Kerusso Bible Community Tacloban

July 17, 2023

Title: The Omniscience of God (Sermon Series on the Attributes of God)

Scripture: 1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise
up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down are acquainted with
all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. 5 You hem me
in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I
cannot attain it.

Psalms 139:1-6

Introduction:

Before we delve into my assigned topic which is the “Omniscience of God”, it is important to understand
that although the Omniscience of God is very practical and easy to understand as God perfectly knowing
everything, this attribute of God must not be taken lightly nor preach with a casual confident lip. To
contain all of God’s knowledge in one sermon is an impossible task. It is like pressing a sack of rice into
coffee cup. There will never be enough room in our finite minds that can contain the infinite knowledge
of God.

And lastly, no matter who stands here today, whether it be Ps. Lou, Ps. Kenneth or John MacArthur,
preaching God’s omniscience will always be only touching a micro - scratch of God’s infinite and perfect
knowledge. So today, both you and I have been given by God the great privilege of seeing one of his
wonderful perfections. And as we dig and mine the infinite treasure field of God’s knowledge, I pray that
you would never let go of any golden truth and jewels of knowledge that you find as you listen to the
preaching of his word.

I. God knows David

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a. O LORD, you have searched (siniyasat) me and known me!
 David starts his psalm by declaring and expressing his awe on the fact that God knows him so
well that nothing about him is hidden before the mind of God.
 In modern theology this attribute of God that David will proceed to describe in the next verses is
called the Omniscience of God.
 It refers to the truth that God possess a perfect knowledge of everything. He has a perfect
knowledge of himself (1 Cor. 2:11) and everything outside of himself.
 Now we will try to focus on this specific Psalm, it is important to understand that this book is
different from other books (epistles, narratives). This book is a hymnbook for Israel’ s different
occasion.
 It contains a Hebrew poetry called parallelism. William Girao defines, “It is a literary device
where the second line of a verse will be used to amplify the first one.”
 There are different types of parallelism, in our case what we have today is a synthetic or stair-like
parallelism. Here you will see that a certain idea will be repeated but as new line is created a the
idea will be taken further.

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II. God knows his movements and his thoughts

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a. You know when I sit down and when I rise up (daily basic and common movements); you discern
my thoughts from afar.
 In this verse we see David declaring that God knows whether he sit down or he rise up.
 Sitting down and standing up are some of man’s basic movements and they usually do not
occupy a lot of space in the mind of man. Almost no one invests their time and thoughts on
observing a person’s sitting down and rising up per day.
 However, God in his deep and accurate knowledge takes note and do not overlook such things.
God’s knowledge is so all-knowing and all-encompassing that even the smallest and seemingly
insignificant details in our lives is known by him.
 What our finite knowledge fails to take note is always known by the divine knowledge of God.
 Aside from our basic and daily movements, Scripture reveals to us that there are also other so
many simple and seemingly small things that are not hidden from the divine knowledge of God.
 9 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground
apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew
10:29-30
 Here we see that God’s knowledge extends to how many birds fly in the sky and how
many fall to the ground.
 We can also see that God has the answer to how many hair does every individual person
has in his head.
 Now just because the Bible writes that our hairs are numbered does it mean that God
made a survey and literally counted our hairs.
 God has no need for counting because his knowledge of everything including the small
details of our lives are immediate. God knows everything in this world in an instant
manner.
 Unlike our super-fast computers and brilliant minds who needs at least a split of a
second to know or remember something, God instantaneously knows all things at all
times.
 Romans 11:34 and Isaiah 40:13 clearly reveals to us that God is not in need of
counseling and advice because “learning” is not in God’s vocabulary.

b. you discern my thoughts from afar. Psalms 139:2

 The next area of David’s life that is discerned and well known by God is his thoughts.
 God does not only know the external movement of man, but he also knows the internal motions
that are going through a man’s mind. The Hebrew word used for discerning here is “bene” which
originated from the idea of mental separation (distinguish). Every thought of man is discerned by
God individually and instantly at the same time.
 One of the most complex things in this world from a human perspective is our thoughts. An
article that is medically reviewed on “healthline.com” states that “a 2020 study suggested
people typically have more than 6,000 thoughts per day”.

