Psalm 139:5 is one of the great Psalms of praise, structured in four stanzas of six verses each. The author (attributed to David) lauds God for his marvelous powers. The first six verses deal with God’s omniscience – God knows us through and through. How God knows and how much God knows, we are unable to comprehend . . . but it is impossible to conceal anything from him. Verse five indicates that God knows us so well because he is ever-present. Wherever we are, we are under God’s eye, and his guiding hand. We are “hemmed in” – we cannot escape, nor would we want to, for God has “laid his hand” upon us He is always near, guiding, protecting, restoring, and (in David’s own instance) defending.
The KJV uses the word “besets”, an indication that we can’t shrug off God’s presence. We can’t move forward and leave him behind because God is before us. We can’t turn back and escape God because God is behind. God is ever-near, and holds us in the grip of God’s power, surrounding us with God’s love and care. God has known us for eternity, and it will continue to be so. Only God knows us as we really are, and touches us in all aspects of our lives. How blessed we are that God knows and guides our appointed paths.
On the first day of my first Theology class in seminary, the professor requested that we read Psalm 139 and record our reflections in a journal. Since that day, I recall lines from this psalm in times of celebrations and tribulations. Verse 5 from the NRSV reads, “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.” For me this was God’s personal acknowledgement of me as a woman of God. The Lord prepares me for every situation, walks with me through the waters, strengthens me as I climb the mountains and is there for me when I try to make peace with life and sense out of non-sense. It is the Lord who empowers me in every accomplishment and enables me to be a witness for Christ to others along the way. I can do nothing without God; and in the silence of time and space, I know that the Lord is working on my behalf. He is with each of us through every trial, protecting, loving, and guiding. This psalm should remind each of us that the Lord knows and loves us completely. He is there for each of us who are the called according to the Lord’s purposes.