Studies in Psalms – Psa 139:1-24 “Thine Eyes Did See Mine Unformed Substance; and in Thy Book They were all Written” – Part 1
Psa 139:1-24 “Thine Eyes Did See Mine Unformed Substance; and in Thy Book They Were all Written”
“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” Col 1:17
Psa 139:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Psa 139:2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
Psa 139:3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
Psa 139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
Psa 139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
“And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight” Heb 4:13
Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Psa 139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Psa 139:10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Psa 139:11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
Psa 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
“Fear not, thou worm Jacob” Isa 41:14
Psa 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psa 139:15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Psa 139:16 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.
Psa 139:17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
Psa 139:18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.
“Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume” 2Th 2:8
Psa 139:19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
Psa 139:20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
Psa 139:21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
Psa 139:22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psa 139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
There are four distinct parts to this Psalm 139; the first describing God’s omnipotence, the second section giving us insight as to how God sees all of His creation, the third section more specifically how He sees the church, the body of Christ the workmanship of His hands, and the fourth describes how God brings light out of darkness through the judgment upon the church (1Pe 4:17). That judgment brings us to loathe sin and have a strong desire to overcome all wickedness in this age through Christ so that we can be blessed and holy to have our part in the first resurrection (Rev 20:6).
“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” Col 1:17
Psa 139:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.
This first verse sets the stage for this Psalm to help us see that God is not searching us out because He doesn’t know us, anymore than He did not know where Adam and Eve were in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:9, Heb 4:13-14). Rather, God is judging the elect today for whom these verses are initially written and bringing us to give an accounting for who we are in Adam so we can become a new creation through this process of having the Lord bring us to know ourselves in Him (Pro 20:27-30, 2Co 13:5).
Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.Pro 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
Pro 20:28 Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.
Pro 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.
Pro 20:30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
God’s elect are “chief musicians” meaning we are first fruits or principle players in His spiritual orchestra which he is orchestrating (Joh 15:5) and glorifying God through the judgment we are experiencing that will in turn make the body of Christ ready (Rev 19:2-8) to be those kings and priests whom God has predestined for the very purpose of judging the rest of His creation (Rev 5:10, Oba 1:21).
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.
Psa 139:2 Thou knowest my downsittingH3427 and mine uprisingH6965, thou understandest my thought afar off.
God knows the desires of our hearts because He is the one who has put those desires there in the first place (Psa 21:2, Psa 139:14-15), and God understands our thoughts afar off, our downsittingH3427 and uprisingH6965 because they were ordained from the foundation of the world that we would continue in the Lord, or “continue in the blood of her purifying” as it is described in the old covenant for a woman who had conceived a man child (Eph 1:4-6, Lev 12:2-4, Joh 8:31-32).
H3427 yaw-shab’ downsitting
A primitive root; properly to sit down (specifically as judge, in ambush, in quiet); by implication to dwell, to remain; causatively to settle, to marry: – (make to) abide (-ing), continue, (cause to, make to) dwell (-ing), ease self, endure, establish, X fail, habitation, haunt, (make to) inhabit (-ant), make to keep [house], lurking, X marry (-ing), (bring again to) place, remain, return, seat, set (-tle), (down-) sit (-down, still, -ting down, -ting [place] -uate), take, tarry.
H6965 koom uprising
A primitive root; to rise (in various applications, literally, figuratively, intensively and causatively): – abide, accomplish, X be clearer, confirm, continue, decree, X be dim, endure, X enemy, enjoin, get up, make good, help, hold, (help to) lift up (again), make, X but newly, ordain, perform, pitch, raise (up), rear (up), remain, (a-) rise (up) (again, against), rouse up, set (up), (e-) stablish, (make to) stand (up), stir up, strengthen, succeed, (as-, make) sure (-ly), (be) up (-hold, -rising).
Psa 21:2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
Psa 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psa 139:15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.Lev 12:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. [Lev 14:5-6]
Lev 12:3 And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
Lev 12:4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. [Lev 14:7, Rev 15:8]Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.Abraham’s seed was only typical of the holy seed God is forming through Christ (Gal 3:16), so they answered him in the next verse: “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?” Joh 8:33
Psa 139:3 Thou compassestH2219 my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
What exactly is happening when we follow Christ is that we are losing our life and gaining His life (Mat 10:39, Joh 3:30) by way of the winnowing process we are undergoing as the first fruits who are being ripened through judgment in this life (Mat 3:12).
