The Mystery of the Church: The Manifold Wisdom of God
Lesson # 2 Psalm 139
Paul’s letter to the Gentile assemblies would have been
received and read to many who knew him – or at least, who knew of him. But for those who might have been less
familiar with Paul, he wrote a brief introduction to himself and his ministry,
as we saw last week.
Paul made it clear that it was God Himself who gave Paul his
ministry. Paul described this ministry
as a dispensation, or stewardship; he had been appointed by God to be
responsible for certain members of His household. Which members were these? The Gentiles.
And Paul indicated that this was made known to him as a
revelation by God of the mystery – the mystery of Christ. The mystery of Christ is a general term that
Paul uses to describe things within the plan of God which were at one time
secret, but which God was now disclosing, based on His Christ having come; they
are mysteries disclosed in
Christ.
Sometimes Paul writes of a specific aspect of the mystery of
Christ; we had already read of the mystery of God’s will, in chapter 1. Last week, we encountered another specific
aspect of the mystery of Christ, associated with the Gentiles.
The mystery was not
that the Gentiles should be saved, for the prophets had spoken of that. I just want to show you three passages in the
OT which makes this plain.
Turn to Isaiah chapter 42.
This is one of the prophecies given to Isaiah concerning Messiah as the
Servant of Jehovah. They were known as
the Servant Songs.
[Isaiah 42:1, 6-9]
v. 1 the idea is that
the lawless Gentiles will receive God’s law; the law will be written in their
hearts.
v. 6-7 Speaking of
the Servant’s calling. The Servant of
Jehovah, the Messiah, will Himself actually be given to the people – including
the Gentiles – as a covenant; Messiah is
the eternal covenant, in Himself. The
Gentiles will have their eyes opened to Him – as their Savior; and He will free
them – from their bondage to sin and death.
We see the ideas of salvation and deliverance, for the Gentiles.
v. 8-9 So the LORD gave Isaiah this prophecy, as He gives all
prophecies – so that when it came to pass, the people would recognize that God
was doing this.
Now turn to Isaiah chapter 49, where we find another Servant
Song.
[Isaiah 49:5-6] So
salvation was extended beyond Israel,
to the Gentile nations.
Turn to Malachi chapter 1.
The setting of this prophecy is after the return of the Jewish exiles
from Babylon to Jerusalem.
The prophet Malachi expresses the LORD’s
grief and displeasure over the indifference of Israel toward Him. In contrast, Malachi prophesies of the
Gentiles, who will gladly receive the LORD,
and worship Him.
[Malachi 1:11]
Malachi had just prophesied that the LORD
would not accept the offering of the Israel, because it was an impure
offering (Mal 1:6-8); they offered to the LORD
their own righteous works, which were as filthy rags to Him (Is 64:6). But the Gentiles will bring a pure offering –
they will offer the work of faith – believing into Christ – and they will be
accepted in the Beloved.
This is just a sampling of the prophecies concerning the
Gentiles, which show that they would be accepted by God based on the Coming
Christ, and receive His salvation.
[Return to Ephesians]
So to anyone familiar with the OT, it was no mystery that
the Gentiles would be saved. What was a mystery was that the Jews and the
Gentiles would be on equal terms,
with equal access to God – because
they had both been born again, born of the Spirit, and were now the children of
God; members of His household – fellow heirs of salvation.
And the mystery went further than that – and deeper. It was a mystery that the Jews and the
Gentiles would actually be one – they
would not be “separate, but equal” –
they would be unified as God’s own
special people (Titus 2:14). Their unity
was so entire that Paul describes it under the metaphor of a body, of which
they were both a part, or members – one body.
They were a part of one another now, as fellow members of the Body of
Christ – the true church.
So the fullness of this mystery describe here was the church itself – Jews and Gentiles,
who had been called out of this world system to be one, in Christ. The church
was a mystery before the Coming of Christ to the earth.
Now, last week I mentioned that Paul used a most unique word
to describe the wisdom of God, in bringing forth the church. Do you remember what that word was? You can find it in verse 10. It’s the word translated “manifold”. This is the only use of this word in the
NT.
