Psalm 139:1-12

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1
O Lord, you have p searched me and known me!
 2 You q know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you r discern my thoughts from afar.
 3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
 4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, s you know it altogether.
 5 You t hem me in, behind and before,
and u lay your hand upon me.
 6 v Such knowledge is w too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 x Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where y shall I flee from your presence?
 8 z If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
a If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
 9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
 10 even there your hand shall b lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
 11 If I say, c "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,"
 12 d even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 12:3
    But you, O Lord, know me; you see me, and test my heart toward you. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
    Psalms 7:9
    Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous - you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God!
    Psalms 17:3
    You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
    Psalms 44:21
    Would not God discover this? For he knows the secrets of the heart.
  2. Cross References
    2 Kings 19:27
    But I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against me.
    Lamentations 3:63
    Behold their sitting and their rising; I am the object of their taunts.
  3. Cross References
    Job 14:16
    For then you would number my steps; you would not keep watch over my sin.
    Job 31:4
    Does not he see my ways and number all my steps?
    Matthew 9:4
    But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?
    John 2:24 - 25
    But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people
  4. Cross References
    Hebrews 4:13
    And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
  5. Cross References
    Job 19:8
    He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass, and he has set darkness upon my paths.
  6. Cross References
    Job 9:33
    There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.
  7. Cross References
    Romans 11:33
    Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
  8. Cross References
    Job 42:3
    Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 23:24
    Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
  10. Cross References
    Jonah 1:3
    But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
  11. Cross References
    Amos 9:2
    If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
  12. Cross References
    Job 26:6
    Sheol is naked before God, and Abaddon has no covering.
  13. Cross References
    Psalms 139:24
    And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
    Psalms 23:3
    He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
  14. Cross References
    Job 22:14
    Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see, and he walks on the vault of heaven.
  15. Cross References
    Job 34:22
    There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.
    Daniel 2:22
    He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.