Psalms 139:9-19

9 If I take the wings of the dawn and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10 even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall shine because of me.

12 Even the darkness does not hide from thee; but the night shines as the day; the darkness is as the light.

13 For thou hast possessed my kidneys: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works, and that, my soul knows right well.

15 My body was not hid from thee, even though I was made in secret and brought together in the lowest parts of the earth.

16 Thine eyes did see my substance yet being imperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which were then formed, without lacking one of them.

17 Therefore, how precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with thee.

19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God; depart from me therefore, ye bloodthirsty men.

Psalms 139:9-19 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. This psalm was written by David, when he lay under the reproach and calumnies of men, who laid false things to his charge; things he was not conscious of either in the time of Saul's persecution of him, or when his son Absalom rebelled against him: and herein he appeals to the heart searching and rein trying God for his innocence; and, when settled on his throne, delivered it to the master of music, to make use of it on proper occasions. According to the Syriac title of the psalm, the occasion of it was Shimei, the son of Gera, reproaching and cursing him as a bloody man, 2 Samuel 16:5. Theodoret takes it to be a prophecy of Josiah, and supposes that he is represented as speaking throughout the psalm. Aben Ezra observes, that this is the most glorious and excellent psalm in all the book: a very excellent one it is: but whether the most excellent, it is hard to say. It treats of some of the most glorious of the divine perfections; omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. Arama says, the argument of it is God's particular knowledge of men, and his providence over their affairs.