Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. 7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If 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 hung on the walls 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 thoughts of a favorite Sunday school song, “Jesus Loves Me” and instead proclaimed, “Jesus knows me, this I love!” That could be a fitting theme song for the whole Psalm 139.
Certainly it describes our passage for this week! The very first words of verse 6, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it” are so true—we cannot get our finite minds around the marvels of the Infinite God! So in order to go down in worship with David, the psalmist, we have to revisit the verses that explain the term “Such knowledge is too wonderful”. What knowledge? David is referring to these exquisite observations (vs. 1-5):
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.
We can’t thoughtfully read even one of these 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, then 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 the protective, encouraging, Fatherly hand on us, but must compare it to our tendency to self-sufficiency. Joy and pain consume us as we kneel before our God.
But there is yet more to worship in Him! For in verses 7 and 8 David lifts up God’s mind-boggling Omnipresence and asks the moot questions, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I go from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there!” So the obvious answer to his questions is, “NOWHERE!!!”
We revel and rejoice that He 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 or forsake you.” “I am with you, even to the end of the age.” “I am the friend that sticks closer than a brother.”
In His 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.
All this bought for us at Calvary! Brothers, Sisters, worship this God and exult in our salvation! Praise with high praises the Name that is above every name, Jesus Christ our Lord… the God who knows us. This we love!