Weekly Devotional 16th of May 2025
by Bruce Billington
Weekly Devotional 16th of May, 2025
We will continue our series on hearing God through the Psalms by examining Psalm 139, a Psalm of David’s.
Psalm 139:4-6 – “Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. 5 You have enclosed me behind and before and laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high; I cannot attain to it.”
A word on our tongue before we speak is like a seed hidden in the soil, but it is completely known to God. What the Psalmist is saying here is that the LORD knows everything about us. He constantly searches our hearts and knows us intimately. Jesus pointed out that God is aware of the most trivial details about us: He even keeps count of the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30)! This reflects God’s omniscience, which means He is aware of and has knowledge of all things. He takes notice of every step we take and is acquainted with all our ways. He knows not only what we see but also what we feel and what we have our hands upon. All His saints are precious in His sight and held affectionately in His hand.
David says that such knowledge is too wonderful for him to understand. God knows us much better and deeper than we know ourselves. Of course, this means He sees all our sins, but through His grace, when we repent, He separates them from us as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). He has a distinct purpose for knowing about every detail in our lives. It is not so that He can control us because He has given us free will. Nor is it so that He can catch us in some wrongdoing. He knows us so intimately because He loves us so intensely and seeks to protect us and nurture us.
This knowledge should keep us humble as we walk in the knowledge that we are accountable to Him. As our God, He will always be faithful and just. Knowing this should inspire us to live pure and righteous lives. He is aware of every trouble, trial, and threat we face. He is constantly watching over us, always guarding and protecting us. We can rest peacefully and walk fearlessly through life, knowing His loving, careful eye is always on us.
Drawing from this Psalm, the POSB compiles a useful list of ways God watches over us. It says,
As David meditated on God’s omniscience, he listed some of the things God knew about him:
- His every movement and action—when he sat down and when he rose up.
- His every thought and motive—not only what he thought but also why he thought it and what it meant.
- His every activity—leaving home in the morning to lying down at night.
- His every way – every step, and path he took in the course of his life.
- His every word—even before he spoke, the LORD knew what he was going to say.
This knowledge of God is best described as nothing less than His loving ability to discern and act in favour of His people. All His discernment and favours are gracious toward us. It is a grace that justifies, and it is by His grace that we are blessed. Although the psalmist does not take his own responsibilities lightly, he exclaims that God’s favourable acts toward him are “too wonderful” and “too lofty” to apprehend.
What an amazing God we serve! If we truly embraced this truth and responded back to God in the same way, so many troubles, fears, and anxieties would leave us. He calls all those in Christ to come boldly into His throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) so that we may develop a relationship with Him that is unattainable with anyone else.
God Bless You
Bruce Billington