The word means variegated, or multi-colored; it is used to
describe cloth woven of multi-colored thread.
This is how Paul describes the wisdom of God that is made known by the church; that is declared by the church.
Now, this declaration is not something that is spoken, but
something that is reflected, or
seen. Just as the heavens declare the glory of God (Ps 19:1) – His
glory is reflected, or seen in them – the church declares the wisdom of God – His wisdom is reflected, or seen, in
the church – His manifold wisdom.
A reflection shows the likeness of what it is
reflecting. So the church, in some
particular way, reflects this
variegated, multi-colored wisdom of God.
I believe Paul deliberately chose this unique word to describe
God’s wisdom as seen in the church based on his knowledge of the OT, and what
is found in the OT concerning the church.
Now, while it is true that the church was a mystery, until
Christ brought it forth, this does not mean that the OT is completely silent regarding the church. It’s just that, until the church actually
came into being, the very few passages that relate to the church were deeply shrouded;
and I believe that the Lord intended it to be that way; the church was supposed to remain a mystery, until God
chose to reveal it.
But having been revealed, the church now can shed some light
on certain OT passages, which demonstrate that the church was always a part of the plan of God. And certainly one of the greatest statements
concerning the church is found in Psalm 139 – which I think was Paul’s
inspiration for what he was saying about the church here, and in other parts of
this letter.
Let’s turn to Psalm 139.
This is a psalm of David.
What David was moved to write by the Holy Spirit was frequently drawn
from David’s own circumstances in life; his experiences. But in this psalm, as in so many others of
David’s, the inspired words transcend David’s own life and speak prophetically
of the Coming One, the Messiah, who would be David’s Seed and heir to his
throne.
In fact, with this particular psalm, all of what is said reflects the Coming Messiah; and although much
of this psalm can pertain to either David or the Messiah, there are some parts
that can only be true for Messiah alone.
Remember that the psalms were Israel’s songs.
This psalm has actually been called, “the Song of the Son of Man”.
We are going to be looking at this psalm almost exclusively
from the perspective of David’s inspired prophecy contained within it concerning
the Coming Messiah. As we do so, we will
be able to uncover the mystery hidden in this psalm concerning the church.
The Song of the Son of Man takes the perspective of the Son
of God from the time when He was incarnated upon the earth as the Son of Man, as Messiah; He is the singer of the song.
And who is He singing to?
We can see that His words are addressed to the LORD – Jehovah – the personal name of God; and also, He occasionally
uses the title, “God”, which is Elohim.
In that it is the Son who is
singing to Jehovah-Elohim, we understand that here, Jehovah-Elohim is referring
to the Father. This is a song sung by
the Son, on earth, to His Father, in heaven.
We know that songs often have a structure or form – perhaps
excepting some contemporary music.
Likewise, the psalms have structure. There are several structures that
can be seen within the psalms, such as parallel form, linear form, and
symmetric form.
This psalm contains four-part symmetric form. The reason that this is useful for us to know
is that it will help us to get an overview of what the psalm is saying, and it will
also be useful for understanding certain parts of it.
You may just want to make a little mark in your Bible to
divide off the four parts of this psalm, so you can more easily see what each
part contains. There are six verses to
each part.
The first part is verses 1-6;
The second part is verses 7-12;
The third part is verses 13-18;
And the fourth part is verses 19-24.
Now in the first part of the psalm, the Son sings to His
Father about His omniscience – He is
all-knowing, and knows everything about the Son. We will see that what the Father knows all
about pertains to the Son in His first
coming to the earth, as the Savior.
In the second part of the psalm, the Son sings of the
Father’s omnipresence – He is
everywhere-present. The Father is with
the Son, wherever He goes, through His entire course of life on this earth.
The Son reflects mainly on the Father’s omnipotence in the third part of the psalm – the Father’s ability
to bring His foreknown plans to
fruition through the Son.
The last part of the psalm pertains to the Second Coming of Messiah to the earth,
when the Son will execute His Father’s will concerning His judgment upon the wicked.
Within the four-part symmetric form, you will generally find
in this psalm couplets – of synonymous
or complementary concepts in each verse.
