Bible Study Notes 11/18/2025

WORD ALIVE! BIBLE STUDY ^©2025

Journey in the Psalms: Prayer, Praise and Promise

Concord Baptist Church of Boston in Milton – Conley Hughes, Jr., Senior Pastor

Quiet Time: Tracy M. Summer, Psalms: An All-In-One Study on God’s Song Book

Lesson 29

18 Nov. 2025

Lesson 29, Psalm 139:1-24 NLT: This great psalm is perhaps David’s most intimate description of an all-knowing, all-present God. David reveals the apt attention God gives to every detail of our being. The words of the Psalm 139 are clear that there is no aspect of our lives or being God is unaware of – nor less, absent from. God is present in every time cycle of each day and night. God knows when we awake, howe we live, where we travel each day, and when we are asleep at night. God is also involved with the delicate operation of our bodies, every organ and tissue. God knows out thoughts before we formulate and perceive them. We cannot escape God’s presence. David does not see God’s omnipresence as stifling or restrictive; but he believed these are protective boundaries which assures us of God’s protection and familiarity with us. The closeness of God leads to intimacy and fellowship with Him. It is futile in any attempt to live outside of God’s loving presence. Our assurance of God’s care and love affects our passion for seeing justice and righteousness in the world. We too desire to have removed from us, any sin, unrighteous thoughts and behavior which affects our relationship with God.

Verses & Explanations for Psalm 139:1-24, NLT:

Observe         Interpret     Apply

(Verses 1-6) – God’s full and intricate knowledge of us.

(Verses 7-12) – God remains with us.

(Verses 13-16) – We are divinely and intricately made.

(Verses 17-18) – God’s precious thoughts for us.

(Verses 19-22) – Human passion for justice and righteousness.

(Verses 23-24) – A transparent confessional prayer.

Key Verses:

Psalm 139:1-6, NLT

¹ “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. ² You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  ³ You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. ⁴ You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. ⁵ You go before and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

Psalm 139:7-12, NLT

⁷ I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! ⁸ If I go to heaven you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. ⁹ If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. ¹¹ I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light surround…

me to become night – ¹² but even the darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you. 

Psalm 139:13-16, NLT

¹³ You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. ¹⁵ You watched as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. ¹⁶ You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day passed.

Psalm 139:17-18, NLT

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! ¹⁸ I can’t even… count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

Psalm 139:19-22, NLT

¹⁹ O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers! ²⁰ They blaspheme you; your enemies misuse your name. ²¹ O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you? ²² Yes, I hate them with total hatred, for your enemies are my enemies.

Psalm 139:23-24, NLT

²³ Search me, O god, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

The Key Idea:

What We Believe! —

1. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path!”— Psalm 119:105