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 Imagine how much time would it take for a man to discern and understand separately
(individual) another man’s 6,000 thoughts? Yet before our God 6,000 thoughts are nothing
and easier than slicing a cake.
 To dive in deeper, God can sit down in his throne and discern immediately and instantly
without any research or survey not just one man’s multitude of thoughts but the whole
inhabitants of this world starting from the first to the last of our future generations.

 Oh what great and deep knowledge God has, the complexity of our thoughts cannot confuse or
overwhelm him. He does not overlook any thought of man and has a perfect knowledge of the
even the things that are long lost in other people’s memory.
 As what John Gill writes, “how else should he bring them into judgement”.
 God’s omniscience is what enables him to become a righteous and reliable judge in the end of
the age for nothing escapes his remembrance and no one can deny their actions because God
knows and will show to them even the deepest parts of their thoughts.

 Aside from having the ability to instantly discern all of man’s thoughts, David declares that God
does this discerning from afar (rachoq – of old) which renders the idea of being in the “long
time past”.
 In other words as John Gill writes “God knows the thoughts of his people, as well as his own,
from all eternity.”

 God already knows our thoughts and mindset from ages long ago, God already know how
we will think, long even before we met and far away from our thoughts.
 God in his divine knowledge and wisdom is infinite steps ahead of our human brilliance.
 Since he knows the thoughts of man from long time ago, there are no plans of man that can
catch him off guard. In his divine knowledge and wisdom, God ‘s perfect will and plan is in
control over all things.

 Now brothers and sisters in regard to our personal life, relationship and service towards him,
God knows our thoughts of him.
 God knows our thoughts at this very moment if we are really thinking about worship and
admiration towards him.
 God knows your thoughts towards his word, work and will.
 God knows the thought processes and idea behind our external appearances. For one man
can be present inside the church or even preach in the pulpit but have his thoughts located
in the devil’s playground.
 God knows what thoughts and ideas you are allowing inside your mind. God knows what
thoughts you are feeding and serving in your mind.
 God knows if you are harboring lust (kahalayan) in your mind right now.
 God knows what your thoughts are towards your neighbor. You may smile and shake them
by their hands but if you possess any ill-thought towards them, know that God will not but
has already found out.

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III. God knows his manner of life

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a. You search out my path (action) (daytime) and my lying down (rest) (night time) and are
acquainted with all my ways (manner of actions).
 Once again this is a parallelism to the former main idea that God is an all-knowing God. On this
verse however the focus shifted from God’s knowledge of his actions and thoughts to David’s
morning to night-time way of life.
 There are no time-freeze to the knowledge of God. His knowledge encompasses our way of life
as we work and conduct our dealings during the day and will continually search us in our rest at
night.
 God knows whether our ways during the day and night leads to the things that pleases him or
not.
 God knows whether our ways during the day while we are working are spent productively
and wisely.
 He knows whether the path that we went during the day is godliness or idleness. He knows
if you are living in spiritually or worldly during the day whether you are in your home or in
your work place. He is well acquainted with all our ways.
 He knows our deepest motives and desires as we deal with other people and things every
day. There is nothing hidden in his knowledge.
 He knows if you are dealing honestly or dishonestly during the day. He knows who you are
mingling with and what kind of people you are yoking and enjoying with during the day.
 God knows your ways during the night as well. As you lie down and rest yourself, God
perfectly knows what manner of life you are living.
 God knows how you spend your time during the night, what videos and entertainment you
consume every night.
 God knows who you are talking at night, he knows you and everything that you do as you
rest and lie down in your bed.

 God knows who you are in public and in private.

 13
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13

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IV. God knows the entirety of our speech

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a. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
 The next area of God’s omniscience is over David’s words and speech.
 Here David explains that God knowledge of his words precedes even his speech. Before he can
even say the words that he wants to speak, God is already well acquainted with all of it.
 In addition, God’s knowledge of your words isn’t just about grammar and sentences. It also
includes the very nature and purity of our words.
 Even before we speak, he knows whether our words are laced with deception or filled with
truthfulness. He knows what the motives are and where does our words spring forth. He knows
if our words are of mockery or of sincerity.
 He knows very well if our words are words of humility or words of pride.
a. We may speak and post words of humility in social media but God knows if it is
fueled by self-righteousness.
 He knows whether our words would build up or destroy someone.
 Even in our time of singing and worship, God knows if our words are filled with worship or
empty and dead.
 Brothers and sisters, no matter how good we are in speaking or you have your smooth way with
words, God knows everything. We cannot mock God, we may convince people but God will
always find you out.

