HOW CLOSELY GOD KNOWS US

In Psalm 139, David praises God’s intimate knowledge of each of us through all our lives. The Psalm begins with God’s knowledge of David’s physical circumstances, whether at home or traveling, sitting or standing (see Psalm 139:2, 3).

Then, it zooms out to acknowledge God’s presence wherever in life or in the world he might go (see Psalm 139:7–12). And then the Psalm returns to the intimacy of God’s act of individual creation of each of us—“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13)—and the intricate knowledge He has of us as a result. After this overview of God’s knowledge of and engagement with human beings in their bodies and lives, David turned to the circumstances of his own life—particularly the threats and attacks he faced (see Psalm 139:19–22). While the Bible regularly describes God as seeing and knowing our circumstances and hearing and responding to our cries of distress and requests for help, David asked God to come closer still, to look within him and know his heart and his “anxious thoughts.” He wanted God to hear and feel his fears and anxieties—the things that kept him awake at night. It was because of God’s intimate knowledge of David, his heart, and his innermost thoughts that He could lead him—and each of us—“along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:24, NLT). This understanding of God—that the Creator of the universe will come so close to us—can be daunting. But He is the Creator of each of us. With a unique intimacy, He created each of our individual lives. He knows our hearts and our fears. “How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you” (Psalm 139:17, 18).