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SeSSion 1

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The PointGod values life and so should we.

The Bible Meets LifeAre some lives more important than others? Culture gives lip service to the

value of life, but the way the unborn, disabled, and elderly are treated by society

sends a different message. Some people may not appear to be making a viable

contribution to the world around them, but Psalm 139 points us to an all-

knowing, all-loving God who values each one of us.

The PassagePsalm 139:1-6, 13-18

The SettingPsalm 139 is a very personal psalm. David wrote of God’s incomparable

attributes—His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence—but he wrote

of those attributes in the context of how God knew him and was personally

involved in the details of his life.

B i B l e S t u d i e S f o r l i f e 87

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 (HCSB)

1 lord, You have searched me and known me.

2 You know when i sit down and when i stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away.

3 You observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue, You know all about it, LORD.

5 You have encircled me; You have placed Your hand on me.

6 this extraordinary knowledge is beyond me. it is lofty; i am unable to reach it.

13 For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 i will praise You because i have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and i know this very well.

15 My bones were not hidden from You when i was made in secret, when i was formed in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw me when i was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.

17 God, how difficult Your thoughts are for me to comprehend; how vast their sum is!

18 if i counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when i wake up, i am

still with You.

Key Words

Known (v. 1)—This refers to a unique kind of intimate knowledge of a person resulting from a close, personal relationship.

Encircled (v. 5)—This describes someone being enfolded back and front by the Lord, who has the absolute power to control and protect completely.

Knit me (v. 13)—This phrase depicts a skilled artisan, carefully weaving a tapestry with exact precision. It pictures God’s intimate involvement in creating each of us.

What does the Bible say?

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Notes

THE POINT God values life and so should we.

GET INTO ThE STUDYDISCUSS: Invite your group members to

turn their attention to the image on page

73 of the Personal Study Guide (PSG).

Ask: “How can people tell what is

valuable to you?” Allow time for each

person to respond.

SUmmarIze: When we love something,

when we value and treasure it, we go to

great lengths to protect and preserve

it. Whatever it is becomes a priority and

affects the way we handle it. In a similar

manner, God has gone to great lengths to protect and preserve us—His valued creation.

SUmmarIze: The second paragraph of “The Bible Meets Life” on page 74 of the PSG

says this psalm “celebrates God’s intimate knowledge of us and His intricate fashioning

of us as His unique handiwork.” We are His; we’ve been fashioned by the One who gives

life to all.

GUIDe: Call attention to The Point on page 74 of the PSG: “God values life and so

should we.” Explain that this key idea will drive our discussion today.

PraY: Transition into the Bible study by praying. Thank God for uniquely creating each

of us and for His constant presence in our lives.

Display Pack Item #8

to communicate the

study topic.

5 minutes


STudy THE bIblEPsalm 139:1-6

1 LORD, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down

and when I stand up; You understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You

observe my travels and my rest; You are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word

is on my tongue, You know all about it, LORD. 5 You have encircled me; You

have placed Your hand on me. 6 This extraordinary knowledge is beyond me.

It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.

READ: Ask a group member to read Psalm 139:1-6 aloud.

DISCUSS: Question 2 on page 76 of the PSG: “From these verses, how can

you know that God values you?”

SUmmARIzE: Share with your group that this psalm seems to be a prayer

of David, in which he recounted to God an awareness of His great power and

knowledge. David praised God for His personal, yet all-surpassing power,

demonstrated in His omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence (see “Psalm

139:1-6 Commentary”).

] God is omniscient: He is all-knowing

] God is omnipotent: He is all-powerful

] God is omnipresent: He is present everywhere at the same time

SAy: “The God who created us and who has a plan for us is also the God who is

with us wherever we might be. Human life is sacred because God is always present

with His people.”

TRAnSITIon: Psalm 139 continues to praise God in the next verses—God knew

us even before we were born.

TIP: It’s tough to expect group members to be transparent if the leader isn’t as well. Look for ways to share personal insights as you teach.

10 minutes

Notes

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Psalm 139:1-6 Commentary

According to the information provided in the heading of this powerful and touching psalm, David wrote

it himself. Sometimes he would write a psalm in response to a particular experience or in keeping with a

specific occasion. However, if there is such a specific situation with this psalm, it is unknown. It appears

to be the result of his reflection on the greatness of God in his life. The psalm indicates that David had

been given a fresh awareness of God’s remarkable character.

