What does it mean for God to search and know us in Psalm 139:1?

Do you want to know the deep meaning behind Psalm 139:1? If yes, you came to the right place. In this post, let us learn the many lessons we can learn from Psalm 139:1 devotion.

The Astounding and Incredible Meaning of Psalm 139:1!
What can we learn from Psalm 139:1?

Psalm 139 is among the most popular chapters of the Book of Psalms. Psalm 139 is called a psalm of David and is generally thought to be written by King David himself. Psalm 139 is composed of 24 verses and the first verse reads as follow:

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me.”

Sounds like a simple statement about God’s concern toward us, right? However, if you look deeper, there are actually many lessons you can learn from the first verse of Psalm 139 article.

Who is the LORD?

First off, we must realize whom King David is talking about here. He is referring to the LORD.

LORD here comes from the Tetragrammaton, YHWH – the personal name of the true and living God. Most scholars would agree that the proper pronunciation of YHWH is YAHWEH.

To learn more, read, “Why We Need to Know the True Name of God?

With this in mind, it is worth noting that the Supreme Ruler and Creator of the entire universe is here being talked about as the One who personally searches and knows us!

Isn’t it a wonderful truth to consider? The most powerful Being in the world, the God whose name is YAHWEH, though lofty and majestic, reaches down to us, human beings?

If you don’t see what this really means, it is like the highest official of your country, like a president or king, will go down from his office or throne, simply to search those who are the least of us!

God exerts every effort and puts on more than enough time to search and know us and He does this intimately and personally. He doesn’t delegate this to His angels. He, Himself, does this!

(To learn more about angels, read, “25 Shocking Biblical Facts about Angels You Probably Don’t Know.”)

What does it mean for God to search and know us?

Now, what does YAHWEH do? He searches and knows us.

If you look at the Hebrew word of “search” in Psalm 139 commentary, it basically means to bore or dig. It has the meaning of searching for precious metals and water.

As you can imagine, God isn’t simply looking at the surface, but He digs deeper into the DEEPEST recesses of our soul. He doesn’t only know us by name, but He personally knows us.

Psalm 139:1 states the central idea of the whole chapter. It is a great good topic for Psalm 139 commentary for youth. If you continue reading, you will get more insight into what it really means for God to search and know us.

We read:

You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it…

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

As you can see from the entirety of Psalm 139 bible study, God is really involved with His children. From the verses quoted above, we can learn the following about how God deeply knows us:

  • God knows every movement we make (verse 2)
  • God knows every thought that we have – including our memories, feelings, plans, hopes, and dreams (verse 2)
  • God knows the entire course of our life (verse 3)
  • God knows every word we speak and the words we are capable of saying (verse 4)
  • God surrounded us and knows what comes near and far from us (verse 5)
  • No darkness can hide us from God (verses 11 and 12)
  • God knows us even before we were born (verse 13-16)
  • God is constantly thinking of us (verse 17)

Do you like what you are reading? If yes, you will not regret subscribing to our website. Get new content straight to your inbox today!

Join 2,991 other subscribers

What are the lessons we can learn from Psalm 139:1?

YAHWEH is indeed personally interested with us. Because of this, what should we learn?

First, we must realize that God sees everything and nothing escapes His attention. This means that God knows every good work and evil deed you committed. Because of this, you and I must live this life with the knowledge that we will ultimately give account to everything we have done while we were still alive.

Second, we can take comfort to the fact that God knows everything, including all the problems and trials we go through. No matter what you are experiencing, be it financial, health, or relationship problem, God sees them.

God knows your struggle and pain. He isn’t asleep. He isn’t indifferent to your feelings. The truth is that God is moved with compassion and He wants to comfort you and help you and He is more than willing to do so.

For this reason, simply give every worry and pain to God. Let Him handle your problem. Let go and let God. Simply lift them up to Him and He will make a way when there seems to be no way. He is doing something incredible today to send help in times of your needs.

So, be of good cheer. Keep up the faith and stay strong. God will never leave you nor forsake.

Final words

These are just some of the lessons you can learn from the reflection of Psalm 139:1. This blog can also serve as a sermon on Psalm 139. I hope you have learned a lot from this blog. If this blog inspired you in any way, please feel free to share it with your friends.

Recommended book…

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (amazon book)

One thought on “What does it mean for God to search and know us in Psalm 139:1?

Leave a Reply