H2219 zârâh zaw-raw’ compassest
A primitive root (compare H2114); to toss about; by implication to diffuse, winnow: – cast away, compass, disperse, fan, scatter (away), spread, strew, winnow.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
Mat 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
We are His wheat which He is gathering into His garner, even as He burns up the chaff with unquenchable fire within us. When He “compassestH2219 my path and my lying down“, it is through this process of judgment that we come to cease from sinning (1Pe 4:1, 2Ti 2:12) as our faith becomes tried in the fire that compasses us.
1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
2Ti 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Being “acquainted with all my ways“, the good and the evil, the Lord knows how to deliver us from all sin (1Pe 1:7, Pro 16:4, 1Co 10:13, 1Jn 2:1).
1Pe 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
Psa 139:4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
All our days are numbered and written in His book (Psa 139:16 – ASV), and this message is prophesied and spoken of throughout the word of God, every book written, and every book being written and that will be written doing exactly what God ordained that specific book to do for the overall purpose of bringing all of His creation unto salvation through Christ. Our God is so great that He writes these books in advance and says, “This is what I’m going to do declaring the end from the beginning” (1Co 15:28, Gen 4:4-7, Isa 46:10).
Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.
1Co 15:28 And when all things [Eph 1:11] have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.
Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
[Through the grace and faith of Christ, we bring this fat to God which is our whole life being given as a living sacrifice (Eph 2:8, Rom 12:1, Eph 1:11)]
Gen 4:5 but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. [In our appointed time, this is us (Pro 16:4, Eph 1:11]
Gen 4:6 And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be its desire, but do thou rule over it. [In other words, in time Cain will be saved, but in the order that God has ordained]
Let’s look at these following verses (Jer 1:9-12, Joh 3:27, Heb 10:7) which witness to the fact that “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether“
Jer 1:9 Then Jehovah put forth his hand, and touched my mouth; and Jehovah said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth:
Jer 1:10 see, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.
Jer 1:11 Moreover the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond-tree.
Jer 1:12 Then said Jehovah unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I watch over my word to perform it.Joh 3:27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it have been given him from heaven.
Psa 139:5 Thou hast besetH6696 me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
This fifth verse explains what happens when God’s hand is on us “behind and before” encompassing us in the fire which purifies our hearts as we are sanctified through His word that is used to “besetH6696″ our old man and bring us into alignment with the will of God (Isa 40:3).
The word “besetH6696” really shows us what God is doing to our old man so that we can cease from sinning and live the rest of our lives to the will of God (1Pe 4:2, Joh 6:40)
H6696 tsûr tsoor beset
A primitive root; to cramp, that is, confine (in many applications, literally and figuratively, formative or hostile): – adversary, assault, beset, besiege, bind (up), cast, distress, fashion, fortify, inclose, lay siege, put up in bags.
1Pe 4:2 that ye no longer should live the rest of your time in flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
Joh 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Psa 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Like the miracle of physical birth [Both of these verses are to be understood inwardly (1Th 5:3, Joh 16:21)] that typifies our being born again and finally brought to mature sonship in the Lord (Eph 4:13), the journey that gets us there is through knowledge that is “too wonderful for me“, meaning it is too high for our old man to understand. However, with the mind of Christ it is very possible to understand and see and hear as the spirit searches all things, even the deep things of Christ which we see through a glass darkly, a glass that represents our earnest relationship in the flesh (Eph 1:14). David was inspired to say these words for our benefit so we don’t forget the journey that we are on as the body of Christ being “fearfully and wonderfully made”, and we can rest in the Lord knowing that “Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written” (1Co 2:14-16, 1Co 2:10).
1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
Next time, Lord willing, we will continue with the 2nd part of this study subtitled “And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight” Heb 4:13.
Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Psa 139:9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Psa 139:10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Psa 139:11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
Psa 139:13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.