Oh, that we might quicken our
attention as we read this great psalm, an outstanding psalm. Pay attention, watch as I read. See the attributes of God come
before us one after the other. Verse 1, O Lord, Thou hast searched
me and known me. Thou know'st my down-sitting
and my up-rising, you understand my thought afar off. Thou compass'st my path and my
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is
not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and
before, and laid Thine hand upon me. Verse 6. Such knowledge is
too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain unto
it. Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from
thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou
art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold,
thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall
thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say,
surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light
about me. Yea, the darkness hides not from
thee, but the night shines as the day. The darkness and the
light are alike both to Thee, for Thou hast possessed my reins,
Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise Thee, for
I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Thy works,
and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid
from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought
in the lowest parts of the earth. 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. How precious also are thy thoughts
unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, They
are more in number than the sand. When I awake, I am still with
Thee. Now, we look at this psalm, what
we have read this morning, and probably would agree that there
could hardly be a more profitable study for our soul and our learning
than a consideration of the attributes of God. For His attributes are
what God is, and God is what His attributes are. God is never
to be considered. How can you consider God apart
from his attribute. In theology, it would be said
like this, that scripture never speaks of God simply in the abstract,
meaning they never speak of God apart from the quality of his
life and of his being, not considered apart from a real and a literal
representation of his being and form. The attributes of God go
with God, they are what he is. Herman Bevinck wrote, the Dutchman,
wrote in his book, The Doctrine of God, these words, quote, every
one of God's attributes is identical with his being and none of his
attributes differ either from his essence or from one another,
unquote. Having said that, it is sad that
modern pulpits are so silent on the subject of the attributes
of God. They are buried under the rubble
and the trash of free will and religious humanism, till the
point is about the only attribute that they ever emphasize is what
they call the love of God. And this they have corrupted
and they have perverted into their own thinking. Who can preach
about God? Who can preach the things of
God and at the same time ignore His great attribute? Who is there
that can claim to worship God and be ignorant of the attributes
of God that are set forth in the Scripture? Who is there that
can honor God and at the same time neglect His attribute? Who is there that can claim to
have a close fellowship with the God of Heaven and at the
same time not be aware of the great attributes of the Almighty
and Eternal God? An old catechism asked the question,
what are the attributes of God? And the answer in that catechism
is that His attributes are His infinite perfection of being. His infinite perfection of life,
nature, and being are the attributes of God. And if one were to ask
this morning, or any time, what are the chief attributes of God? Just as a question comes into
our mind, we might ask our brother, or sister, what do you think
is the chief attribute of God? Which one might be considered
first? Which one might lead the herd? Now granted, God holds all of
His attributes at one and the same time. and to absolute infinity
and perfection. For example, his knowledge is
that he knows all there is to know. There is not a thing to
be known But what God knows that, His infinity, each attribute
He possesses. As to His wisdom, when we think
of the wisdom of God, He is the all-wise God. He has all infinite
wisdom to direct all things as seemeth good in His sight. As
to His power, none are able to resist His hand or to say unto
Him, What are you doing? As to His understanding, it is
absolutely infinite. He possesses an understanding
to absolute infinity. As to mercy, and love. They are
everlasting attributes of the great God. Now, suppose we were
to ask, which is or are the chief attributes or the attribute of
God, which one might we consider the first one that we ought to
take up and to study. Which one, as we come to think
of the being of God, is the first attribute that might appear in
our mind. Which one, might we say, leads
the way leads the whole herd of the attributes of God. The
Arminian would be quick, I think, to nominate the love of God as
