“O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” (Psalm 139:1-6).
Dr. J.I. Packer once wrote concerning the knowledge of God that “a little knowledge of God is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about Him.”
There are two phrases the psalmist David uses in Psalm 139:1-6 which I want to highlight for you. They are, in referring to the LORD’s knowledge, (1) “acquainted with all my ways” and (2) “you know it altogether.” Both phrases refer to the omniscience of God. David was saying that there is nothing of which God does not know. In our study of knowing God, it is wise for us to understand that at the same time we are seeking to know God, God knows us completely: past, present and future.
Omniscience literally means to “have all (omni) knowledge (science).” Since God is eternally existent, He is therefore capable of knowing everything because His knowledge of everything and everyone is eternally existent. This is in contrast to our knowledge which is finite or limited because we are finite creatures.
“God is omniscient. He knows everything: everything possible, everything actual; all events and all creatures, of the past, the present, and the future. He is perfectly acquainted with every detail in the life of every being in heaven, in earth, and in hell,” writes theologian and author Arthur Pink. King David said, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.” (Psalm 139:6).
“David’s initial response to this staggering knowledge was that he was troubled. Like many who respond to the fact of God’s omniscience, he thought it was confining, that God had besieged him and cupped His hand over him. Moreover, this kind of knowledge was out of David’s control—it was too wonderful for him. The word “wonderful” is in the emphatic position, at the beginning of the sentence, meaning “extraordinary or surpassing.” In other words, divine omniscience is too high for humans to comprehend,” explains one commentator.
If we truly know ourselves as sinners, then it stands to reason that God’s omniscience may cause us great uneasiness. He knows everything about us. However, the understanding of God’s omniscience should cause believers in Christ to have great comfort that God knows everything which is occurring in our lives. As Job said, “But he (God) knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold” (Job 23:10).
God knows when I am weary (Psalm 103:14). He knows when I am filled with doubt and disbelief (Psalm 139:23-24). He knows when I am a failure (John 21: 16-19). Consequently, believers in Christ should be filled with holy awe, amazement and adoration of God in light of God’s omniscience.
“O Jehovah! Thou hast searched me David declares in the outset of this Psalm. He does not come before God with any idea of tis being possible to succeed by dissimulation, as hypocrites will take advantage of secret refuges to prosecute sinful indulgences, but that he voluntarily lays bare his innermost heart for inspection; as one convinced of the impossibility of deceiving God,” explains John Calvin.
“Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether” (Psalm 139:4). Have a blessed day in the LORD.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 