simple -- David imagines himself just trying to count God's thoughts (not comprehend them, just count them), and obviously he falls asleep during the effort. And when he wakes up, he knows he would have yet another day of counting God's thoughts, because it would be a neverending process.
And this brings comfort to David.
It's a lot of work hiding from God. It's a lot of work trying to turn yourself into something God didn't create.
Conversely, it's "easy" to lean in to God's plan for your life, to love who you are and make the most of yourself. Why? Because God will help you in that effort. The Spirit will convict you of your sin and lead you to repentance. The Spirit will show you how your unique gifts and abilities give you a uniquely importance place in His kingdom. (shout-out to SHAPE)
What are you struggling about with yourself? How can Psalm 139 help you see a solution to that struggle?
Closing: "Verse 4": David Needs Help Dealing (Psalm 139:19-24)
19 God, if only you would kill the wicked— you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me— 20 who invoke you deceitfully. Your enemies swear by you falsely. 21 Lord, don’t I hate those who hate you, and detest those who rebel against you? 22 I hate them with extreme hatred; I consider them my enemies. 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.
I understand why Lifeway would end the lesson where it did -- verse 19 is tonally jarring! But this is the whole point of the psalm!
David needs help dealing . . . with everything. With all of it. He's got people who oppose him. He's got feelings and thoughts that don't bring God glory. And he needs help dealing with it all.
The people David wants God to kill are God's enemies -- men of violence, bloodshed, and hatred. They oppose every good thing God has created and want to bring destruction and death and oppression.
Have you ever had the thought, "The world would be so much better off if there were no wicked people!"? That's really what David is saying here, just very graphically.
[I shouldn't have to spell this out -- but if God got rid of all the sinners, what would happen to you?]
God's enemies make David so angry. And I would call this a "righteous indignation" -- the kind of anger that is present in holiness. Anger about the terrible consequence of human sin. "God, why aren't You doing something about this?" But David, for good reason, doesn't trust himself to handle his righteous indignation well.
And so that's why David comes back in verse 23 and 24. He takes a deep breath and asks God to search his heart, cleanse out his sin, and lead him down right paths.
And that, I think, is so meaningful to all of us.
God created us beautiful and miraculous, and He has a wonderful plan for our life, but we are opposed by sinners without and sinful tendencies within. How can we navigate our life without acting on the wrong tendencies?
How does Psalm 139 help you answer that question for yourself?
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