Introduction: The Prophet Isaiah wrote, (Isaiah 57:21) “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Similarly, Solomon penned, (Proverbs 28:1) “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Why are the wicked nervous and lacking peace? It is because the wicked are hiding secrets that they do not want anyone to discover.
Each of us has done things of which we are ashamed, but thank God for His forgiveness. We need not live in fearful hiding if we have confessed and forsaken our sin.
David, in Psalm 139, reminds us that we can keep no secrets from God, we cannot hide from God, and we cannot compete with God’s ability.
Transition: This evening, we are going to work our way through the first six verses of this Psalm, which remind us that we can keep no secrets from God.
1. O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. (v.1)
a. O LORD
1) David addressed the Psalm to Jehovah.
2) This title is from the Hebrew verb “to be,” which implies the ever-living, only-living God. Bob Utley
b. You have searched me.
1) We immediately note that David personalised this Psalm – you have searched me. We, too, must personalise the Psalm.
2) It is God, Jehovah, the only eternal being who has searched me.
3) To search is to explore, examine, or investigate. Spurgeon makes this observation. “Searching ordinarily implies a measure of ignorance which is removed by observation; of course this is not the case with the Lord; but the meaning of the Psalmist is, that the Lord knows us as thoroughly as if he had examined us minutely, and had pried into the most secret corners of our being.” ToD
c. You know me.
1) Because of God’s infinite understanding, He knows me. He knows me better than I know myself.
2) Often, we do not know why we do bad things, but God knows. We may not know when our motives were selfish, but God knows.
3) Being the living Word of God, Paul described God’s perfect knowledge of us. (Hebrews 4:12) “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.“
4) Praise God, He also knows when we truly love Him, when we long to please Him and serve Him.
2. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. (v.2)
a. God knows my downsitting.
1) He knows every place I sit. Though, you and I are just specks compared to the size of the earth and the earth is less than a speck in the universe, God knows where we are at every moment.
2) If you sit in the seat of the scornful (Ps 1:1), God knows. Those who sit in the pub, sit watching a filthy movie, or sit looking a porn, God knows.
3) God also knows when you sit reading your Bible, sit with a friend sharing the Gospel, sit to mentor your children, or sit in church worshipping the Lord.
b. God knows my uprising.
1) Standing up is so insignificant, yet God takes note of even this small movement.
2) (Hebrews 4:13) “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” We cannot hide anything from our great God.
c. God understands or discerns my thoughts.
1) These thoughts are my purpose or aim. They are the things I plan to do.
2) Often, our plans our in our minds alone. They may be good or bad, but they are unknown by others, yet God knows each one.
d. He discerns my thoughts afar off.
1) Before I was born, God knew every thought I would ever have.
2) Whether my thoughts are good or bad, I cannot hide even one of them from God.
3. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. (v.3)
a. He sees the things I do.
1) The word “compassest” means to scatter, and in this case, it likely means to winnow. Farmers winnowed their grain by scattering it to the wind and allowing the chaff to blow away and the grain to fall in a pile. Thus, God evaluates my path and my lying down.
2) My path is my daily activities, and my lying down is my rest at night.
b. He is aware of all my ways.
1) God observes all my ways or paths in life.
2) There is not a single thing that I can do without God being aware of it.
a) While this may be a fearful reality if we are doing things that are wrong, it is a joyful delight if we are doing right.
b) Remember, Jesus said that giving a cup of cold water in his name will be rewarded. God sees every little kind deed you do for others that never gets noticed.
4. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. (v.4)
a. This may even refer to words unspoken.
1) God knows the words we want to say and would say if we thought we dared.
2) He knows every idle word that passes from our lips. (Matthew 12:36) “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.“
b. God knows all that we say internally or verbally.
1) “Altogether” means entirely, or every one.
2) Our speech should include (Ephesians 5:4) “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.“
5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. (v.5)
a. God has surrounded us.
1) To “beset” is to besiege a city by surrounding it behind and before, removing all means of escape.
2) God’s omniscience completely surrounds us. We cannot possibly escape His knowledge.
b. He has held us in his hand.
1) God has taken hold of us. We cannot hide from God. There are no secrets from God.
2) Because God is everywhere, we cannot escape Him.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. (v.6)
a. This boggles the mind.
1) To be “too wonderful” means to be incomprehensible.
2) Our finite minds cannot fully understand.
b. This is too high for us to grasp.
1) It is out of our reach.
2) At the same time, that which we can grasp is both convicting and comforting.
a) It is convicting that I cannot hide any shameful thing from God, not even in my mind.
b) It is comforting that God sees and will reward every good action and attitude that I do with right motives.
Conclusion: Read text (if there is time). I hope that you can see that you cannot hide any secrets from God. He knows the very thoughts and intents of your heart. If you have done, said, or thought things that you need to confess to God, now is the time to do it. If you feel like no one notices the kind things you do, take heart, God knows every one. The Psalmist said, (Psalm 56:8) “Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?” God misses nothing!
