Okay, this evening we're gonna
take a look at Psalm 139. I'm entitling the message from
verse six. Psalm 139, look at verse six. Knowledge, such knowledge is
too wonderful for me. That is the knowledge of knowing
the true and living God. It's just too wonderful for me. David said it's high. The gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ is high doctrine. Did you know that?
Because it's the doctrine and the gospel of God. The gospel
of God is high, true, holy. He says, I cannot
attain to that level. I want to, my ambition is to
have a saving right knowledge of God. Unless He reveals it
unto us, we'll never know the true and living God. Now, what
a great privilege. It's a privilege the Lord has
given unto us to know something of His glorious and holy character. His character is awesome. awesome he's not left us in the
dark about these things for he has revealed himself to us through
the word by the power and revelation of his holy spirit through the
word the word we have right here in our hand HE DESCRIBES WHO
HE IS. HE SAID, I AM GOD, BESIDE ME
THERE IS NO OTHER. BUT NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE THE WORD,
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SENT TO REVEAL THE THINGS OF CHRIST, TO TAKE
THE THINGS OF CHRIST, AND TO SHOW THEM UNTO US. WHEN PAUL DESCRIBES THE ELECT
OF GOD, HE SAID, BRETHREN, YOU KNOW YOUR ELECTION IS OF GOD. FOR OUR GOSPEL CAME NOT TO YOU
IN WORD ONLY, but in power and in the revelation of God, the
Holy Spirit. He's made known unto us his glorious
person. He's given us the saving knowledge
of a true and living God. Now certainly this psalm tells
us much about the glorious character of our God and Savior, and we
see a vivid description of the divine attributes of Almighty
God. We see at least three main attributes
of God in this psalm. We see his omniscience, his omniscience,
that is his infinite, intimate, complete, and perfect knowledge
of all things. God knows all things. We're gonna read in Acts 15,
Sunday or the Sunday after Acts 15 18 known unto God are all
his works from the beginning God knows all things He's omniscient
Secondly, we're going to see that God's omnipresent That is
the Lord our God is everywhere in present everywhere present. He said if I send to heaven he's
there and If I live upon this earth, he is there. And when
we take our body and put it in the grave, the Lord's still with
us. That's amazing. No wonder he's
able to raise us from the dead. He knows where we are. Everywhere present, the eyes
of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good.
Proverbs 15, three. He said, lo, I'm with you always,
even to the ends of the earth. His omniscience, His omnipresence,
and then we're gonna see also that God's omnipotent. Now what
does omnipotent mean? It means that He is God. Beside Him, there is no other. We see His unlimited, SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY OVER ALL. THERE'S NONE HIGHER THAN GOD. HIS SUPREME RIGHT TO DO AS HE
WILL, WITH WHOM HE WILL, WHEN HE WILL, FOR HIS OWN GLORY. IF HE SENDS ME TO HELL, THAT'S
RIGHT. THAT'S WHAT I DESERVE. IF HE
SAVES ME BY HIS GRACE, THAT'S RIGHT TOO. BECAUSE THAT PLEASES
GOD TO DO SO. IF YOU LOOK, TURN OVER ONE PAGE,
PSALM 135, VERSE 5, WELL, I KNOW THAT THE LORD OUR GOD IS GREAT,
THAT OUR LORD IS ABOVE ALL GODS, WHATSOEVER THE LORD PLEASED,
THAT DID HE IN EARTH, HEAVEN, SEAS, AND ALL DEEP PLACES. whatsoever the Lord pleases,
that's what he does. Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right? And yes, he does. He worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. Now it's important for us to
know the God who knows us. This is eternal life, that they
might know thee, the only true God. I want to know him who knows
me. Nothing need be added to God. He saves us and gives us a knowledge
of Himself. There is nothing more dishonoring
to God than for His creature or His creation to deny the true
and living God THE TRUE CHARACTER OF THE CREATOR, ALMIGHTY GOD. IT REVEALS THE WICKED HEART OF
UNBELIEF. OUR LORD SAID, IF YOU BELIEVE
NOT THAT I AM HE, YOU'RE GOING TO DIE IN YOUR SINS. IF YOU DIE
IN YOUR SINS, YOU CANNOT COME WHERE I AM. AND YET, THIS IS
THE VERY THING WE SEE HAPPENING IN OUR DAY, IS IT NOT? Even in
most religious circles, we see an outright denial of the true
character of God. They preach up the will of man
and make salvation dependent upon the creature rather than
upon the creator of God Almighty. They deny the true and living
God. Paul describes them in Romans 1 who changed the truth of God
into a lie. worship and serve the creature
more than the Creator who was God blessed over all forever. You remember Romans 3 describes
those Us, who we are by nature, there's none righteous, no not
one. There's none that understands, there's none that seeks after
God. They've all gone out of the way. And down later on, he
says, there's no fear of God before their eyes. We see all the lawlessness and
anarchy that's going on in our streets and in our cities. Why
is that? There's no fear of God before
their eyes. They don't fear the policemen
because they don't fear God. Sad, but that's the reality of
our depraved flesh. Eternal life is described as
knowing a true and living God. Remember John 17, the Father,
our Lord prayed, hath given me power over all flesh, that I
should give eternal life to as many as the Father hath given
to me. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God whom Jesus Christ, the
only true God whom God hath sent, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. To trust the God of our Imagination
is to trust a mere idol that cannot save a flea, yet alone
a sinner. I need God who is almighty to
save this poor sinner. Remember we read a week or so
ago, Isaiah 45, they have no knowledge yet set up wood of
their graven image, and they pray unto a God that cannot save. Our Lord said, look unto me,
the only just God and Savior, look unto me and be ye safe.
