Psalm 139

By King David

O Jehovah, you have examined me.
You know me, know when I sit and when I stand
And from afar you understand my thoughts.
You watch me when I travel and when I rest;
With all my habits you are acquainted.
Even before a word comes to my tongue,
You know all about it, O Jehovah.

You guard my front and have my back
And have laid your hand upon my head.
Such knowledge is too deep for me;
It is too high for me to grasp.
Where can I be free from your spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I rise to heaven, you are there.
Or lie down in the grave, you are there.
If upon the wings of dawn I fly
And set down upon the farthest sea,
Even there your hand will guide me
And your power will protect me.
If I bid the darkness to hide me
And turn the light about me to night,
The darkness will not be dark to me,
For the night will shine like the day,
And darkness be as light to me.
For you formed my innermost being
And molded me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you that you have made me
An awesome and unique creation —
Full well I know how wondrous your works!
My body was not hidden from you
When I was secretly taking shape,
Woven in the depths of the earth:
Your eyes observed my embryo.
All my days were written in your book,
Before one of them could come to pass.

How profound I find your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the number of them!
If I were able to count them
They would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake I am still with you.

If only you, O God, would slay the wicked.
Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men,
For they speak against you blasphemously,
Enemies of yours that take your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate you, Jehovah,
And detest those who rise up against you?
With an absolute hatred I hate them
And number them among my enemies.
Examine me, O God, and know my mind.
Put me to the test and learn my concerns.
See if I am on any evil path
And guide me onto the way everlasting.