Psalm 139:1-18 – Part One

By Greg Holt on February 26, 2026 • ( 0 )

By Greg Holt

“¹O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
²Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising,
thou understandest my thought afar off.
³Thou compassest my path and my lying down,
and art acquainted with all my ways.
⁴For there is not a word in my tongue,
but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
⁵Thou hast beset me behind and before,
and laid thine hand upon me.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” Psalm 139:1-6

Psalm 139 is a Psalm of King David, as are many of the Psalms. Psalm 139 is a treasure of Scripture, with much to tell us and teach us.

In verse one, we are told that God knows us, He knows us intimately, all aspects of our person, there is nothing about us that is not known to God, good or bad (Hebrews 4:13). We are known to Him even better than anyone else on Earth could possibly know us.

In verse two, the Psalmist relays that God knows all that we do, our every action, our moments of rest. There is nowhere that we can go, and nothing that we can do, that God cannot follow and know us intimately. He knows our thoughts from afar, from His throne in Heaven, just as if He was right next to us, walking with us closely, in spirit, linked to us to closely for us to even begin to fathom, nothing is hidden from His eyes (1 John 3:20). It is not possible to hide from God, not even in our most private thoughts, all – everything is as an open book before Him.

In verse three, David speaks of how God, “compassest” him, likely meaning to winnow, or to separate the wheat from the chaff – our every action and thought is known to God, even before we do or think, He knows (Matthew 9:4). Our every move, or lack thereof, He is witness to – the Lord discerns the evil or good behind all that we do, there is no hiding from the Lord, and no paltry excuse will suffice.

In verse four, the meaning is plain – God knows our every utterance, even before we know it, before we say it, He knows it. He knows what we will say, and He knows utterly and completely the meaning, the intent, behind every word we say.

In verse five, David, the warrior king speaks of what equates to a siege in military terms, only applied to God. God surrounds us, at all times, and at all places. Escape is not possible, His divine hand is upon us, wherever we go, the Lord is with us. As the city is surrounded, it’s occupants must fight to the death, or surrender to the stronger force, so must we surrender to the God of the universe.

In verse six, David proclaims his wonder at God, he cannot, and neither can we – even begin to understand the mind of God. His thoughts and ways dwarf ours into insignificance, we are to God, as ants are to us – there is no comparison, and they cannot fathom what and who we are, not possessing the faculties to do so.

“⁸For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

⁹For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9