Now, in verse one down through verse six, we learn something.
We learn some vital truths about the omniscience of the Lord.
Now hold your place there and find Psalm 44 verse 20. Psalm
44 verse 20 says this. Psalm 44, 20. If we have forgotten
the name of our God or stretched out our hand to a strange God,
shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of
the heart. God knows everything. You won't
pull one on him. He knows everything because he's
omniscient. Look at verse one. Oh, Lord,
Jehovah, the eternal, everlasting, self-sustaining God, thou hast
searched me, and you know me. Thou knowest my down-sitting,
my uprising, thou understandest my thoughts afar off. You compass
my path, my lying down, when we walk, when we're sleeping,
you're acquainted with, intimately acquainted with all my way, for
there is not a word in my tongue. But lo, O LORD, thou knowest
it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind, and
before you laid your hand upon me, thank God it's a hand of
mercy. Such knowledge is too wonderful,
it's too glorious for me, it's high, I cannot Apart from divine
revelation, I cannot see, I cannot understand, I cannot attain unto
it. The Lord has knowledge of all
men, right? He knows their frame, right?
He knows that we're but dust. He knows their name, right? All
men everywhere that ever been. But this here is talking about
an intimate knowledge and love God has only toward his elect. The grace of God is only toward
his elect. WE DON'T SEE THIS THING, THERE'S
NO SUCH THING AS GENERAL GRACE TO ALL MEN. HIS GRACE IS EXCLUSIVE
AND ONLY TO HIS ELECT. THE LORD HAS KNOWN FROM ALL ETERNITY
HIS PEOPLE AND HE'S LOVED THEM WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE AND
IN DUE TIME CROSSES OUR PATH WITH THE GOSPEL AND HE REVEALS
HIMSELF UNTO US. He's hid these things from the
wise and prudent, and revealed them unto babes, even so, father,
for so it seemed good in your sight. All things, our Lord said,
is delivered unto me and my father, and no man knoweth the father
but the son, and he to whom the son will reveal him. That's Matthew 11, 25 through
27. LORD IS OUR GOOD SHEPHERD, AND
HE SAYS, I KNOW MY SHEEP, AND MY SHEEP KNOW ME. HE'S INTIMATELY
ACQUAINTED WITH HIS PEOPLE. THE GOOD SHEPHERD DOES SEEK OUT
HIS SHEEP, AND HE FINDS THEM, SAVES THEM, MAKES THEM NEW CREATURES
IN CHRIST, AND THEN HE TAKES THEM HOME TO GLORY. THE FOUNDATION
OF GOD STANDETH SURE, HAVING THIS SEAL, THE LORD KNOWETH THEM,
that are his. He knows his people. Verse two,
how well does he know us? Completely. Thou knowest when
I'm down and when I'm up. My down sitting, my up rising. You understand my thought, every
one I have. He knows us completely and fully
and better than we know ourselves. Every movement, every step. You
remember we studied Psalm 37, you remember what it said about
our steps? The steps of a righteous man
are ordered of God. Our every movement, our every
thought, our every imagination, remember we read in Hebrews 4,
all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom
we have to do. Remember Peter said to the Lord,
when the Lord asked him, Peter, do you love me? Yes, Lord. Peter,
do you really love me? Yes, I do. He asked him that
third time. And Peter said, Lord, you know
all things. You know all things. You know that I love you. Every
movement, every thought, every action, every motive, every deed,
every way. The Lord looks on the heart.
