Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Psalms 139
Metaphysically Interpreting Psalms 139:1-24
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
139:1O Jehovah, thou hast searched me, and known me.
139:2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising;
Thou understandest my thought afar off.
139:3Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
And art acquainted with all my ways.
139:4For there is not a word in my tongue,
But, lo, O Jehovah, thou knowest it altogether.
139:5Thou hast beset me behind and before,
And laid thy hand upon me.
139:6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain unto it.139:7Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
139:8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.
139:9If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
139:10Even there shall thy hand lead me,
And thy right hand shall hold me.
139:11If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me,
And the light about me shall be night;
139:12Even the darkness hideth not from thee,
But the night shineth as the day:
The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.139:13For thou didst form my inward parts:
Thou didst cover me in my mother's womb.
139:14I will give thanks unto thee;
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:
Wonderful are thy works;
And that my soul knoweth right well.
139:15My frame was not hidden from thee,
When I was made in secret,
And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
139:16Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance;
And in thy book they were all written,
Even the days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was none of them.
139:17How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
139:18If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand:
When I awake, I am still with thee.139:19Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God:
Depart from me therefore, ye bloodthirsty men.
139:20For they speak against thee wickedly,
And thine enemies take thy name in vain.
139:21Do not I hate them, O Jehovah, that hate thee?
And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
139:22I hate them with perfect hatred:
They are become mine enemies.
139:23Search me, O God, and know my heart:
Try me, and know my thoughts;
139:24And see if there be any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
September 15, 1940: Psalms 139:1-12
What is the nature of the God who understands man's thought “afar off”? God is Divine Mind, and His understanding of man's thought includes instant comprehension of man's present thought as well as of his subconscious thought, which is still “afar off” from his consciousness.
What is God that He can be acquainted with all man's ways? God is the indwelling Spirit of wisdom and intelligence. It is only God as Spirit that could know all that concerns man, including his unexpressed thought.
Why is such knowledge too wonderful for man? It is beyond the grasp of the natural man, but, as a son of God, man understands and uses divine wisdom.
How can man be unaware of an omnipresent God? In the same way he is un aware of the air that he breathes, he may be unaware also of God. In the same way in which air is omnipresent on earth, God is omnipresent in the spiritual realm. Yet man may create a vacuum from which air is excluded and in which he cannot live. By his lack of God consciousness man likewise creates a vacuum from which he excludes God.
Can one escape from the Spirit of God? No, for His Spirit pervades all creation.
In what respect is God in Sheol? As the indwelling, all-enveloping Spirit that is ready when called upon to inspire man to rise to a higher level.
Why are “the darkness and the light” both alike to God? The darkness and the light here represent degrees of human understanding.
September 15, 1940: Psalms 139:23-24
Are man's thoughts revealed by trial? Trial or testing reveals man's thoughts to himself, as no favorable circumstances or absence of trial can do.
Are “wicked ways” brought to light by trial? Trial reveals every man's work of what sort it is. One effect of trial is to bring man to self-knowledge and self-discipline, without which he cannot enter upon the way of eternal life.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 12-02-2013
