Psalm 139 meaning verse by verse

Last Updated on September 22, 2021 by Pastor Ikechukwu Chinedum

Today we would be going through the book of Psalm 139, the meaning verse by verse. This book of Psalm like many others is written by King David, the ruler of Israel, the man after God’s own heart and the greatest King that ever graced the earth. The Psalm shows God’s knowledge of man.

This Psalm 139 can be rendered as a song of praise to God for being all-knowing. As humans, it is very easy to fall into sin, this Psalm shows us that He created us and he knows what we are capable of doing, he knows our weaknesses, This book of Psalm can be used to express our God’s greatness, our intimacy with God, how he has created us wonderfully and fearfully. This Psalm can be prayed when we are scared when we don’t know the next course of action to take. Also, this Psalm shows God’s perfect knowledge of man.

Having established the fact that Psalm 139 is mostly about the plea to God to save us from reproach or shame, it is important that we do an analysis of each of this wonderful scripture for a better understanding:

Psalm 139 meaning verse by verse

Verse 1-2 Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

These verses can be used to acknowledge the presence of God in your life, in that God knows all things, He knows our coming in and going out, these two verses can be used to reference God as the all-knowing God.

Verse 3-4 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

These  verses can be used to praise God, to still show how much you enjoy the presence of God in your life, how assured you are that God is with you and close to you, knows your deepest secrets even before you say them out. These verses can be used to pray when it seems like things are falling apart for you.

Verse 5-6 Thou hast beset me behind and before and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

Hedge means a protective barrier, these verses can be used to show that you have confidence in Him to see us through every phase of life and every difficult situation and when in danger. Also to show God that we trust Him in His plans that He has for you and you know that God has laid His hands upon you, no one can trouble you since you have Him as your protector and guardian.

Verse 7-9 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

God is the all-present God, He is ubiquitous. These verses can also be rendered to reference our creator, to acknowledge that God’s sovereignty is second to none. These two verses can be used to calm your mind that you know God is everywhere and watches you at all times after all He is omnipresent. Though sometimes it appears like He isn’t watching that should stop you from seeking His face.

Verse 10-12 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

These verses can be rendered as a song of praise to God to show that you believe and you rest assured of the constant presence of God’s hand of love towards you regardless of where you are, what you do, and the situation you find yourself, in the latter verse, it shows that God’s presence with you alone illuminates light either by day or night. It shows you believe God is with you always and will always cause His light to shine upon you just as He did for the Israelites in the wilderness.

Verse 13-15: For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hidden from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

This verses can be prayed to God for His good works in creating you which justify the popular bible verse “before I formed thee, I knew thee”.This is a way of calling us back that God has always existed before and after we were formed in our mother’s womb. He didn’t just create us, He created us in His likeness,

14a can be used to bless God, praise Him, to show that God Is marvelous in His ways, He is a good artist who has skillfully created you right from your mother’s womb and still has your access to Him.

Verse 16-18 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!. If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

God has plans for everybody, His plan is to give everyone an expected end, a bright future. This shows how God really cares for us as He has always told us to cast every one of our cares in Him. This verses can be prayed to God as a way of telling God that we know He thinks well of us, He adores us, He cares for us, His love for us is immeasurable, God’s love for us is real. He has always loved us even before we met Him.

Verse 19-22 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me, therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?. I  hate them with perfect hatred: I count them, mine enemies.

These verses can be prayed to work against the evil ones, against the rules if darkness who work and talk against God, those who despise the Lord in their heart and have not His gears in them. Those who oppose you, fashion wickedness towards you, These verses can be used to cry out to God to hate our enemies and fight our battles.

Verse 23-24: Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

These verses can be prayed to ask God for a contrite and holy heart. This way we are committing our ways to God asking Him to lead us aright, a way of telling God what we want Him to do for us, how we want His dealings and His hand to touch our lives. Also to tell God to show us the way of light and the everlasting life.

When Do We Need Psalm 139

You can read this Psalm when

• Whenever you want to reference the name of the Lord, to adore Him, to bless Him for who He is and the mighty things He has done.
• Whenever you need to pray with all humility
• When you need God to stand and fight for you when going through challenges and when your adversaries are up against you
• When you need help to understand God’s ways for you

PSALMS 139 PRAYERS

• Lord God, I bless you for taking the time to create me
• Lord God, I adore you for taking the time to create me after your own likeness, after your image.
• Father, I bless you because I know I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
• Father help me to trust you always and believe you will always make things work out for me very fine
• Lord help me to build a strong faith in you.