The Lord knows our words, what we say. To him and of him and
others, nothing is done in secret before God. He knows our every
thought, motive, word, deed, motivation. He knows us through
and through. Look at verse 5 again. Thou hast
set me behind him before and laid your hand upon me. The Lord
our God not only holds us, but he surrounds us. He encircles
us. He hems us in and protects us. You remember in Job chapter 1
when the Lord was having that conversation with Satan about
Job? And Satan said, well, I can't
touch your servant Job. You've hedged him about. You've
encircled him, and I can't touch him. Because the hand of the
Lord was upon him. In great mercy, he lays his mighty
hand of grace upon us to redeem us, to save us, to call us, and
to make us his own. The Lord laid down his life for
the sheep. You remember John chapter 10,
he said, my sheep, hear my voice, I know them, I love them, and
I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
And they said, no man can pluck them out of my hand. Thou hast
set me behind them before and laid thy hand upon me. Notice verse 10, even there shall
thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. None can stay his hand of saying
to him, Lord God Almighty, what doest thou? No one can pluck
us out of his hand. We're called the sheep of his,
the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. He lays his hand upon us to rule
us, to lead us, to uphold us, to protect us, to teach us, and
to restore us. Wow, what a hand. We're in his
hands. He's not in our hand, we're in
his hand, thank God. Verse six, such knowledge. That's wonderful. It's just too wonderful for me.
You know, His name is called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty
God. Such knowledge is just too wonderful
for me. God's infinite knowledge of us
is most wonderful and glorious to think about. I cannot comprehend
it, understand it. It's high. I believe it. By faith,
I know it. too high for us to understand
apart from God teaching us and giving us faith to believe, yet
by faith we know it's true. It's only at the throne of the
most high God, the sovereign eternal God, that any sinner
will truly worship. It's only at the throne of God.
He said, come boldly unto the throne of grace. The only place a sinner will
truly worship is at the throne of the almighty God. Anything less than that, a God
that's in your hands will not be, a God that's in your hands
and manipulated by you won't be worshiped. But a God who is
God, independent and sovereign in all things, that's the place
where we fall on our face and worship. The Apostle writes this
in Romans 11, oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways
past finding out for who has known the mind of the Lord, who
had been his counselor or who first given to him. given to
him and it shall be recompensed unto him again for of him and
through him and to him are all things to whom be glory both
now and forever." It's high knowledge to know the true living God.
He's high lifted up and it's wonderful. Now he moves on to the next point
We're talking about God's omniscience. He knows all things about us.
And then the second thing he mentioned, verse seven down to
verse 13, here we learn something of God's omnipresence. That is, he is everywhere present
all the time. Our God is everywhere present. There is no hiding from him.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit? SPIRIT OF THE LORD'S EVERYWHERE.
HE SAID, EVEN WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN MY NAME, THERE
I'M IN THE MIDST. I MEAN, THE LORD'S IN THE MIDST
OF HIS PEOPLE RIGHT HERE? ABSOLUTELY. WHETHER SHALL I GO
FROM MY SPIRIT, OR WHETHER SHALL I FLEE FROM MY PRESENCE? IF I
ASCEND UP INTO HEAVEN, IT WILL BE BY THE GRACE OF GOD, IT WILL
BE BY THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. IF I ASCEND
UP INTO HEAVEN, IT WILL BE BECAUSE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST PUT OUR
SIN AWAY TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY TO BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD.
IF I ASCEND UP INTO HEAVEN, GUESS WHO'S THERE? OUR FORERUNNER,
AS FOR US, ENTERED IN AND SAT DOWN, AND WE'RE SAT DOWN IN HIM. IF I ASCEND UP INTO HEAVEN, IT
WILL BE BY HIS GRACE, IT WILL BE BY HIS WILL, IT WILL BE BY
HIS PURPOSE, BUT HE'S THERE ALREADY. IF I MAKE MY BED IN THE GRAVE,
AND THAT'S WHERE THIS BODY'S GOING, UNLESS WE ARE PRIVILEGED
TO LIVE WHEN THE LORD COMES BACK, THERE'LL BE SOME STANDING HERE
WHEN THE LORD COMES BACK. But in a moment, and twinkling
an eye, we've gotta be changed, because in this state that we're
in, flesh and bones, and this corruptible blood, corruption
can inherit incorruption, we study in 1 Corinthians 15. If I ascend up to heaven, our
Lord Jesus Christ ever lives to intercede for us, thank God
he does. If I make my bed in the grave,
and that's where this body's going, you know what? This body
goes there. Who else is there? The Lord's
there. No wonder he's on that resurrection
morning. He's going to so easily, quickly
raise us from the grave because the Lord is with us there with
our remains of our dust in the body, in the grave. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts
of the sea. Even there shall thy hand lead
me. You see, he's the good shepherd.
