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God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do];
You understand my thought from afar.(A)

You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken],
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.(B)

You have enclosed me behind and before,
And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.

Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.


Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there.(C)

If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 
If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,
And the night will be the only light around me,”
12 
Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You,
But the night shines as bright as the day;
Darkness and light are alike to You.(D)

13 
For You formed my innermost parts;
You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.
14 
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was being formed in secret,
And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.
16 
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were appointed for me,
When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].

17 
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!(E)
18 
If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

19 
[a]O that You would kill the wicked, O God;
Go away from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.(F)
20 
For they speak against You wickedly,
Your enemies take Your name in vain.(G)
21 
Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 
I hate them with perfect and utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

23 
Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 
And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

140 Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men;
Protect me from violent men.

They devise evil things in their hearts;
They continually [gather together and] stir up wars.

They sharpen their tongues like a serpent’s;
Poison of a viper is under their lips.(H) Selah.


Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Protect me from violent men
Who intend to trip up my steps.

The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me. Selah.


I said to the Lord, “You are my God;
Listen to the voice of my supplications, O Lord.

“O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have covered my head in the day of battle.

“Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
Do not further their evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah.


“Those who surround me raise their heads;
May the mischief of their own lips come upon them.
10 
“Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be thrown into the fire,
Into deep [water] pits from which they cannot rise.
11 
“Do not let a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil quickly hunt the violent man [to overthrow him and stop his evil acts].”

12 
I know [with confidence] that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
And [will secure] justice for the poor.
13 
Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The upright will dwell in Your presence.

An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.

A Psalm of David.

141 Lord, I call upon You; hurry to me.
Listen to my voice when I call to You.

Let my prayer be counted as incense before You;
The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.(I)

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips [to keep me from speaking thoughtlessly].

Do not incline my heart to [consent to or tolerate] any evil thing,
Or to practice deeds of wickedness
With men who plan and do evil;
And let me not eat of their delicacies (be tempted by their gain).


Let the righteous [thoughtfully] strike (correct) me—it is a kindness [done to encourage my spiritual maturity].
It is [the choicest anointing] oil on the head;
Let my head not refuse [to accept and acknowledge and learn from] it;
For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds.(J)

Their [wicked, godless] judges are thrown down the sides of the rocky cliff,
And they [who followed them] will hear my words, for they are pleasant (just).

As when the one plows and breaks open the ground [and the soil scatters behind him],
Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol [by the injustices of the wicked].(K)


For my eyes are toward You, O God, the Lord;
In You I take refuge; do not pour out my life nor leave me defenseless.

Keep me from the jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the snares of those who do evil.
10 
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I pass by and safely escape [from danger].

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 139:19 In the first eighteen verses of this psalm, the psalmist acknowledges that God knows everything that the psalmist ever does, no matter when or where he does it. Although God’s vast knowledge of an individual’s deeds can be reassuring for the righteous, it should be frightening for the wicked. In verses 19-24, the psalmist distances himself from the wicked and asks God to help him live in such a way that pleases God.

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