Psalm 139 is like the beautiful Hindu text Atharva Veda Book IV, Hymn 16, from 1200-1000 BC. The Hindu hymn offers a praise to the gods, who beholds the worlds as though nearby. It warns that one who thinks he or she acts by stealth, the gods see and know. The gods know what we whisper or do in secret. King Varuna is like the secret presence of another in all that we do. King Varuna possesses all we see to the furthest regions. He beholds all that is between the heavens and the earth and what is beyond them. Yet, he also sees how often we blink. He is the watcher of humanity. He lays snares and the hymn prays that they will catch the liar. He sends disease and drives it away. He is like one native to the land and one who is a stranger. He is celestial and human. We find a similar spirit binds these two hymns together.
The Psalm deals with theological concepts of omnipresence and omniscience. One of the reasons scholars tend to date this psalm late in the biblical period is because of its presentation of divine omniscience, specifically of human emotions, thoughts and will. Although the idea of God having knowledge of our thoughts seems commonplace to contemporary readers of the Bible, and although the notion is not unique to this psalm, it is not a common motif in the OT, which focuses far more of its attention on human acts rather than on their underlying motives. Psychological “roundedness,” of the sort that modern anthropology takes for granted, is not a theme we find widely in the Old Testament, occurring in the books of Job and Jeremiah. For example, we might note Jeremiah 17:10, “I the Lord test the mind / and search the heart, // to give to all according to their ways, / according to the fruit of their doings”. Bible scholars understand such themes to be a development from the wisdom tradition in Israel and surrounding cultures.
The psalm is one of the theological and literary treasures of the Bible. One of the most familiar and beautiful of the Hebrew Psalms, the psalm stresses two main theological points: God's omniscient omnipresence and God's role as creator, not only of the created universe, but also as the divine parent of every human being. The Psalm addresses the first of these topics in verses 1-12 and the second in verses 13-18. It challenges human thought and experience, often disorienting even as it profoundly discloses truth. Since one of the provocative questions of human existence concerns how a woman or a man may find a place in an often-hostile universe, the enthusiasm with which readers over the generations have responded to Psalm 139 is understandable. This wonderful hymn of Israel sings not just of a God who cares, but also of a God whose being has such an intimate connection with our own being that God forms part of the fabric of each of us. We sense that the author finds amazement that God has such intimate knowledge of him as an individual. Yet, we also wonder if he has some fear that God knows him so well. The searching and examining that God performs on him, and on us, is not always welcome. We are naked before God, but we may want to conceal some things. We do conceal some things from others and even from ourselves. The author reminds us that we can conceal nothing from God. In fact, as God seeks me and finds me, I discover my identity. God has an all-embracing knowledge of us as individuals that rests upon the presence of God with all creation. In other words, the omnipresence of God is the basis for the omniscience of God. The author seems amazed and a little frightened by all this. Yet, in the end, he invites God to search, know, and test him. He invites God to question, probe, and engage in a detailed investigation of him. Yet, the purpose is simple. In welcoming such examination, the psalmist can be the person God wants him to be. He moves toward his true self as God intended.
The superscription to the Psalm is typical. To the leader (lam-menatzeach). The reference is to the leader of musicians at the temple. Mitchell Dahood has suggested the view that a "leader" wrote this psalm (but a religious one, not just the musical one) whom others accused of worshiping foreign gods.[1] Seen in this light, it does sound like an appeal to innocence on the part of someone so accused. Only a true worshiper of YHWH would believe in YHWH's role in his or her conception and birth. Only a true worshiper of YHWH would be willing to have YHWH examine him and would trust that YHWH knew the true content of his or her heart. While this is certainly an interesting idea, and a compelling lens through which to read the psalm, it is, of course, only one context for which one might have written the psalm. Of David(le-david). Psalm 139 is one of 75 out of the 150 that the canon identifies to be "of" or "for" David. The other "Davidic" psalms are 3-9, 11-32, 34-41, 51-65, 68-70, 86, 101, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 138-145. It is unclear from the phrase if it identifies David as the author of all these psalms. It is possible that the Hebrew phrase means "about David," "belonging to David" or "written for David." A Psalm (mizmor). This implies writing the psalm for voices rather than instruments.
Psalm 139:1-18 is an exquisitely detailed and poetic description of divine omniscience.
