The Ancient Path: Faith in the God Who Knows, Is Present, and Is Able

Psalm 139 (NET)

1 O Lord, you examine me and know.

2 You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives.

3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do.

4 Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it.

5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me.

6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.

7 Where can I go to escape your spirit? Where can I flee to escape your presence?

8 If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there. If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be.

9 If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn, and settle down on the other side of the sea,

10 even there your hand would guide me, your right hand would grab hold of me.

11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, and the light will turn to night all around me,”

12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, and the night is as bright as day; darkness and light are the same to you.

13 Certainly you made my mind and heart; you wove me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. You knew me thoroughly;

15 my bones were not hidden from you, when I was made in secret and sewed together in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb. All the days ordained for me were recorded in your scroll before one of them came into existence.

17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God! How vast is their sum total!

18 If I tried to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. Even if I finished counting them, I would still have to contend with you.

19 If only you would kill the wicked, O God! Get away from me, you violent men!

20 They rebel against you and act deceitfully; your enemies lie.

21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you, and despise those who oppose you?

22 I absolutely hate them, they have become my enemies!

23 Examine me, and probe my thoughts! Test me, and know my concerns!

24 See if there is any idolatrous tendency in me, and lead me in the reliable ancient path!

Faith on the Ancient Path

Psalm 139 has long drawn believers into the depths of God’s character—His knowledge, His presence, and His purpose in our lives. The first two attributes—God’s omniscience and omnipresence—are often easier to affirm. We nod our heads when we read that God sees all, knows all, and is always with us. But when we reach verse 19—“If only you would kill the wicked…”—we’re forced to grapple with the tension: If God knows everything and is everywhere, why is evil still here?

This is not just David’s question. It’s ours too.

The psalmist moves from confident declarations to desperate intercession. He doesn’t just want to be known—he wants the world to be put right. He desires to see God’s omnipotence break into history, to bring justice, to reveal the power of God not only in knowledge and presence, but in action.

Yet he ends not with a demand, but with surrender:

“Examine me… Test me… See if there is any idolatrous tendency in me, and lead me in the reliable ancient path.” (vv. 23–24)

Here, David invites God to search him—not just for moral failure, but for idolatrous thinking. Perhaps even the kind of thinking that longs for a different God: one who acts faster, or more visibly. He turns from complaint to confession, and then to trust.

This path—the reliable ancient path—is the way of faith.

Calvin’s Insight: Known and Accountable

John Calvin wrote that Psalm 139 should stir “humility, reverence, and awe.” For him, God’s intimate knowledge is not abstract—it demands a response. Calvin comments:

“David insists that nothing is more necessary for us than to be persuaded of God’s intimate knowledge of our lives.”

Calvin sees this psalm as a rebuke to human hypocrisy. If God sees everything, how can we pretend? And if He’s always with us, how can we be careless? But Calvin also finds comfort here. Even when wickedness remains in the world, God’s presence is not in question. His justice is not sleeping. And the “ancient path” is not a shortcut to vengeance, but a long road of faithfulness.

Edwards’ Depth: Examined by Grace

Jonathan Edwards, though not a formal commentator on the psalms, lived out the cry of verses 23–24 in his daily resolutions. In Resolution #48, he wrote:

“Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul… that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of.”

Like David, Edwards feared self-deception. He didn’t want to assume he was on the ancient path—he wanted to be searched and led by God. For Edwards, this wasn’t morbid introspection but a way to deepen his dependence on Christ. Only the Spirit could truly search the heart and root out idolatrous desires.

Edwards read Psalm 139 not just as theology, but as practice: to live coram Deo—before the face of God—with honesty, urgency, and hope.

The Invitation

Psalm 139 doesn’t answer every question about evil or pain, but it models the response of faith: to turn from doubt to surrender, from protest to prayer. The “ancient path” is not defined by perfect understanding, but by trust in the One who perfectly understands us.

“Even if I finished counting [Your thoughts], I would still have to contend with You.” (v. 18)

This life, in all its mystery, still leads us back to God. And that is the way of faith.

“Search me, O God. Test me. Lead me.”

That’s a prayer worth praying—today, and every day on the ancient path.