Worshiping the Lord is very important for Christians, although many times we do not know what prayers to dedicate to Him. Today you will discover the powerful Psalm 139, which will give you a beautiful prayer to worship God.
All about Psalm 139
We all know that Our Lord is omnipotent and omnipresent, although on many occasions, we do not realize the profound meaning of these words. Omnipotent means that nothing is impossible for God. And when we say nothing, it means, absolutely, nothing.
We will see, read and analyze Psalm 139 in detail, so that you can have the full experience of what this wonderful text means. If you are a regular reader, you already know how this goes; if not, get ready to watch an inspiring video on Psalm 139 before starting with the reflection. Here we go!
Psalm 139 of the Bible in English and large print
Now that you have listened to Psalm 139 of the updated King James Bible, we invite you to read it again so that you can notice all the details of the text. The version we have chosen is the King James Bible, one of the best English translations you can find.
1 O Jehovah, thou hast examined me and known me.
2 Thou hast known my sitting down and my rising up;
You have understood from afar my thoughts.
3 Thou hast searched my walk and my rest,
And all my ways are known to you.
4 For the word is not yet in my tongue,
And behold, O LORD, thou knowest all things.
5 Behind and before you surrounded me,
And upon me you laid your hand.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
High is, I can’t understand it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
And where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, you are there;
And if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn
And I will dwell at the end of the sea,
10 Even there your hand will guide me,
And your right hand shall hold me.
11 If he shall say, Surely the darkness shall cover me;
Even the night will shine around me.
12 Even darkness does not hide from you,
And the night shines like the day;
Darkness is the same to you as light.
13 For thou hast formed my inward parts;
You made me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise thee: for thy works are wonderful and marvelous;
I am amazed,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My body was not hidden from you,
Well, I was formed in concealment,
And woven deep into the earth.
16 Your eyes have seen my embryo,
And in your book were written all those things
Which were then formed,
Without missing one of them.
17 How precious to me, O God, are your thoughts!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I enumerate them, they multiply more than sand;
I wake up, and I’m still with you.
19 Surely, O God, you will put to death the wicked;
Therefore depart from me, you bloodthirsty men.
20 For they speak blasphemies against you;
Your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate, O LORD, those who hate you,
And I rage against your enemies?
22 I abhor them completely;
I consider them enemies.
23 Examine me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my thoughts;
24 And see if there is in me a way of perversity,
And guide me in the way everlasting.
Meaning and explanation of Psalm 139
Knowing the context in which Psalm 139 was written, you will surely find it easier to understand its powerful message. Below, you can read the analysis of the text that we have prepared especially for you, so that you can use it as a guide to better understand the psalm you have just read.
- Verses 1-6
The first six verses of Psalm 139 highlight the omnipotence of God that we explained at the beginning of this article.
David highlights how the Lord knows us perfectly, even more than we know ourselves. He can predict what we are going to do or to say, why time is nothing to Him, for He is an eternal being. We see this especially in verse 4:
“For the word is not yet on my tongue,
And behold, O LORD, thou knowest it all.”
In addition, the author makes an act of humility in the final verse of this block. God’s omnipotence is beyond anything our human minds can imagine, and we will never be able to fully comprehend it.
- Verses 7-12
The following five verses are dedicated to explaining God’s omnipresence. The Lord is everywhere at the same time, on earth, in heaven and in hell. We see this in verse 8:
“If I ascend into the heavens, you are there;
And if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.”
Here, Seol means hell, as we saw previously in our article dedicated to hell.
The rest of the verses in this block are intended to give an idea of what it means that God is omnipresent, although as you can imagine, any comparison our minds can make will fall short. The clearest and most concise summary we can make is: we live in the Lord.
- Verses 13-16
These four verses give us the beautiful and tender image that we are all children of God and were consciously created by Him. It is not strange then that the Lord knows us so well if we are his most precious work.
David makes this clear in verse 16, in which he shows us how God works the most beautiful miracle in the universe every time he creates new life:
“My embryo saw your eyes,
And in your book were written all those things
Which were then formed,
Without missing one of them.”
Let us thank the Lord for the life he gives us and dedicate each of our steps to him.
- Verses 17-24
The final verses of Psalm 139 comprise a prayer that David makes to the Lord, offering himself as His faithful servant to carry His Word throughout the world, and to silence those who go against Him.
Christians have the same mission as David, and it is not enough to pray every day and know the Bible perfectly, since we must also have an active social work and help the people around us with love. This is also promoting the Word of God.
Moreover, when we are most lost is when we cannot forget that the Lord is the way to follow, and always will be. David says so in the last verse of the psalm:
“And see if there is in me a way of perversity,
And lead me in the way everlasting.”
Context of Psalm 139
We hope that you have enjoyed the power of the precious words hidden in the pages of Psalm 139, and have felt the desire to read them aloud, to address them to Our Lord.
This psalm, like most of the psalms you can find in the Bible’s Old Testament Book of Psalms, was written by David, many years before the events of the New Testament.
The psalms have a very similar structure, with short phrases and a certain musicality, since they are intended to be sung. Psalm 139 also has a title: “To the chief Musician. Psalm of David”. There is discussion whether the musician is a person of his court, or if he is really a metaphor for God himself.
In any case, it is a psalm written in a time of tranquility for the prophet, far from his times of persecution and anguish, something that is noticeable in the tone and language he uses.
More information on Psalm 139 of the Bible
Omnipresent refers to God’s power to be everywhere at all times and for all eternity. Any action we do will be done under the watchful eye of the Lord, even when we sleep, He is at our side.
Given the importance of these two terms and the complexity of their meaning, it is not surprising that we find a psalm in the Bible dedicated to them. This is Psalm 139, which in addition to illustrating the words we have already stated, serves as a precious prayer to praise God’s greatness.
So much for this Your Bible Online article on the meaning of Psalm 139!
We say goodbye thanking the Lord for all that we have and also thank you for reading our biblical commentaries.
See you in the next article.