Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. ⁷Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? ⁸If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! —Psalm 139:6-8
My sister Lois once spotted a sign hanging on the wall of a charming restaurant she was visiting. It turned out to be one of those lines she never forgot and often hugged to her heart. The sign flipped the lyrics of a favorite Sunday school song, “Jesus Loves Me, This I know,” and instead proclaimed, “Jesus knows me, this I love!” That could be a fitting theme for the whole of Psalm 139.
Certainly it describes our passage for this week. We cannot get our finite minds around the marvels of what the Infinite God knows! David says, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” In order to bow down in worship with David, we have to revisit the verses that explain what it is that's “too wonderful.” What is the knowledge David is referring to?
O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. (vv. 1-5)
We can’t read even one of these lines without exclaiming over the enormous grace and power and richness of such an assertion. Put them all together and we are overwhelmed and cry out with David, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me! I can’t handle it!" We are torn between worshiping Almighty Omniscience and Omnipotence, and weeping over our own impotence. We are in awe of His infinite commitment to us, yet despairing of our fickle faith and pale attachment to Him. We exult in His protective, encouraging, Fatherly hand on us, but remember our tendency to self-sufficiency. Joy and pain consume us as we kneel before our God.
And there is yet more to worship in Him! In verses 7 and 8 David lifts up God’s mind-boggling omnipresence and asks, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence?—Heaven? Sheol?" The obvious answer is nowhere!
We revel and rejoice that God is everywhere we go. He fills the earth and sky and sea. We need never be without Him or feel away from Him. Do you hear sweet echoes from the Savior? “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). I am the "friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).
In God's omniscience, He has perfect knowledge of us and our lives. In His omnipotence, He renders perfect power that protects, delivers, guides, and meets every need. In His omnipresence, we enjoy His perfect faithfulness, His never leaving or forsaking us, His being ever-present in any place we find ourselves in every moment of our lives.
Jesus bought this for us at Calvary! Brothers and sisters, worship this God and exult in your salvation! Praise with high praises the Name that is above every name, Jesus Christ our Lord, the God who knows us. This we love!
For Reflection
Do you ever find yourself running away from God? Where do you go when you're not running toward Him?
How does knowing He cannot be outrun change your mind about trying?
Praise God for His being everywhere, all the time, and ask Him to help you run to Him. He is the only safe refuge.