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Identify the explicit claims before importing later doctrine or assumptions.
PSALMS • CHAPTER 139
Psalms 139
Prayer, praise, lament, kingship, justice, suffering, worship, wisdom, anger, hope, and Israel's poetic life with God.
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Psalms 139
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1
Yahweh, you have searched me,
and you know me.
and you know me.
2
You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You perceive my thoughts from afar.
3
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4
For there is not a word on my tongue,
but, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether.
but, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether.
5
You hem me in behind and before.
You laid your hand on me.
You laid your hand on me.
6
This knowledge is beyond me.
It’s lofty.
I can’t attain it.
It’s lofty.
I can’t attain it.
7
Where could I go from your Spirit?
Or where could I flee from your presence?
Or where could I flee from your presence?
8
If I ascend up into heaven, you are there.
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!
9
If I take the wings of the dawn,
and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea,
and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10
even there your hand will lead me,
and your right hand will hold me.
and your right hand will hold me.
11
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me.
The light around me will be night,”
The light around me will be night,”
12
even the darkness doesn’t hide from you,
but the night shines as the day.
The darkness is like light to you.
but the night shines as the day.
The darkness is like light to you.
13
For you formed my inmost being.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14
I will give thanks to you,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful.
My soul knows that very well.
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful.
My soul knows that very well.
15
My frame wasn’t hidden from you,
when I was made in secret,
woven together in the depths of the earth.
when I was made in secret,
woven together in the depths of the earth.
16
Your eyes saw my body.
In your book they were all written,
the days that were ordained for me,
when as yet there were none of them.
In your book they were all written,
the days that were ordained for me,
when as yet there were none of them.
17
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is their sum!
How vast is their sum!
18
If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand.
When I wake up, I am still with you.
When I wake up, I am still with you.
19
If only you, God, would kill the wicked.
Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20
For they speak against you wickedly.
Your enemies take your name in vain.
Your enemies take your name in vain.
21
Yahweh, don’t I hate those who hate you?
Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you?
Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you?
22
I hate them with perfect hatred.
They have become my enemies.
They have become my enemies.
23
Search me, God, and know my heart.
Try me, and know my thoughts.
Try me, and know my thoughts.
24
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the everlasting way.
and lead me in the everlasting way.
POETRY
Where this chapter fits
Psalms belongs to Israel's wisdom/poetic tradition, where literary form matters as much as historical setting.
Chapter numbers were added long after the biblical books were written.
Read this chapter together with what comes immediately before and after it.
ANCIENT TEXT, MODERN QUESTIONS
Historical claims should be compared with historical evidence.
Scientific claims should be compared with science.
Moral claims should be examined morally.
Theological claims require theological and philosophical argument.
QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING
Don't skip the hard parts.
What kind of literature is this?
Narrative, poetry, prophecy, law, letters, wisdom, and apocalypse communicate differently.
What historical evidence matters?
Ask whether names, places, institutions, events, customs, and chronology can be independently investigated.
What are the strongest competing interpretations?
Compare serious Jewish, Christian, academic, and skeptical readings rather than caricatures.
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