Charles Spurgeon Commentary Psalms 139

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.

God does not need to "search" us, for that implies a lack of knowledge, a knowledge obtained by searching. But the meaning of the text is that God knows us as thoroughly as if He had examined us completely, just as an excise officer searches a house to find contraband goods. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

O LORD you have searched me, and known me.

"Known me perfectly, far better than I know myself. You have made an inquisition, and investigated every secret thing concerning me: You have searched me, and known me."

O LORD, you have searched me, and known me.

It is true that God knows everything, but that is not what David says here. He makes a personal application of the universal truth: O Lord, you have searched me, and known me. He does not talk about God's knowledge of other men, but he speaks to God concerning himself: O Lord, you have searched me, and known me; – "you have searched me as if you were looking for contraband goods. You have ransacked me, you have gone down into my very heart, and have spread out every secret part of my being: 'You have searched me, and known me.'"

"Lord, you have searched and seen me through,
Your eye commands with piercing view
My rising and my resting hours,
My heart and flesh, with all their powers."

O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

Thou hast looked into my most secret parse. The most intricate labyrinths of my spirit are all observed of thee. Thou hast not searched, and yet been unable to discover the secret of my nature but thou hast searched me and known me. Thy search has been an efficient one, thou hast read the secrets of my soul,

O LORD, you have searched me, and known me.

"You have explored me, as men dig in mines and make subterranean excavations. You have searched into my secret parts and known me."