Biblical Commentary

The Biblical Commentary provides you with all the background info you need to teach your students, including context, verse-by-verse interpretation, and what the specific application of the passage is.

Investigation The Investigation section of the commentary provides a brief context for the passage of Scripture and often serves as a short summary of the content of the entire passage.

Importance The Importance section of the commentary addresses which of the Eight Essential Truths that a specific passage teaches. The section will note the most primary truth taught, as well as any secondary ones.

Interpretation The Interpretation section of the commentary explores the meaning of the passage in a verse-by-verse manner or a few verses at a time. Background information as well as theological implications are often used to help convey the original meaning of the passage.

Implication The Implication section of the commentary explains why the truth of the passage is important for students to understand. It also addresses how the passage can affect the lives of students and how they can apply these truths to their lives.

Investigation

David began this Psalm with a focus on God and the relationship he had with Him. But, in verse 19, he shifted to speaking about “the wicked.” This transition suggests that David probably composed this text while in exile (Sutcliffe, p. 1835). If it was not written while in exile, it is possible that David was dealing with the rebellion of Absalom, his son (Gill).

While we do not know exactly what struggles David was dealing with at the time of his writing, one can be fairly certain he was being tested by some form of “the wicked”––something that brought him distress. During this season of testing or despair, David provided a great example for us by keeping his focus on the sovereignty and love of God. This is evidenced in the fact that of the 24 verses, 20 are on the source of David’s hope and strength . . . the one true God. David chose to have the proper perspective by reassuring himself and us of “God’s omnipresence, omniscience, and omnificence” (Utley). In other words, God is present everywhere, knows all, creates and controls all.

Interpretation

Psalm 139:1-16 can be broken into three main points. First, the psalmist understood that God knew him (vv. 1-4). Second, the psalmist recognized that God accompanied him (vv. 5-12). Finally, the psalmist realized that God created him (vv. 13-16).

Psalm 139:1-2 David called on his Lord, the only God, acknowledging that God knew him, and all his ways. God’s knowledge of David was active, intentional, and relational, because God had “searched” him (Gaebelein, p. 836). God knew him when David was moving and when he was at rest. God knew his thoughts, his destination, and his past. David did not need to tell God his thoughts; God knew them “from afar” (v. 2).

Psalm 139:3-4 God knew the words David was to speak, even before those words were spoken. God knew David intimately, because He created him. As Jesus described to the disciples (Luke 12:7), the Creator knows His creation, even to the point of knowing the number of hairs on His creation’s head. Just as God intimately knew David, He also knows us. David was known by God and he was never out of God’s presence.

Psalm 139:5-6 God’s accompaniment of David was more than simply being there with him. God “enclosed” him, surrounded him, not the way an enemy would surround an army in battle, but the way a parent would surround a child with love, protection, and guidance. David acknowledged that God’s hand and presence upon him were a blessing, something he could not incite on his own, and something that was beyond his ability to understand.

David described God’s presence as personal and intimate, using the words “laid your hand upon me (v. 5b). The divine gesture indicates both “protection and blessing” (see Gen. 48:14, 17; Ex. 33:22) (Gaebelein, p. 836).

Psalm 139:7-8 David then asked the rhetorical question, “Where can I go from your Spirit?” He knew that God is omnipresent. God knew David and would always be with him. Even if David wanted to hide from God, he could not. David recognized that the extent of God’s knowledge and presence is beyond man’s ability to comprehend. To amplify the broadness of God’s presence, David used a series of comparison statements. In verse 8, David described the breadth of God’s presence from the heights of heaven to the depths of hell.

Psalm 139:9-10 Second, David described what he could see as God led him. From as far as David could see on the horizon (even if he were to “take the wings of the dawn”) to the deepest parts of the ocean (or “dwell in the remotest part of the sea”) (v. 9), God would not only accompany David, but also would lead him (v. 10). God did not lead David by blazing a trail and expecting David to keep up; He led through an intimate walk with David, taking him by the hand, as a parent would in teaching a child to walk or guiding them across a dangerous intersection.

Psalm 139:11-12 Third, David used the picture of darkness and lack of light to demonstrate his confidence that God would lead him, not only in times of victory, but also in times of defeat. This confidence came from knowing that darkness was no match for the Creator of the universe, who not only created, but also ruled over both day and night.

Psalm 139:13-16 David acknowledged that God created him, even from the point of conception in his mother’s womb, and thanked God for creating him because he was “fearfully and wonderfully made.” God made David exactly the way He wanted him to be, a shepherd boy who would slay Goliath, a man who would become a royal king, and one who would be recognized as being after God’s own heart. David had confidence in who he was as God’s creation. He wrote, “Wonderful are Your works” (v. 14). David was a mortal man, but being “skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth,” he knew he was part of God’s holy creation (v. 15). God knew David even before his mother or father could, knowing David before his creation and while he was still in his mother’s womb. The sovereign God knew about David’s entire life, from beginning to end, even before it began. Like the love and appreciation an artist would have for his own work, having invested in it passionately, so too did God love David. God’s love for David can be seen in His creation, intimate knowledge, and longing to be with David.

Implications

The God of the Bible is all-knowing (omniscience), all-powerful (omnipotence), and ever-present (omnipresence). We can never outrun the One who is everywhere, because He is already at every finish line. We can never hide from the One who saw us even before our bodies were formed in our mothers’ wombs. Our students need to understand that this is good news! God is not a ruthless judge watching our every move and waiting for us to slip up. Our God loves us, and His love is expressed through His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence.

God isn’t simply asking questions He already knows the answers to. Do our students understand why God would do such a thing? In Psalm 139 David said that God is “familiar” with all of our ways. Although God is omniscient, His familiarity with each of us isn’t the result of His omniscience. Familiarity is the result of daily interaction. God is doing something very personal when He numbers the hairs on our heads. He’s engaging us. He’s getting lost in the details of who we are. We, as well as our students, must realize that God’s knowledge of us, power towards us, and presence with us are all expressions of His love for us.

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