The psalmist is stating the same or related thoughts in two different
ways, within each verse.
For example, look at verse 3: “You comprehend my path and my lying down” –
and now, a synonymous way of expressing this – “You are acquainted with all my
ways”.
Now look in verse 8:
“If I ascend into heaven, You are there” and now, a complementary
thought: “If I make my bed in hell,
behold, You are there”.
Do you get the idea? You will find that this is the general
pattern throughout the psalm. The
repetition serves to emphasize each thought; but when there is a significant break
from this pattern, what is being said has even greater force, because it stands
out. The psalmist has one significant
departure from his pattern, as we shall see shortly.
As we begin, remember that this first part is about the
Father’s knowledge of His Son, in Messiah’s first coming to the earth.
v. 1-3 The thoughts
in these three verses reflect the Father’s omniscience; He can discern the
thoughts and intents of the heart. The
Hebrew terms for “searched” refers to the LORD
probing the heart, to examine its inner motives. The Father has searched Messiah’s heart, and
knows it entirely.
Notice in verse 2 that it says “you understand my thought
afar off”. In what respect is the Father
afar off? The Father is in heaven; this
reflects the incarnation of the Son on the earth, as Messiah. Heaven is far off from the earth, where
Messiah is. Yet from that distance, the
Father examines every one of Messiah’s inner
motives, and He knows them.
In His omniscience, the Father can also see Messiah’s actions; His sitting down and rising
up. There is no position that Messiah
was in, in which the Father didn’t see Him.
And the Father comprehended Messiah’s path, and His lying down; His
course through this life; His conduct in this world; the things He did, and the
things He didn’t do.
The word “comprehend” literally means to sift. The Father sifted the path of Messiah through
the sieve of His righteousness, and
everything in that path passed through the sieve; there was no lump of
self-motive in Messiah. This brings to
mind the grain offering, with its fine flour – which pictures Messiah in His
perfect humanity. But the emphasis here
is on the Father’s knowledge of Messiah.
v. 4 Not only did the
Father know Messiah’s thoughts, and His actions; the Father knew Messiah’s words – every one of them. The Father not only knew what Messiah said;
He knew what Messiah meant by what He said.
All of His thoughts and actions and words were subject to the most
intense scrutiny. Why? Because Messiah had to be perfect; the
perfect sacrifice for sin.
v. 5 the word
“hedged” also means enclosed, or closed in.
Notice that Messiah was closed in not on every side, but behind and before. The idea is that
this enclosing was not to prevent Messiah from turning to the right or the
left, but to keep Him from going ahead or staying behind. It does not suggest the idea of keeping on
course, but of following the prescribed timing
of the course.
And the Father’s hand
was laid on Messiah; this is an expression which means to help, or to have a
common goal. What the psalmist is
bringing out is that Messiah followed His course through life in perfect accord
with the Father’s will; He did not take one step, until the Father directed Him
to do so. And the Father watched each
and every one of Messiah’s steps, examining them to make sure they kept perfect
time as He revealed His will to Messiah.
Notice that there is no sense in this passage that Messiah
was concerned, or unwilling to have this kind of scrutiny. It is as if He invited it; and when we get to the end of this psalm, we’ll see
that is exactly what He does.
v. 6 Now, this is a
verse which most people would say certainly could not apply to Messiah; that
surely this only had to do with David.
How can it be that Messiah, who was God in the flesh, would not know what
the Father knows?
Let’s look at the language here, first. “Too wonderful” means beyond human
ability. It was beyond the ability of a
human being to be all-knowing, like the Father.
The word “high” in this context means to be inaccessible. The psalmist is saying that the knowledge
that the Father had was inaccessible to Messiah. The phrase that follows more literally means,
“I am not able to reach it”. Can you begin
to see that this does apply to
Messiah, in His incarnation on the
earth?
When Jesus was praying to the Father before He went to the
cross, He said, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the
glory which I had with You before
the world was” (Jn 17:5). Jesus was
speaking of the glory that He had with the Father before He came to the earth,
and was praying that the Father would now restore that glory.