The good shepherd leads us into the green pastures of his word,
to the water of life. And the right hand, his right
hand there shall hold me. His hand will lead us, his hand
will hold us. This is a God with whom we have
to do. There's no hiding from the Lord. Some will pray in that day of
judgment to the rocks and mountains to hide us, hide us from the
wrath of the Lamb. They won't be hidden. This is
a God with whom we have to do. All things are naked and open
before him. There's no escaping his judgment,
his presence, or his decrees. But this is comfort to the believer.
The Lord is always with us. Remember the ascended Lord, the
resurrected Lord before his ascension, he said to his disciples, you
go and preach the gospel, know that I have all power in heaven
and earth. And then he said, oh, you remember this, I'm with
you always, even to the end of the earth. You think about this,
all those men that he said that to, IN ESSENCE, WERE ALL MARTYRS
FOR THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. DO YOU RECKON HE WAS
WITH THEM THERE WHEN THEY DIED? WHEN PETER WAS CRUCIFIED UPSIDE
DOWN, THEY SAY? WHEN JAMES WAS BEHEADED, WAS
THE LORD THERE WITH HIM? ABSOLUTELY. ABSOLUTELY. THERE THY HAND SHALL LEAD ME,
AND THY RIGHT HAND SHALL HOLD ME. VERSE 11, IF I SAY, SURELY
DARKNESS SHALL COVER ME, Can darkness cover a sinner from
the Lord? Even the night shall be a light
about me. The point is here, you can't
hide from God. He not only knows you, He's everywhere
you go. He's omniscient. omnipresent. Yea, the darkness hideth not
from thee, but the night shineth as the day, the darkness and
the light, they're both alike to him. Now they're not to us, but to him everything's naked
and open before him. Thou hast, I love this, verse
13, thou hast possessed me. Thou hast possessed me. You've possessed my reins, my
real inner being, who I really am, my soul and spirit. You've possessed me and covered
me in my mother's womb. You see, he possessed us in that
he bought us with his own blood. WE'RE NO MORE, YOU REMEMBER,
REMEMBER WE STUDIED IN FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER SIX, WE'RE
BOUGHT WITH A PRICE, YOU'RE NO MORE YOUR OWN, YOU'RE BOUGHT
WITH A PRICE, THEREFORE GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY AND IN YOUR
SOUL. THE LORD POSSESSES US, HE OWNS
US, HE CHOSE US, HE BOUGHT US WITH HIS BLOOD, AND HE'S GOING
TO HAVE US. EVEN BEFORE WE KNEW HIM, HE KNEW
US. and you covered me in my mother's
womb. Don't turn, let me just read
this to you, you're familiar with it. Galatians 1, but when
it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by his grace to reveal his son in me that I might preach
him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and
blood. THE LORD SAID OF JEREMIAH, BEFORE I FORMED THEE IN THE BELLY,
I KNEW THEE. BEFORE THOU CAMEST FORTH OUT
OF THE WOMB, I SANCTIFIED THEE AND ORDAINED THEE TO BE A PROPHET. THOU HAST POSSESSED ME, HE BOUGHT
ME WITH HIS BLOOD, AND HE'S COVERED ME. HE'S COVERED ME BEFORE I
WAS BORN. HE'S COVERED ME WITH WHAT? WHAT
WOULD WE BE COVERED WITH? HOW ABOUT HIS ROBE OF HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS
AND THE GARMENTS OF HIS SALVATION? HE'S COVERED US WITH CHRIST.