the outstanding attribute, the first, the foremost, and the
most important. Others might nominate the holiness
of God. Others might say the holiness
of God is the outstanding one. And yes, the immutable holiness
of God is a leading attribute of the Almighty. And yes, God
is beyond all comprehension, as the psalmist has told us. If He is not holy, then He is
not God. If he is holy, then he is God,
and nothing can take that away from him. In fact, as we read
the scripture, we find that God's holiness is the attribute that
he swears by when he would swear by or to David. He said, once
have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. Psalm 89 and verse 35. Again, in Amos chapter 4 and
verse 2. His holiness He makes a surety
for His truth or for His veracity. Because He is holy, He cannot
lie and He cannot make an empty promise to His people. Still, let me suggest to you,
for your consideration, that the chief attribute of God begins
with His eternality. The eternality of God. That He has no beginning. That He has ever existed. That He is uncreated. His life He has in Himself. He is the self-existent One,
having no beginning, he can have no end also. He is totally independent and
not dependent on any other one or any other thing. This is also
sometimes called the aseity of God. A-S-E-I-T-Y, that God's
being before all else is totally independent of all creatures,
dependent upon none outside of Himself. For His being is eternal
in the absolute sense of the word, never having been non-existent. In fact, it is an utter impossibility
for any to give themselves their being. That is an impossibility. For before they were, they were
not present to give themselves being, and therefore it is not
dependent upon them. Well then, after eternality,
we consider the infinity of our God. Not only is He eternal,
but He is infinite. God is both eternal and infinite. And His infinity then, when applied
to His other attributes, when applied to eternity, means that
He is free of the limitation of time. And applied to His omnipresence,
it means that He is free from the limitation of space. That neither time nor space put
any limit or any restriction upon our God. Now with these
things as our primer, our opening remark, when we meet in Psalm
139, more impressive attributes of God which the psalmist extols
here for his prophet and for ours. Now the first that we meet
with in the psalm is the omniscience of God. Or, yes, pronounce omniscience,
I believe some people would pronounce that. It is a compound word,
this omniscience of our God. It is the word first, omni. O-M-N-I. And it literally means
all. It means all are completely. It is from the Latin word omnis,
literally meaning all. Then we have the word science,
omniscience. Science means knowledge. Science is knowledge. And together
they mean a knowledge of everything. God has an all-encompassing knowledge
of everything that there is to know. So we say that the Bible
teaches that God is omniscient, knowing everything, having complete
and infinite knowledge, of all things, of all places, of all
persons, of all events, and whatever. And in Psalm 139, the psalmist
not only declares and confesses that God is omniscient, but he
applies that doctrine to himself. All through this psalm, he is
applying the doctrine of God's omniscience unto himself. Look
at verse 1 again. Oh Lord, You have searched me
and known me. Then if you look in verses 1
through 6, the doctrine of the omniscience of God, is in minutest
detail laid out in regard to himself and unto his action. Then he makes following applications
and confirmation. Matthew Henry commenting on that
did cause him to write this. This is the most excellent psalm,
Matthew Henry said, and a very pious, devout meditation upon
the doctrine of God's omniscience." Matthew Henry. We notice the
title of the psalm, if you would, To the Chief Musician. It was a sacred song. given to the leader of the songs
of praise, set to music and the worship of the Most High God
as they sang this psalm in worship. Gil said in his commentary on
this psalm that it was evidently written by David during some
time of trouble. then delivered to the master
of music or the chief musician to make use of it on proper occasion
as they met to worship and to sing it. As already hinted, it
extols some of the divine perfections of God, beginning with the omniscience
of God. And then it shows how this attribute
stands not alone, but it touches other of God's attributes as
well. Some expositors, in opening up
139th Psalm, actually see that there are three of the great
attributes of God that are set out in this psalm. Of course
there is omniscience, then there is omnipresent, you are everywhere,
I cannot escape, and then there is omnipotence, the power of
God to do as He would. Now what the psalmist said of
himself certainly must be true of every other person, particularly
of those who are worshippers of God. And yet the psalmist
has applied this personally and directly to himself. He said,