Paul wrote of Jesus, “He made Himself of no reputation,
taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Phil
2:7). Before His incarnation, Jesus was
fully God, equal to the Father; after His incarnation, Jesus was still fully God, still equal to the Father – “I and Father are
one” (Jn 10:30) – but His deity was veiled in a body of flesh.
Taking the form of a bondservant, Jesus never did His own
will, but only the will of the Father.
Jesus of Himself did nothing (Jn 5:30); the Father did His work through
Jesus, by the Spirit.
Not only did Jesus consciously limit His will to the will of His Father; the human form which God the Son chose to take on Himself imposed its own limitations. Being in a body meant that God the Son was
now limited, in Himself, to being in one place at one time.
And Jesus had to grow up, from an infant to an adult; Luke
records that Jesus increased in
wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Lk 2:52). To increase in wisdom shows that the
incarnate Son had to learn like every
other child; in fact, Isaiah prophesies of Messiah that the Father awakened Him
morning by morning, to hear as the learned (Is 50:4). So the knowledge
of God the Son was limited, in taking
on a body of flesh; he learned, as all men learn.
This clarifies verse 6 in our psalm. We can see that in His incarnation, Jesus
limited Himself to a body of flesh, in which knowledge was not inherent, but
had to be learned. But the Father shared
everything with Jesus that He needed to know, through the Spirit in Him.
The next verse begins the second part of the psalm,
concerning the omnipresence of the Father.
v. 7-10 Now, this is
not meant to imply that Messiah was trying to get away from the Father. The idea is that the Father is everywhere
Messiah goes.
This is borne out in verse 8 and 9. Hell is actually the Hebrew Sheol, the place of departed
beings. The grave takes the body, and Sheol takes the soul, or being. Before Jesus actually came to the earth, Sheol had two compartments: for the righteous dead, and for the
unrighteous dead.
In this passage, Sheol
represents the lowest place a person could possibly go. Conversely, heaven stands for the highest
place. It is not unusual for celestial
bodies to be portrayed with wings. So in
verse 9, the “wings of the morning” refers to the sun; the dawning day. Where does the sun come up? At the furthest point east that you can
see.
Now, “the sea” in verse 9 refers to the Mediterranean
Sea. From the land of Israel
and Judea, the sun set over the Mediterranean;
so that represents the furthest point west.
The concept is that no matter how far away Messiah was –
north, south, east, west – the Father was right there with Him. The Father was with Him wherever He
went. And everywhere Messiah went, the
Father was leading Him, in His will, and upholding Him, in His will; the Father
was behind Him and before Him, enclosing Him in the powerful hand of His
protection – because Messiah chose to obey His will.
v. 11-12 Messiah
lived in complete dependence upon the Father, who enlightening Him through the
Holy Spirit within Him. The Father is
outside of time; therefore He is never in the dark about anything; any
circumstance, concerning any person, at any time. The Father enlightened Messiah to everything He needed to know, so that He
always walked in the Light.
The next part of the psalm reflects the Father’s
omnipotence, specifically in terms of what He has planned being brought to pass on the earth. This is the section that ties in with our
passage in Ephesians. In it, the Messiah
is speaking of how the Father made Him,
in His incarnation on the earth – and of what was made from Him.
Now you will have to be patient in this section, because
there are a lot of Hebrew words which must be explained, in order to have the
right understanding of what the psalmist is saying. But if you stick with it, you will see
something wonderful.
Also, if you happen to have any preconceived ideas of what
this passage is speaking about, please try to lay them aside and consider
what’s being said.
v. 13 the NKJV
translates this verse quite well. The
Hebrew word for “form” means to create or to bring forth. In this context, it is referring to the
forming of a fetus in a womb.
“Inward parts” is literally the kidneys. It refers to the inner aspect of a man. It can be the immaterial aspect; the soul; or
it can mean inner organs. In this
context, the latter is implied – inner organs – reflecting the parallel phrase
which follows: “You covered me in my
mother’s womb”.
“Covered” means to weave or knot together, and is being used
to describe the Father’s activity in creating a fetus within the womb, of
putting the parts together.
