Ps. 139:1---Lord, You have searched me and known me.Ps. 139:7---Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? (HCSB)
Omnipotent----Omnipresent----Omniscient
Three strange-looking words that describe our Almighty God. Webster's Dictionary defines these words like this:
Omnipotent: having unlimited or absolute power or authority
Omnipresent: being present or in existence everywhere at once
Omniscient: knowing everything
It's hard for us with our limited understanding to comprehend the total implications of what these words tell us of the character and attributes of God. I mean just think about it. God has unlimited power and authority; He is present everywhere at the same time, and He knows everything there is to know. It's hard to fathom! How can someone know everything and be everywhere at once? I don't know, but God does---it's easy for Him---it's just the way He is.
In my Holman Christian Standard Bible the heading under Psalm 139 reads "The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God." So the psalm is mainly speaking of God's omniscience and His omnipresence, but it also implies and testifies to His omnipotence. Let's face it-- if God is all-knowing and ever- present, then He has got to be a supreme being of the utmost power.
Let's see what Psalm 139 teaches us regarding God's omniscience and omnipresence:
vs.1: God knows us and searches our hearts.
vs. 2: He knows what we do and when we do it. He knows what we're thinking.
vs. 3: He knows where we go. He is aware of all our ways.
vs. 4: He knows what we want to say before we say it.
vs. 5: He encircles us and places His hand on us.
vs. 7-12: We can't hide from His Spirit or His presence.
vs. 13-16a: He created us and knew us before birth.
vs. 16b: He planned all our days before our life began.
vs. 17-18: His thoughts are great and vast.
Wow! God knew us and had our life planned out before we were even born. (v.16) He formed us and knit us together in our mother's womb. (v.13) That sort of takes the whole idea that the Pro- Choice movement likes to push on us, (that the fetus is just a lifeless clump of cells), and blows it right out of the water. God created us and He knows us. He sees what we do and where we go. (v.2-3) He even knows what we say and think! (v.2 & 4) It kind of reminds me of the old Christmas song by Gillespie and Coots, "Santa Claus is Comin' To Town". If you recall, the lyrics in the song say--"He sees you when you're sleeping--He knows when you're awake--He knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake." ---The difference here being that we know God is areal person. He does see us. Even when we try to distance ourselves from God and hide in the darkness, He is there and He sees. (v.11-12, 16) We can't hide from God. Wherever we run to in our attempt to flee, God is there waiting for us.
When I was a teenager I wrote a song based on Psalm 139. It was entitled "You Will See". The main idea of the lyrics was that no matter what we do or where we go, God sees. And He cares. He's not an omnipotent God who's just watching and waiting for us to mess up so He can zap us with a lightning bolt like the Zeus of Greek mythology. Oh, He is a just God, and the evil will reap what they sow. (Prov. 22:8, Gal. 6:7) But He watches over us with love as a loving father leading His children. He wants us to follow Him so that He can take care of us and keep us from harm.
I'd like to end this blog entry with the prayer which closes Psalm 139. I hope that you'll pray this prayer as you read the words:
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way. (Ps. 139:23-24)(HCSB)