 On the other hand brothers and sisters, may God’s omniscience over our words lead us to
the realization that God indeed knows our hearts. God knowing our thoughts before we
speak should lead us to a more honest attitude towards him.
 If you are hurting and in pain there is no need to hide, bring your burdens unto him.
 If you are here with anger in your heart do not try to hide it with your masterful
phraseologies. Be honest and admit to God that you are upset. Be honest to God if you are
in pain. Cast all your cares upon him for he cares for you.
 Often times as Christians we tend to develop hiding from God through our words. We tend
to pray at night our generic prayers of grace and blessings even though deep inside our
hearts we know we need help because we are drifting away from God. We tend to pray our
generic prayers even though deep inside our hearts you know you are entangled with sin
and you want deliverance.

 Brothers and sisters we are serving an omniscient God, there is no need to hide from him,
there is no need for a mask, there is no need for flowery words when all you see in your life
today is pain, struggle and temptations. Be honest before God if all you got today is one
sincere groan (hinaing). Let it be. If all you can do today before God is to cry, the cry your
heart out.
 As what John Bunyan said, “It is better to have a heart without words than words without
a heart”.
 God’s omniscience delights in honesty and not hypocrisy, I personally believe that our
omniscient God would rather have an honest sinner rather than a lying speaker.

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V. God’s knowledge encloses him in protection and providence

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a. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
 Tagalog version: Iyong pinaligiran ako sa likuran at sa harapan, at ipinatong mo sa akin ang iyong
kamay.
 In these final remaining verses we see David’s heart toward the omniscient God of the Bible.
 For the Psalmist God in his omniscience has hemmed him both opposite directions. The picture
here is God in his knowledge and providence has surrounded David like an army.
 But instead of seeing God’s full control in his life as a harsh stalking (malupit na pagsubaybay) he
saw God’s omniscience as his hedge of protection and comfort.

 Brothers and sisters do we see God’s omniscience like David does? Do we see God’s full
knowledge of our lives and circumstances as favor and protection? Or do you feel
uncomfortable and imprisoned when you hear it being preached because God’s knowledge is
the very witness against your personal, selfish and worldly agendas?

 If you are a genuine Christian I pray that you would not buy into the lie that God’s omniscience is
all about exposing you and being a kill joy in your life.
 I pray that you would realize that God’s omniscience is not something we should ran away from.
It should be the very fortress that we must run to when we don’t know what to do, or when we
are confused, or when we are torn apart between crucial decision makings in life.

 His omniscience should always give us hope and comfort knowing that as God’s child, no matter
who you are, God will never overlook you. There will never be a time where God in his
“busyness” will forget your pain and cry for help. The Omniscient God knows you!
 His omniscience should always remind you that no matter how crushed you are in life and there
are no more words that comes out of your mouth, God knows and hears even the most silent
prayers you have.
 His omniscience should remind you that even though you walk into the dark valleys of being
falsely accused and gossiped at, God knows your innocence.
 His omniscience should remind you that whatever situation you are in as his child, God has
wisely designed and allowed it for your good to the glory of his name. God knows your sufferings
and struggle and he is with you at all times.
 Like David, instead of looking at God’s omniscience as something that we must forget or ran
away from, we must look at it as our comfort and protection.

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VI. God’s knowledge is incomprehensible

a. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Psalms 139:1-6
b. Finally, David concludes his meditations on the omniscience of God by acknowledging the greatness
and wonder of God’s knowledge.
 There are two things that we can learn here:
 Secondly, a correct understanding of God’s greatness and character produces humility.