What is Messiah speaking of, to His Father? He’s speaking of His own incarnation on the earth, in the womb of the virgin,
Mary. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary,
and the power of the Highest overshadowed her, and she conceived in her womb
and brought forth a Son, Jesus; the Son of the Highest; the heir to David’s
throne; the Holy One; the Son of God (Lk 1:31-35).
The psalmist continued on a note of praise.
v. 14 Messiah is
praising His Father, for how He is made. “Fearfully” here has the sense of
awe-inspiring. “Wonderfully” actually
means to be distinct or set apart; to be different.
What perfect words these are which describe the incarnation
of the God the Son as the Messiah! Here
is Deity, conceiving the Life of God within the human egg of a woman, so as to
be fully God and fully man – the one and only Messiah, entirely distinctive and unique.
This is the awesome work of the Father, which Messiah knows very well.
Messiah then moved from His own incarnation, to that which
the Father created from Him.
v. 15 the “frame” of
Messiah literally is referring to His bodily frame; His bones. Messiah is saying that His bones were not
concealed from the Father; that is, the Father could see His bones, His bodily
frame.
Messiah is speaking of this regarding a particular time –
when? When He was made in secret; the
idea here is in a hiding place.
So in this hiding place – a place where Messiah was hidden
from others – Messiah was not hidden
from the Father’s omniscient gaze. What
is this hiding place? At the end of the
verse – it’s the “lowest parts of the earth”. Now, the lowest parts of the earth indicates
the realm of the dead; it is the opposite of the land of the living (Ez 26:20).
Messiah is speaking of the time when He was cut off from the
land of the living (Is 53:8); when He had been put to death. In death, He was hidden from men, for a time;
but He was never hidden from His Father.
And in this hiding place, death, Messiah was being made in secret. What can that mean? The word for “made” means to build or
construct; to fashion out of something already made. What was being built of fashioned out of
Messiah, in this hidden place of death?
We have a clue in the phrase “skillfully wrought”. In this context, the phrase speaks in a
figurative sense of a human embryo’s being woven into existence. The key Hebrew word in this phrase literally means
to embroider, or weave. In its only
other usage in the OT, it refers to variegating a garment; of weaving multi-colored
threads together (Ex 38:23).
Does this word remind you of anything? Perhaps of Paul’s word, in Ephesians 3:10,
when he spoke of the manifold wisdom
of God which the church reflects?
Yes. Both words are unique, and
unusual; both not really speaking of embroidering, but of weaving cloth
together using threads of various different colors.
So was the psalmist being inspired here by the Holy Spirit to make a veiled reference to the
church, the Body of Christ? He certainly
was.
It can be said that the Body of Christ was formed out of the
death of Jesus. Jesus was that grain of
wheat that fell to the ground – His incarnation – and died, in order to bring
forth much fruit – glorified sons of God.
Those who believe into Jesus are baptized into His death, by
which they die out of that old creation in Adam, and are raised with Christ in
the newness of His life – a new creation in Christ Jesus.
That new creation is one; one with Christ, and one with each
other. We see the different members of
the Body of Christ in those threads of various colors – Jew and Gentile, male
and female, slave and free. Woven
together in Christ, they form one strong cloth – a living net, with which the
Lord catches other men, taking them into His church, through the gospel His
members share.
As the psalmist continues, we see this veiled reference to
the church continuing.
v. 16 Whose eyes is
Messiah speaking of? His Father’s eyes; all-seeing,
and all-knowing. The Father’s eyes saw
Messiah’s “substance being yet unformed”.
This is one word in the Hebrew, and it refers to anything
which is folded up, or undeveloped. In
this context, it is referring to an embryo or fetus, where all the members of
the body are as yet folded up, or undeveloped, before they have assumed their
distinct form and proportions.
Now, the next part makes it apparent that this does not
refer to Messiah, but to the church that came from Him.
The word for “days” is plural in the Hebrew; the word for
the most basic conception of time - yom. In this context, the plural means “lifespans”. The words “for me” are not found in the KJV
or in the Interlinear.
A more literal rendering of this phrase would be, “And in
Your book all of them were written, the lifespans fashioned, when as yet there
were none of them”.