YOU SEE, WE WERE BORN IN SIN, CONCEIVED IN SIN, SHAPING AN
INIQUITY. I WAS A SINNER FROM THE FIRST
GET-GO. MY MOMMA WAS A SINNER, MY DADDY
WAS A SINNER. SINNERS CAN ONLY PRODUCE SINNERS. COWS PRODUCE COWS. HORSES PRODUCE
HORSES. SINNERS PRODUCE SINNERS. BUT EVEN THEN, THE LORD COVERED
US IN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. ISN'T THAT AMAZING? I WILL PRAISE
THEE Verse 14, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Remember the apostle said, I
am what I am by the grace of God. We are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus. I will praise thee for I am fearfully
and wonderfully made. We're his creation. We are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus. MAN BE IN CHRIST, HE'S A NEW
CREATION. I'M FEARFULLY, WONDERFULLY MADE,
MARVELOUS ARE THY WORKS, AND THAT MY SOUL KNOWETH RIGHT WELL. VERSE 15, MY SUBSTANCE WAS NOT
HID FROM THEE WHEN I WAS MADE IN SECRET, AND CURIOUSLY ROTTEN
IN THE LOWEST PARTS OF THE EARTH. HERE HE'S TALKING ABOUT BEING
CONCEIVED IN THE WOMB. Thine eye did see my substance
yet being unperfect, not even complete, before my arms and
fingers and feet were fully formed. Unperfect in thy book all my
members were written, which in continuance were fashioned when
as yet there was none of them. We have been written in the book
of life. When did he do that? OUR NAMES
WERE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE FROM ALL ETERNITY BECAUSE GOD
CHOSE US FROM THE BEGINNING. HE'S ALWAYS HAD HIS EYE UPON
US. HE ALWAYS DID SEE US BECAUSE
HE KNOWS ALL THINGS, FOR ORDAINED ALL THINGS, PREDESTINATED ALL
THINGS, DECREED ALL THINGS. VERSE 17, HOW PRECIOUS, HOW PRECIOUS,
HOW PRECIOUS ARE THY THOUGHTS. me." To me, his thoughts, the decrees of
God, the salvation of the Lord is precious to me. To you who
believe, he is precious. He is precious. To you who believe,
he is precious. To those who believe, the gospel
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. HOW PRECIOUS ALSO ARE THY THOUGHTS
UNTO ME, O GOD, HOW GREAT IS THE SUM OF THEM. HE IS ALL TOGETHER LOVELY. HOW
GREAT IS THE SUM OF GOD'S DECREES AND THOUGHTS TOWARD HIS COVENANT
PEOPLE. He said, there are more. Great
is the sum of them. If I should count them, they're
more in number than the sand. If I should count them, they're
more in number than the sand. And when I awake, I'm still with
thee. I thought of this verse, when
I awake, it reminded me of this verse found over here. Let me
see if I can find it for you. Pretty sure I've got the right
one. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I'll
be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. When I awake, oh,
I'm still with thee. Surely, the last part of this
verse, of this psalm, verse 19 down through verse 22, You see how God has blessed his
people with an intimate knowledge of them, how he saves them and
holds them and passes them around, passes them around and blesses
them and saves them and does everything for them. And there's
a flip side to that. Surely that will slay the wicked. Wait a minute now. Is that fair
for God to have mercy on some and leave others to justly perish
in their sin? Surely that will slay the wicked.
No man deserves mercy. The wage of sin is death. That's
what we all deserve. If we got exactly what we deserve,
we'd be in this group right here. God shall slay the wicked. That's
us by nature, wicked through and through. Surely that will
slay the wicked, oh God. Depart from me therefore, you
bloody men. Their foot will slide in due
time. Remember Deuteronomy 32? My pastor
used to say that was a water skier's favorite verse. Their
foot will slide in due time. And he says this of the wicked.
Their foot will slide in due time. Oh God, depart from me,
therefore you bloody men. For they speak against the Lord.
To me, he said, belongeth vengeance and recompense. Their foot shall
slide in due time. for the day of their calamity
is at hand. There's a day of judgment and
reckoning coming for those who rebel against the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name
in vain. Doesn't that vex your soul to
hear someone blaspheme God? Do not, and David here again
now, HE'S SPEAKING HERE IN THE INSPIRATION OF GOD, AND HE'S
SPEAKING HERE FROM HIS HEART WITH A HOLINESS, A ZEAL IN HIS
HEART. DO NOT I HATE THEM, O LORD, THAT
HATE THEE. DAVID SAYS, I HATE THEM THAT
HATE THEE. I AM NOT GRIEVED WITH THOSE THAT
RISE UP AGAINST THEE. I HATE THEM, HE SAYS, VERSE 22,
WITH A PERFECT HATRED. I COUNT THEM mine enemies. We shouldn't be allied with those
who are enemies of God. We shouldn't be friends with
those who deny the gospel of God. Search me, O God, verse 23. Search me, O God. Search my heart. Search me, O
God, and know my heart. And he does. HE WILL. HE WILL. TRIALS DON'T REVEAL. TRIALS DON'T
PRODUCE FAITH, BUT THEY DO REVEAL FAITH. TRY ME. TRIALS ARE SENT
FROM THE LORD, AND KNOW MY THOUGHTS, AND SEE IF THERE BE ANY WICKED
WAY IN ME. DAVID'S PRAYING HERE, LORD, ROOT
IT OUT. IF THERE'S WICKEDNESS THAT I
DON'T KNOW OF IN MY HEART, AND THERE IS. root it out, expose
me, and then lead me in the way everlasting. Lead me to the way
of truth. Lead me in the way of everlasting
life only in the Lord Jesus Christ.