you have known me and have searched me. Now the picture painted by
those words is that of one who has searched in every part and
every reset. It is one who digs up, as it
were, overturning and digging, that they might find that which
is buried or which has been hidden out of sight. that it might be
uncovered and seen. And though the psalmist applies
these things to himself, it is the confession of others and
should be the confession of all who confess their God and worship
Him. For example, listen to Jeremiah
chapter 12 and verse 3. But thou, O LORD, knows me. You have seen me, you have tried
my heart toward you. Job understood this very well. Job 31 and 4. does not he see
my ways and count my steps? Yes. Proverbs 15 and 3, the eyes
of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good,
O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me." So let us be careful
here, lest we think that God has acquired by this search any
new knowledge by searching or by observation. It is not that
God found out something new. It is not that God found out
something which He had known before, because nothing is unknown
to God. He cannot learn. He cannot be
taught. He cannot forget anything that
He has known. It is He who tells the number
of the stars and calls them by name. Psalms 147 and verse 4. It is He also who tells the number
of the hairs of our head in Matthew 12 and verse 7. So He knows us
all like He knew the psalmist. Spurgeon wrote, quote, this infallible
knowledge has always existed, unquote. It is not something
later acquired. It is not anything new. But then let's notice in the
second verse of our text and following after that, that the
hymnist here in this psalm descends now into some particulars as
to the knowledge that the Lord possessed of him, as he had just
confessed. It was not just a general knowledge,
not at all, but it was in minute particulars laid out by the psalmist,
such as in the second verse. You know when I sit, you know
when I rise. You know when I recline and you
know when I get up. You know whether I recline or
stand upright. Even my thoughts afar off are
not hid from you. Then the third verse, my path,
my going abroad, my travels when I'm lying down, whether I am
on a path or on my bed, yea, you are acquainted with all of
my ways. Then look at the fourth verse.
Not a word in my tongue, O Lord, but you know it altogether, completely
and fully, even before it is spoken. It is yet in my tongue,
before the oral sound is sent forth, before the syllables are
formed and take voice. The unformed word is known by
the omnipotent one's knowledge. He knows the words that will
be spoken. He knows the words that are even
being formed there. And if I might use the words
of Spurgeon again, this infallible knowledge has always existed. It is not something new. But
then look at verse 5. There is more to it. You beset
me behind and before. literally you hem me in on all
sides, whether I go forward or backward, surrounded, even then
your hand is upon me. Now, two things to glean from
these verses that we have just noted. Number one, There is here
a summation of the words of the psalmist in the light of the
omniscience of God. Notice he says, his most seeming,
his most insignificant, his most casual acts, his movements to
and fro, including Unexpressed thoughts and unspoken words are
known unto God. Not so much an action or a thought
is unknown to God. that might enter into his life. Secondly, we notice something
else. The reaction of the psalmist
and the impression that these things made upon him as the reality
of them came home to his heart. when he meditated upon these
divine perfection and this great attribute of God, when his thoughts
were fixed upon this aspect of the Almighty God that he worshipped. What happened? Look at verse
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me. It is too high. I cannot attain
unto it. The word knowledge here, such
knowledge, such knowledge as this, as the psalmist means,
this completely overwhelms me when I think upon it. It's too
wonderful. It is too high. It's beyond my
comprehension. I cannot get my mind around it. He could not fully comprehend
what he believed and what he knew to be true of God. For consider, the extent of this
knowledge that God possesses, that it is not restricted to
the one person of the psalmist here, for the same is true of
every person upon the face of the earth. God has the same full,
perfect knowledge of each and every one. I should like to share
this question from a man named Henry Duncan, born in 1774, and
that's about all I know about him. But here's the quote. His
eye, at the same instant, surveys all the works of his immeasurable
creation, surveys all of the complicated system of the universe
and the motion of the most microscopic insect. At this moment, he is
listening to the praises of the grateful hearts in distant land
and reading every groveling thought which passes through the polluted
minds of the fallen race of Adam. At one view, he surveys the past