First of all, whose book is being spoken of, and what is
this book? Messiah is addressing the
Father – it is His eyes which
omnisciently saw this yet-to-be-developed life form in Messiah, and it is in His book that all of them were
written.
Can you see here that this is speaking of the Father, in His
foreknowledge, who can see the lifespan of each and every man who will choose
to believe and become a member of the Body of Christ, the church? And in what book are all their names
written? In the book of Life.
And all of it was done before any of them even existed. Before they ever came into being, the Father
had, in His foreknowledge, fashioned them into that new creation in Christ
Jesus – His Body. Here we see the
election of God, as well as Him creating a destiny for those who will believe
ahead of time – predestination.
Now look back for a moment over verses 13-16. What overall tense did the psalmist use to
describe Messiah and the Body that would be formed of Him? Formed; covered; was not hidden; made;
skillfully wrought; saw; were written; fashioned. The past tense.
Were these things past, when the psalmist was writing? No; they were future. But it is being spoken of as if it is already
done – because in the plan of God, it is done.
What God has planned, He always brings to pass. His thoughts are essentially His already
accomplished works.
The psalmist once again praises God.
v. 17-18 This is
Messiah praising His Father for His thoughts – they are precious, and they are
great. Why are they precious? Because the Father’s thoughts resulted in
many sons coming to glory – glorified sons of God, who can have a relationship
of love with God. That is precious to
Messiah; precious to the Father; and precious to us.
And Messiah also says they are great in sum; in number. Is He referring to the sons of God, or is He
referring to the thoughts of the Father?
The idea of them being more in number than the sand suggests they are
innumerable. This, and the parallelism
in the first part of the verse, suggests that what is great in sum are the
Father’s thoughts.
How many thoughts, do you think, were part of the plan that
led to your salvation? Or to mine?
To all the members of the Body of Christ? More than the sand of the seashore.
Here we see the idea behind Paul’s phrase, “the manifold
wisdom of God”. Here are the innumerable thoughts of the Father, knit
together in His brilliant plan, that
produced the many-colored threads
which have been woven into the glorious tapestry known as the church – the Body
of Christ. It is indeed a church of
glory.
Notice the last part of verse 18: “When I awake, I am still with you”. Would you say that this is parallel in any
way to the first part of verse 18? No;
it stands alone, making it stand out; giving it prominence. The word “still” means more literally,
“again; “When I awake, I am again
with you”.
This is a clear reference to the Son, who had left His place
in heaven in order to bring forth many sons to glory. He has now awakened out of death into
resurrection life, to again be with the Father in heaven, where He has been
glorified with the glory He had with the Father before the world was (Jn 17:5). “I am He who lives and was dead, and behold I
am alive forevermore” (Rev 1:18).
Notice the position in this psalm of this prominent phrase;
it is at the end of the third part. What
does three represent, in Scripture?
Resurrection. The resurrection of
Jesus is the key to the gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salvation, for
everyone who believes. It is on the
resurrected Christ that the church is built (Eph 2:20).
The remainder of the psalm pertains to the second coming of
Christ, when He will judge those who have opposed His Father – and Himself.
v. 19-22 Now, this
part of the psalm is speaking not of unbelievers in general, but those who have
decisively rejected the LORD and His
Messiah. These are the rebels, who have
given themselves over to Satan, in complete opposition to God.
They are described as wicked, which means that they are
enemies of God; they are evil, and do not learn righteousness, but instead
pursue their wicked ways among the righteous.
They are also described as bloodthirsty men, violently taking the lives
of other men. And they speak malicious
lies against God.
Notice in verse 20 that “your name” is in italics,
indicating it is not in the original.
Literally, the phrase means, “Your enemies are lifted up with vanity”. They attempt to tear God down, with their words,
all the while that they are building themselves up. This brings another psalm of David
immediately to mind. Turn to Psalm 2.
[Psalm 2]
v. 1-3 Here are the
wicked rebels in opposition to the LORD
and His Anointed One, Messiah.
v. 4-6 The LORD has already established His King over the
earth; it is as good as done.
v. 7-8 This is
speaking of the LORD having begotten His
Son out of death; it is the risen Messiah who is given His inheritance – the
entire earthly kingdom.
v. 9 The first action
of Messiah the King will be to destroy the rebels from out of His kingdom.
v. 10-12 Here we see
a choice being given to the rest of the nations; to submit to the Son, or be
destroyed. His reign will be one of
absolute peace and righteousness.
