“You have searched me, Lord, 
    and you know me. 
You know when I sit and when I rise; 
    you perceive my thoughts from afar. 
You discern my going out and my lying down; 
    you are familiar with all my ways. 
Before a word is on my tongue 
    you, Lord, know it completely. 
You hem me in behind and before, 
    and you lay your hand upon me. 
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, 
    too lofty for me to attain.“

Psalm 139:1-6 

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JULY 15, 2025

How do the opening words of this song hit you? To me, they are deeply comforting. There is nowhere I can go that God is not already there, nothing I can do God does not already know about, nothing I can choose or decide, no mistake, victory, or tragedy that will take God by surprise.  Even the idea of being hemmed in does not feel restrictive like it might in another context. Rather, it feels like a weighted blanket on a cold day, the assurance of steadfast care and presence.  

I remember a popular song from the early 1980s by The Police called Every Breath You Take. Listeners took it to be a love song—but the lyrics didn’t sound very romantic to me. Sting himself confirmed that he was depicting an unhinged stalker, not a mutually beneficial lover with the words “Every move you make, every smile you fake, every claim you stake, I’ll be watching you.” 

One difference between God’s all-knowing, ever-watching presence in Psalm 139 and—well, whomever Sting was writing about in 1983—is that God is good. And more, God is self-sufficient. He doesn’t need anything from us, isn’t going to manipulate or coerce us. Instead, God is giving, creating, leading, guiding. Singing about God always watching us is like a mother crooning to her infant that she is watching nearby should he wake and need soothing.  

The psalmist is praising God because the Lord knows. He knows when we sit down and get up, when we come home and go out. He knows our patterns and habits, even our thoughts. He knows what we’re going to say before we say it.  

Even on our hardest day, God is not surprised. Even in the darkest valley, God has never left our side.  

Questions for reflection and discussion:  

  • How does this Psalm hit you? 
  • When have you been comforted to realize that God could see you, that God knew the moment you were in completely?  
  • When do you try to hide from God? 

 Church Reading Plan: Joshua 22; Acts 2