This psalm bears the marks of a prayer. In the first few words of the psalm, for instance, notice that David

turned his attention to the Lord and directed his remarks to Him. In his prayer, he weaved together

his understanding of God’s omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. He blended these sublime

character traits into a touching testimony about the depth of God’s interest in him. David testified

that the Lord had searched and known him thoroughly and completely. In other words, the Lord had

explored every facet of David’s life and had exhibited an up-close and uniquely personal understanding

of him.

From there, David went on to insist that nothing about his life could have been hidden from the Lord.

As he wrote, he used Hebrew verb tenses to convey the reality that the Lord’s involvement in His life

would never be reversed. David wrote of the Lord’s intimate grasp of his daily routine. When he sat

down to work on a project or when he stood up to go for a walk, the Lord would know about it. He

knew what David would be doing and where he would be going each day. But the Lord did more

than merely monitor David’s actions as he went through his daily routine. He even could understand

the thoughts David had tucked away in his head. In so doing, the Lord displayed the perfect blend of

majesty and intimacy.

The Lord would observe David as he made his way from one place to another and when he decided to

get some rest from his travels. Observing David when he took a trip or when he took a nap meant more

than just keeping an eye on him. It meant that the Lord sifted through David’s activities and sorted

out all of the details. Only the Lord could have accomplished such an incredible feat. He alone could

be trusted to be aware of every detail of David’s behavior. He would even know what David would say

long before he uttered the first word. With such intimate, sovereign knowledge of David, little wonder,

therefore, that David had no problem referring to such a God by His personal covenant name, LORD. As

he continued to pray, David spoke of the attention that the Lord had given to his security. He affirmed

that the Lord had encircled him on every side. David could see the presence of the Lord surrounding him

like a mighty army devoted to protecting him. Therefore, no enemy could break through and harm him.




13 For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my

mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You because I have been remarkably and

wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well. 15 My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was

formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless;

all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of

them began.


SUmmARIzE: The first paragraph on page 77 of the PSG points to God’s

involvement in our daily lives as further evidence of our worth to Him. He made us

and is fully aware of our lives; our lives are valuable to Him.

GUIDE: Based on these verses, we know that life begins at conception. Even

before we were born, God was fully aware of our earliest days and our entire life.

DISCUSS: Question 3 on page 77 of the PSG: “Since life begins at

conception, how does this impact our attitudes toward the hardest

questions about abortion?”

SAy: “God made humanity in His image and is acutely aware of even the smallest

of events. God’s priority on life should shape how we choose to treat people. His

desire is for us to honor, cherish, and care for each other like He does.”

GUIDE: Ask your group members to turn the page in their PSG to page 78.

DISCUSS: Question 4 on page 78 of the PSG: “What should characterize

our treatment of others (the sick, poor, disabled, elderly) in light of the

fact that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made?”

TRAnSITIon: In the next verses, David confessed his limitations to comprehend

God’s thoughts.

15 minutes

Notes

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David saw that his birth had been no accident and his life had been no coincidence. The Lord had taken

the time to be involved in creating his body by making his ”inward parts.” The literal Hebrew translation

indicated that God had made David’s kidneys, which the people of Israel often regarded as the center

of emotion, affection, and conscience. Nine months before David came bursting on to the scene at

his birth, the Lord put forth tremendous effort to knit his body together. The imagery David used to

describe God’s creative activity suggested His masterful work of knitting bones, muscles, arteries, and

vital organs together in his mother’s womb to form a human being.

David testified that only the Lord could see his bones as they grew to form his body. Also, He alone

could see the other ways in which David’s little body was being formed. “The depths of the earth” was

a way of talking about the creative work going on deep in his mother’s womb. It was out of sight of

everyone except the Lord Himself. As David continued to praise the Lord for creating him, he affirmed

that “Your eyes saw me when I was formless.” Only one reason could be given to explain why the Lord

gave such attention to the creation of a human being who would be named David—God considered

his life sacred. Just like God created David, He made each of us. Therefore, we agree with David that God

regards every one of us as sacred to Him. And we can also agree with David that God’s plans for us also

demonstrate that He values us as sacred and precious treasures.

After David praised the Lord for His magnificent work of creating him, he went on to call attention to the

days ahead God would give to him. Those days had not been given to him in a haphazard fashion. God

gave them in keeping with His plan for David’s life. Before David lived his first day as a baby, the Lord had

a plan for him. Each day granted to him would allow him to fulfill God’s plan for his life. David described

the certainty of God’s plan for him by bringing up God’s book in which his days were written, bolstering

the reality of the Lord’s ultimate control over life and death.

The Lord has given us life, and He alone has the final word over us. What happens in our lives can bring

us tremendous joy, but we can also experience some tough difficulties too. In the days He gives us, we

might enjoy physical, emotional, and mental stability. However, disabilities might also mark our days.