and the present and the future. No inattention prevents him from
observing. No defect of memory obscures
his comprehension. There is a description of the
omniscience of God. I thought of verse 6 here in
Psalm 139. It reminded me of that one from
Paul in chapter 11 of the book of Romans, 33 through verse 35,
where Paul, in thinking upon that, burst out into a doxology
of praise unto God. As an old writer put it, they
had the better view of God, who see Him as incomprehensible. In other words, they know more
about God, who understand that He is incomprehensible. While some are content with a
God without any mystery about His being and His attribute,
some are content with what we might call a simple deity, even
one like themselves, yet that would be a religion without God
if we had one like ourselves. Even so far, that two-faced hypocrite
asked Job. Job chapter 11, verse 7 and verse
8. Can you by searching find out
God? Can you find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It is as high as heaven. What
can you do? Deeper than hell or death of
the grave, what can you do? Put that question unto Job. But now coming to verse 7, Psalm
139 and following, the psalmist uses now two arguments in confirmation
of the omniscience of God. Two arguments he presents for
the omniscience of God. The first is in verse 7 through
verse 12, that the omniscience of God is especially connected,
works in conjunction with His omnipresent. and the two complement
one another. He knows all, He sees all, because
He is omnipresent. That is, He is everywhere present
at one and the same time. Now, he opens this argument in
verse 7 with some questions to confirm the general premise of
this psalm, that no one and no event can be hidden from the
observation of the omniscience or omnipresence of God. Notice the question, wither where
shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from
thy present?" It is still personal as it was in verse 1, you have
searched me, you have known me, and in verse 7, where shall I
go or flee from thy presence." We need to understand, this is
not a complaint on the part of the psalmist. This is not a desire
on the part of the psalmist, something that he wishes to do. It is not that the author of
these words wished to escape the presence of God and be somewhere
where He might not be seen or be known. He did not want to
escape the observation of the Almighty God. But it relates
to the premise back in verse 1. You have searched me, you
have known me, and this by the omniscience of God. And now,
he said, not only is God all-knowing, but He is everywhere present. He knows all and He is everywhere. Then he gives some example, verse
8. Suppose I should ascend up into the heaven, whether he means
the actual heaven where God dwells or the highest regions, I cannot
tell, but in either one. God is there present. Then suppose, he said, I descend
in the other direction, as far as I might go. Suppose I make
my bed in hell, or I think the word is sheol. or in the depths,
in the heart of the earth, because he speaks here of the making
of his bed. John Gill and others thought
that it is a reference to the grave, to the sleep of death,
and this be, you are there. If I do that, you are there. Then look at verse 9 and 10.
Suppose he said, I should take the wings of the morning and
dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, the farthest reaches,
the farthest region. Ezekiel Hopkins called this an
elegant metaphor, quote unquote, the picture being that of the
dawning of the sun popping over the horizon and then shooting
its light further than the I could ever imagine, sending its beams
to the farthest reaches and across the sea, to the other side of
the world upon which we dwell, to the most remote places, even
to a place uninhabited on the other side of the world, to some
land without life within it at all. The idea seems to include
both speed and distance, as he makes this observation, as fast
as light, as far as the horizon. Would this remove me from your
presence? is the question of the psalm
in verse 10. Nay, even there would you exercise
control over me, and thy hand would take hold of me. We look
then at verse 12. Likewise, it would be an exercise
in futility to attempt to use the darkness of night to hide
myself from the eye of the Almighty God. Even the darkness is not
darkness unto God as far as the eyes of God are concerned. He sees in the night as well
as He sees in the day. Both of them, said the psalmist,
are alike unto God. So in verse 7 through verse 12,
might be summed up thusly for our admonition. He says now,
let me go whither I will. Your presence will find me out. And there you will be present. Then coming to verse 13 through
verse 16, here's another proof and example of the omniscience
of our Almighty God. The second confirmation of the
premise of verse 1, you have searched me and have known me. And it is this, after this fashion,
you knew me, you covered me, you possessed me, you saw me. When I was in my embryonic stage,
you saw me, you knew me even then. When I was but in my first