When will the prophecies in this psalm be fulfilled? When Jesus returns to the earth, in His
Second Coming. And that is also the time
frame of the last part of Psalm 139.
[Return to Psalm 139]
What we see here is the likemindedness of Messiah with His
Father concerning these rebels. The time
has come to establish the kingdom on the earth.
The time of Tribulation is past, that necessary trial which was sent
upon the earth, to cause men to cry out to God for deliverance; and these
rebels had simply hardened their heart all the more.
It will be the severe mercy of God to destroy them, before
they destroy the rest of mankind with their violence and wickedness. Righteousness cries out for the judgment of God upon the wicked; and God will
give the rebels a just retribution.
The psalmist ends as he began.
v. 23-24 Messiah once
again asks His Father to search His heart.
The translation “anxieties” in verse 23 is unfortunate; the idea is for
the Father to look over all the thoughts and motives of Messiah’s heart. The sense is that Messiah desires only to do
the will of His Father – just as He did in His first coming to the earth.
Even though the church was a mystery until God revealed it,
this psalm shows that it was always part of the plan of God. The church was just awaiting its unveiling –
which allows us to see the few veiled references there are to it in the
OT. When we come to Ephesians chapter 5,
we will see even more – further revelations of the manifold wisdom of God
through the church.
The Mystery of the Church: The Manifold Wisdom of God
Psalm 139
searched (139:1); search (139:23) – haqar – in this context, of the LORD probing the heart, examining
the inner motives.
thought (139:2, 17) – rea‘
– indicates what a person has in mind, what his intents are. Purpose or aim.
comprehend (139:3) – zarah
– to winnow or sift; to measure off, scrutinize, discern.
path (139:3) – orah
– in this context, figurative of the course of life.
hedged (139:5) – mesura
– enclosed, closed in, fenced.
wonderful (139:6) – peli’ayh
– in this context, beyond human ability.
high (139:6) – sagab
– in this context, figuratively meaning
inaccessible
hell (139:8) – sheol
– the abode of departed souls-spirits
formed (139:13) – qanah
– to create, to bring forth. In this
context, to form a fetus in the womb.
inward parts (139:13) – kilyah
– literally means kidney. In this
context, figuratively, the inward parts of man; the inner organs.
covered (139:13) – sakak
– In this context, to weave or knot together; to shape. It describes the Lord’s activity in creating
a fetus within the womb, of putting the parts together.
wonderfully (139:14) – palah
– the verb form carries the meaning of distinct, separate, set apart and
different.
frame (139:15) – osem
– the frame of the body; bones.
made (139:15) – asah
– also means to build or construct.
Emphasis is on fashioning a created object.
skillfully wrought (139:15) – raqam – to embroider, to weave, to do needlework. The Hebrew word means to deck with color, to
variegate. Hence it means to variegate a
garment; to weave with threads of various colors. It is used in its simple participial form to
designate the person skilled in doing all kinds of elaborate weaving. Phrase
here is maaseh roqem, which is used
in a figurative sense of a human embryo’s being woven into existence.
lowest parts [of the earth] (139:15) – tahtiy – lower, below, lowest. The lowest parts of the earth
indicates the realm of the dead (see Ezekiel 26:20, 31:14).
substance being yet unformed (139:16) – golem – anything folded up or undeveloped. In this context, a fetus or embryo. It refers
to the unformed child or embryo in the womb.
days (139:16) – yom
– the most basic conception of time in the OT.
In this context, in the plural, lifespans.
fashioned (139:16) – yasar
– the fashioning or shaping of that which God created. By extension, the word conveys the notion of
predestination and election.
awake (139:18) – qiys
– metaphorically here, of resurrection.
still (139:18) – ‘od
– indicates repetition and/or continuance of something; a going around; again.
anxieties (139:23) – sar‘appim
– in this context, thoughts, meditations