No matter what our days bring us, we can live in the assurance of God’s plan for each of us. He created

us and has a plan for us because He considers our lives sacred.




17 God, how difficult Your thoughts are for me to comprehend; how vast their

sum is! 18 If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I

wake up, I am still with You.


SUmmARIzE: We are valuable to God because we are made in His image, He

knows us completely, and He is present with us in all circumstances. In verses

17-18, David proclaimed his inability to comprehend the depth and breadth of

God’s thoughts.

SAy: “This knowledge blew David’s mind. He couldn’t wrap his finite mind around

the reality that the Lord, so lofty and transcendent, has taken such an intense and

intimate interest in him.”

DISCUSS: Question 5 on page 79 of the PSG: “Which attribute of God

mentioned in today’s verses have you recently seen firsthand?”

Do: Place your members into groups of 2-3 people each, then complete the

activity on page 78 of the PSG.

Worth my Time?:

] I notice her every day; she’s always alone and just looks lonely. Does she

have family nearby? Friends? I can . . .

] A coworker annoys me on a regular basis. I can . . .

] My next door neighbor is an older gentleman who lives alone. I can . . .

10 minutes

Notes

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In these verses of the psalm, David continued to praise the Lord. After pondering God’s extreme concern

for him and His intense involvement in his formation as a human being, David had no choice but to

make a heartfelt confession. He confessed he lived with a serious limitation in his relationship with the

Lord. The limitation had to do with his finite mind that could not comprehend the infinite thoughts of

Almighty God. Granted, he considered God’s thoughts to be precious. The problem rested in the reality

that God’s thoughts were extremely difficult for him to grasp. In fact, some were so vast they were

impossible for him to understand.

The distance between God’s thoughts and David’s ability to comprehend them brings to mind a

declaration God made through the prophet Isaiah. As He appealed to His people to return to Him, He

declared His thoughts were loftier than their thoughts, and His ways higher than their ways (Isaiah 55:9).

God’s declaration in Isaiah confirmed the difficulty David faced when he tried to wrap his limited mind

around the thoughts of God.

As David wrote, he provided a clear contrast between his thoughts and God’s. Earlier in the psalm, David

testified that God knew each thought David had tucked away in his mind (v. 2). He could not hide his

thoughts from the Lord. They were finite and limited. The Lord could read his mind from far away in

heaven. By contrast, God’s thoughts were vast and well beyond David’s realm of understanding. David

might have had in his mind the information he needed in order to lead Israel. However, the Lord had

in His mind the information needed to create and sustain the universe. David would have had in his

mind the organization for feeding the people in his royal court. God would have on His mind the plan

for feeding plants, animals, fish, and birds, as well as the people He placed on the earth. At the same

time, the Lord had in His mind the way of redemption for the people He created. Moreover, God’s mind

contains all of the wisdom needed by His people to live in fulfillment in the world He had made. And

these are only a few of the facets associated with the mind of God. Like David said, if someone could

have added up all of the separate facets of thought in God’s mind, their sum would be well beyond

human calculation.

David pondered the notion of trying to count the thoughts of God. He determined one could finish

counting the grains of sand on every beach in the world sooner than reaching the end of God’s thoughts.

David articulated the utter impossibility of capturing the mind of God. As he continued to write, David

gave the impression that his effort to comprehend God’s mind would preoccupy him at night when he

went to bed. He would drift off to sleep with the desire to grasp God’s thoughts. After a night’s rest, he

would awaken to discover his thoughts still centered on the magnificent mind of the everlasting Lord.



Notes

5 minutes LIVE IT OUTSay: “The God of creation calls us to value, cherish, and guard the sacredness of all

human life.”

GUIDE: Lead group members to consider the responses to the Bible study listed

on page 80 of the PSG.

] Read all of Psalm 139, substituting your name in place of the pronoun

“I.” Allow these verses to sink in, then thank God for how He’s worked

powerfully and personally in your life.

] Form a friendship with someone who’s been categorized as “homeless,”

“terminally ill,” “mentally handicapped,” “wheelchair bound,” and so on.

] Volunteer at a homeless shelter or nursing home. Demonstrate God’s

love to the people you meet and ask God to deepen your compassion and

respect for others.

Wrap it Up

Say: “Because we’re created in God’s image, we hold immeasurable worth to Him.

He’s actively involved and at work in our daily lives. This week, be aware of the

opportunities you have to demonstrate His love to those around you.”

5 minutes

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My group's prayer requests

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