Psalm 139: God’s Attributes Made Personal

By Ryan Carpenter

Published September 16, 2024

Consider the difference between learning a subject, such as history, and learning about a loved one. Even for the most devoted history buff, the study of the past, while enjoyable, is merely propositional—that is, consisting of facts or propositions. The knowledge acquired may help us avoid repeating the past’s mistakes, but it has little impact on our lives. Not so when it comes to relationships. When a young man dates a woman, he is like a sponge absorbing every precious drop of available information about her. Her hobbies. Her hopes. Her habits. The knowledge he obtains is never merely a collection of facts, but a means of knowing her better. It is a relational knowledge.

This difference between propositional and relational knowledge is helpful for contemplating the attributes of God. When we study the attributes, we are not merely accumulating a collection of facts as if we were watching a World War II documentary. Rather, we are coming to know a person. Who is God? What is He like? Sometimes we struggle to see God’s attributes as more than abstract concepts, but this is where Scripture comes in, especially the Psalms. Rather than listing God’s attributes as technical terms with definitions in the manner of systematic theologies, the Psalms display the attributes on every page, not abstractly but personally. They inform the Psalmists’ worship, prayers, thoughts, and actions. One Psalm that exemplifies this is 139. In the first eighteen verses of the Psalm, there are three main sections, with each section focusing on one particular attribute of God. The sections are as follow: Verses 1-6 (omniscience); verses 7-12 (omnipresence); verses 13-18 (omnipotence [or sovereignty]). In this beloved Psalm of David, we will see that God’s attributes are personal, interconnected, and doxological.

Personal

One feature of Psalm 139 that immediately jumps off the page is the personal terms in which God’s attributes are described. Rather than stating “God is omniscient, which means He fully knows himself and all things actual and possible in one simple and eternal act” (definition of omniscience from Wayne Grudem), David instead says, “You have searched me and known me” (v.1, italics added). The first six verses of the Psalm frame God’s omniscience as His personal knowledge of David. Likewise, in verses 7-12, God’s omnipresence (Grudem: “God does not have size or spatial dimensions and is present at every point of space with His whole being”) is not named explicitly, but it is put into personal terms as well: “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (v.7). Whether David ascends to the highest heights, descends to the deepest depths, or chases the eastern and western horizons, God is there. Verse 13-18 apply the preceding pattern to God’s omnipotence (or sovereignty), which is defined as the attribute whereby “God is able to do all His holy will” (Grudem). David could have listed any number of God’s manifold works, but he singled out his own creation: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (v.13). In all three of these sections, God’s attributes are described in profoundly personal terms.

Interconnected

Another remarkable feature of Psalm 139’s treatment of God’s attributes is the way in which the attributes seamlessly blend together. In the omniscience section, verse 5 says, “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.” The Hebrew word for “hem” in this verse is a military term that usually describes the action of besieging a city. God’s knowledge of David is so personal, so invasive, that the God who knows David’s thoughts from afar (v. 2) is now in the same room. This perfectly lays the groundwork for God’s omnipresence in the next section.

Another seamless transition occurs between God’s omnipresence in verses 7-12 and His omnipotence in verses 13-18. In verses 11-12, David lists darkness as one of the places where he cannot hide from God’s presence. He is confident that God is with him even in the darkness, and this confidence is grounded in what comes in verse 13: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” The logic is that David believes God is present with him, even in darkness, because God was with him in the darkest place of all: the womb. With one incredible transition, we’ve switched from talk of God’s presence to God’s creative power.

Finally, in verses 15-18, we come full circle to the ideas from the beginning of the Psalm. If God was able to knit David together in the secret, impenetrable darkness of the womb, then that implies not only omnipotence, but intimate knowledge, and that’s precisely the turn that the Psalm takes. David’s frame was not hidden from God (v.15), which then leads to mention of God’s precious thoughts towards him (v.17).

What do all of these instances teach us, besides the fact that David was a skilled poet who mastered the art of seamless transitions? They teach us that God’s attributes are interconnected, or put another way, undivided. From our perspective, God appears to have distinct attributes, but God in Himself is not composed of parts. God’s attributes are not divided one from another, and his attributes are not divided from His essence. Whatever God is, He is fully, not in part. Traditionally, this doctrine has been called God’s simplicity (which “simply” means God is not composed of parts). This means we cannot think about one aspect of God’s character in isolation from the totality of who He is. We can’t think about one attribute without soon thinking of another, and another, until we’ve come full circle to the attribute with which we started.

Doxological

Psalm 139 not only teaches us that God’s attributes are personal and interconnected, but also doxological. Simply put, this means that they stir us up to praise and worship God. Peppered throughout this Psalm are praiseful interjections. At the end of the omniscience section, before he can move onto the next attribute, David can’t help but take a moment and reflect on the majesty of God’s omniscience: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” Similarly in verse 14, the marvel of God’s work of creation leads to another doxological outburst: “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” While this passage has rightfully been applied in discussions of human dignity, it should first and foremost stir up within us an awe for the power, wisdom, and goodness of our creator.

Conclusion

Allow God’s word to shape the way you think about His attributes. Terms and definitions are useful and necessary for learning what God is like, but we cannot stop there. The knowledge of God is indeed propositional, for true worship of God must be informed by true information about him, but it is more than propositional; it is relational. Psalm 139 teaches us that God’s attributes are personal, interconnected, and doxological. Like David, let us meditate on God’s attributse, and may our meditation lead to doxology. Let us cry out with David, “I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”