Psalm 139: 1-6 express the intimate knowledge the Lord has of the self. 1 O Lord, you have searched (chaqar, implying a thoroughgoing investigation and not simply a steady penetrating gaze) me in the past, in the sense of questioning, probing, detailed investigation, and cross-examination. Further, the Lord has known (yada’ suggesting intimate knowledge) him, in the sense of intimate knowledge. The Psalmist then offers the classical expressions of the inescapability of the presence of God.[2] 2 You know (yada’) when I sit down and when I rise up, an expression comprising the whole of one’s life and activity; you discern my thoughts from far away. One of the chief features of wisdom literature that distinguishes it from other (usually, but not always, earlier) types of biblical literature is its universality: the universality of divine rule and the universality of the human condition under that rule. Ancient Israel, like all its neighbors, originally conceived of its god as a localized divine patron, whose influence and protection were found first in local shrines (such as Bethel) and later in the land of Israel itself, primarily in the temple in Jerusalem. Note the geographical specificity in the petition in Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the temple in I Kings 8:41-43. “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name — for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand and your outstretched arm — when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling-place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you.” Although they understood Yahweh to dwell in heaven, they understood the activity and influence of Yahweh to focus primarily on the chosen people in the Promised Land. This psalm’s reference to “far away” may suggest heaven, but more likely, it refers to the universality of the divine presence. 3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know (yada’) it completely. 5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me, an expression for divine control and assistance. The Lord has knowledge of the everyday activities of the poet, as well as inner thoughts and not-yet-uttered words. His point is that we stand naked before the Lord. We can conceal nothing from the Lord. On the practical side, one who knows us this well may not always be a welcome guest. Yet, we find no suggestion of judgment. 6 Such knowledge (da’at) is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain (context suggesting “fathom,” “comprehend” or “grasp” would be better, since the psalmist has no intention of trying to attain divine knowledge; he simply cannot grasp how Yahweh can have such knowledge) it. He marvels that the Lord knows him in such a personal way. As the Lord has searched him and found him, he discovers his identity as the beloved child of the Lord. He only hints in this negative direction. We see more clearly the fearful side of these matters in Job 7:17-21. Job wants the Lord to look away from him for a while because the Lord is paying too much attention! His little sin does nothing to the majesty of God. He wants pardon. Yet, he shall be in Sheol, where the Lord will seek him but not find him.
One who knows us as well as the Lord does is not always a welcome guest. Everyone does or says things they would rather keep hidden. The point here may not be so much “original sin” as “original shame.” Many people today feel stupid, inadequate, dirty, or unworthy. The assumption is that if people knew the real self, they would not love us. The feeling is one of almost radical unworthiness. To counteract this, we need to see the Lord clearly, which usually comes from an experience that teaches us that God has mercy toward us even with our unruly behavior. Out of that experience, amendment of our behavior can follow. We must first experience original blessing from the Lord, realizing the Lord chooses us and loves us. If we focus upon sin and shame, we will dig a pit so deep we never get out of it.[3] Of course, this does not mean we are to have a form of cheap optimism that says it is useless to waste our time in regretting what we have done wrong in our past. Such experiences are a matter of constant conversation with the Lord. We are sinners. Our sin is all part of our days’ work! We are to be sin-conscious always, which is why we consistently offer confession of sin.[4]
In Psalm 139:13-18, the poet extols the role of the Lord in creation, but on very intimate terms, describing the mysteriously wonderful process of gestation. The Lord saw the poet even in the womb. The Lord skillfully prepares all things. We find here the classical expression of the inescapability of the presence of the Lord, with nowhere to hide.[5] 13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. The word of the Lord to Jeremiah is that the Lord formed him in his mother womb, setting him apart, and appointing him (Jeremiah 1:5). Another prophet is confident that the Lord called him before he was born and has spoken his name from the womb of his mother (Isaiah 49:1). Paul testifies that God set him apart in the womb of his mother (Galatians 1:15). 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. 15My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Elsewhere, this is another way of describing Sheol (Job 40:13; Isaiah 45:19). It is puzzling why the site of creation should be located in Sheol. 16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. The Old Testament refuses to limit the creative power of the Lord by linking it with preexistence matter. They imply unrestricted freedom of creative action that is behind the traditional phrase, “creation out of nothing.”[6] We can also see an element of the teleology of the divine action of the ordering Spirit bringing order to the origin of the cosmos.[7] In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. Elsewhere, God has a book with the names of the righteous written in it (Malachi 3:16), but only here in Psalm 139 and in Psalm 40:7 does God keep more extended data in such records than just names. The concept behind this image is clear, however. The Lord knows everything about us before we live out our lives. 17 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end —I am still with you. Divine thoughts are unfathomable, as in Isaiah 55:8-9. The poet would want us as readers to reflect upon how the Lord has personally and caringly fashioned us and intended for us to be here. In fact, the Lord continues to fashion us after the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:28-29, II Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:10), so that we might become “a new creation” (II Corinthians 5:17). Immanuel, God is with us, is a central affirmation of both testaments. The biblical intent is that we respond with a correspondingly strong affirmation: We are with God.
We are not accidents. We are not mistakes. We have a reason to be here. The breath of God has given life to us. In the song by Casting Crowns, we have this reminder about our lives.
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
Vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours
Yes, life is so very brief. The older I become, the briefer it seems. Yet, God has an interest in this briefly existing flower, this little wave in the ocean of history. I have every reason to lift up my soul.
—Richard Rohr, “Original shame and original blessing,” Center for Action and Contemplation website, July 1, 2016. cac.org. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
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[6] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 17.
[7] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 1, 386.
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