c. Worship and Admiration

 First, a correct understanding of God’s character specifically his omniscience leads to worship
and admiration.
 Here we see that David’s proper understanding of God’s omniscience greatly overwhelmed him
and drawn him closer in worship and admiration instead of running away from God.
 This should be the effect of theology in our lives as well, as we strive to know his character we
are led to worship and adoration. We should be growing in our delight and love for Christ.
 God’s omniscience should lead us to be amazed that we worship and serve a God who knows all
things. We must be thankful and praising God for in his perfect knowledge our lives are secured
not dependent on luck or chances.
 We must worship God because we are led by a God who will never be surprised or caught off
guard because he knows all things.
 On a personal note:
 Brothers and sisters as we strive to know God, let us all hold in our hearts this reminder, that if
God is truly sought, he will never disappoint.
 If his character and perfections genuinely occupy our hearts and meditations he will surely
delight and satisfy you.
 Brothers and sisters, we have been given a great privilege of being known by God, and to know
God. Do not let the wealth of this world or the poverty of our life rob you of that privilege to
know the beauty and wonders of God.
 Do not let the struggles and pain of this life or the pressure of success convince you that seeking
God is not worth your time. Seeking and running after the beauty and greatness of your Lord
and Saviour isn’t just worth your time, it is your life.
 Seek God brothers and sisters, make it your personal commitment to continually delight and
desire the Lord. Let your ultimate boast in life come not from your education or your wealth, let
your success and boast be upon this one truth: YOU KNOW THE LORD! That you have a Treasure
that is worth more than anything in your life. That you know the all-powerful, all-present and all-
knowing God of the Universe.
 Brothers and sisters, please, do not deprive (wag mong ipagkait) yourself of God’s greatness, do
not ran away from the Bible, read and consume God’s word until it changes you, until it breaks
you and rearrange you into a person who delights in Christ.
 Learn to fix your eyes on Christ and his infinite knowledge and not on too many worthless things
on the internet.
 Pray to the Lord Psalms 119:37.
 37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Psalms 119:3

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d. Humility
 Finally a correct understanding of God’s omniscience results to humility.
 Look at what David said, “it is high; I cannot attain it”. He understood that God’s omniscience is
something that he will never be able to match or surpass.
 When we understand who God we will also understand ourselves. When we see God’s infinite
and perfect knowledge we will be able to see our limitations, turn away from pride, and live in
humility under the mighty hand of God.
 We will be able to do what our flesh hates the most, to submit before God.
 We will realize that since I am not like God in knowledge I have the tendency to commit errors
and harbor wickedness in my heart. We will understand that as humans we need the guidance
and omniscience of God to navigate our everyday lives. We need to be searched and led by God.
 3 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
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And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalms
139:23-24
 Matthew Henry writes “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 be any wicked way in me, let me see it; and do thou root it out of me.”

VII. Additional Applications

a. Before this message ends, allow me to remind and encourage everyone of these things.
 (1) Trust the omniscience of God, the world and Satan and your flesh will always compete for
your loyalty to God. No matter what happens
 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
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In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
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Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. Proverbs 3:5-7

 Young and single ones, trust the Lord with all your heart and do not be carried away by
insecurities and social media culture, he knows the perfect timing for your love life. If you trust
in his perfect knowledge he will make your paths straight to the person he has prepared for you!
Be of good cheer! God knows you! Keep yourself pure by putting your self daily under the
omniscience of God. Let him reveal and root out every lust and pride in you.

 Beloved parents, trust the Lord with all your heart as you lead your family and children. Let
them see in your life firsthand that you are a man or woman who trusts and depends on the
knowledge of God. Let them see you trusting God’s knowledge by them seeing you reading God’s
word and leading them in Bible studies. Let us all together step up and take our parenting
seriously, let us make sure with all our life and strength that our children will never drift away
from the life giving knowledge of the ALL KNOWING GOD!

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 For our church elders and leaders, trust the Lord with all your heart, keep yourself under the
constant scrutiny and examination of God’s knowledge and word. Let God’s knowledge and
wisdom root out the pride and evil in you. Let the greatness and wonders of God captivate you
and serve as your motivations in serving. Know this as well, God knows your labor and service to
him. He knows!
 And if there is anyone here who has not yet trusted the Lord for salvation, the doors of
forgiveness and salvation is open, the God who knows all things is calling you to repent from
your sins and put your faith alone in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

 Finally, for all of us here at Kerusso Bible Community Tacloban, let us remind ourselves of this
great truth, “Our Omniscient God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, for our salvation died
on the cross for our sins, was buried and on the third day conquered the grave! He rose again
and is now in the heavens seated at the right hand of the Father, forever reigning and is always
with us until the end of time!”

 All glory and honor to the God who knows all things! Amen!