Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 139:17-24

"How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: When I awake, I am still with thee. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: Depart from me therefore, ye bloodthirsty men. For they speak against thee wickedly, And thine enemies take [thy name] in vain. Do not I hate them, O Jehovah, that hate thee? And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: They are become mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting." — Psalms 139:17-24 (ASV)

God's counsels concerning us and our welfare are profound, such that they cannot be fully known. We cannot comprehend how many mercies we have received from Him. It would help to keep us in the fear of the Lord all day long if, when we wake in the morning, our first thoughts were of Him; and how we will admire and bless our God for His precious salvation when we awaken in the world of glory! Surely we ought not to use our members and senses, which are so wonderfully fashioned, as instruments of unrighteousness for sin.

But our immortal and rational souls are a still more noble work and gift of God. Yet if it were not for His precious thoughts of love toward us, our reason and our living forever would, through our sins, become the cause of our eternal misery. How, then, should we delight to meditate on God's love for sinners in Jesus Christ, the sum of which exceeds all reckoning! Sin is hated, and sinners lamented, by all who fear the Lord.

Yet while we shun them, we should pray for them; with God their conversion and salvation are possible. As the Lord knows us thoroughly, and we are strangers to ourselves, we should earnestly desire and pray to be searched and proved by His word and Spirit. If there is any wicked way in me, let me see it; and You, root it out of me. The way of godliness is pleasing to God and profitable to us; and will end in everlasting life.

It is the good old way. All the saints desire to be kept and led in this way, so that they may not miss it, turn out of it, or tire in it.