or beginning or embryonic stage, you took hold of me at conception,
before my members were ever formed, before I ever was developed. while I yet lay in my mother's
womb." Look what he said. You have possessed my reins. R-E-I-N-S. And this is a word that you will
meet with from time to time in the Old Testament, some dozen
times or so, you'll meet with this archaic word, reins. Originally, the word referred
to the kidneys. experts tell us, as being a vital
organ of the body. And then it came to signify the
inward part, the emotion, and the affection, and the feeling,
the inner being, in other words, is what he is saying, or the
heart. Some apply it to judgment or
to reason that dwells in a person. But also in verse 13, we have
the word covered. You have covered me in my mother's
womb. Now some good expositors see
a double meaning here in the word covered. First to entwine
or to weave or to put together or to knit together. And secondly,
the word also has the meaning of to cover or to shield or protect,
as the same word is used earlier in regard to the tabernacle in
the wilderness. So the author is saying, God
had made me. And as Barnes put it, God had
formed His members, had united them together, in a bodily frame
and a bodily form before he ever saw the light of day. And in verse 15, my substance
was not hid from you when in secret I was made and curiously
wrought in the lower parts of the earth. Your eyes saw me before
I was formed, and even then were my members written up in your
book at that particular time." This again confirms the premise
back in verse 1, that God had searched him out and known him. that God had searched his entire
or all of his being. And from this passage comes a
proper refutation, I think, of a couple of modern evils which
dwell in our society. And they are embedded in modern
thinking and even in modern law. And this text militates against
these two things. Number one, The falsity of evolution. The first man God made of the
dust of the earth. The first woman God made out
of the side of the man, as stated in Genesis chapter 1 and Genesis
chapter 2. Humans did not evolve from any
lower form of life. They did not crawl up out of
the slime onto the land and take off. God made them in the beginning,
male and female, Genesis 1.27. And the marvelous and the intricate
human body and nature is in no way the product of godless evolution. Shame, shame, shame on any who
call themselves a Christian and swallow the poison of theistic
evolution as it is held in some churches. Theistic evolution
said, well, God might have created by a process of evolution over
thousands and thousands of years. But this they do, they say, to
reconcile science and the Bible, or to reconcile the Bible with
science. We say to them, horse feathers,
this is nothing but evolution under another name. This destroys
evolution. No believer in God should be
a believer in evolution. Secondly, I believe this text,
and I've used it before, is a great text against the evil of abortion. That it is just a mass of tissue,
and we'll get rid of it. That it is a fetus, you know,
when they want to abort, they don't call it baby, they call
it a fetus. Or they might call it a problem
pregnancy. But Jeremiah 1, 5, you remember
what God said to the prophet? God says He knew the prophet
and He formed him in the womb. David said in verse 14 of our
text, I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made
by a process unexplainable and going beyond our intelligence. Yes, this text is a good one
against abortion. Note in verse 17 and 18, again
he's overwhelmed at these things. The thoughts of God, the sum
of them, more in number, he said, than the grains of sand. Now
I have a question. Does David refer to the thoughts
which he had toward God or the thoughts which God had toward
him? In view of the context, I think
I agree with Alexander, John Gill, that the thoughts, thy
thoughts unto me, as Alexander called it, quote, the perpetual
attention unto me which you give, unquote. Thoughts which were
toward him when he was yet in his embryonic form, or began
in the embryonic form. Thoughts of peace and reconciliation,
and of course the renewed mind also has thoughts of God, such
knowledge as God has of us. is both a comfort and a restraint
from our sinning when we realize, Thou, O God, seeth me, that He
sees all. And even has an application in
the end of the psalm to the wicked, that God's knowledge of them
will cause them to meet their just and due reward at the hand
of Almighty God. And such truths of God cause
the psalmist, look at it, to hate the enemies of God in the
end of that passage. O Lord, Thou hast searched me
and known me, not a thing about me that you do not know, not
a word in my tongue, or a thought in my heart, or a motive in my
mind. But oh Lord, you know it all
together. That will have great effect upon
the children of God and maybe even some unbelievers might fear
and tremble at the thought of God knowing all there is to know
and seeing all that they do.