Psalm 130:1-16 - "The Father's Love for The Son"

Psalm 130:1-16

"O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."

Psalm 139 is often read as a deeply personal reflection, yet our first and chief concern must be how this Psalm testifies of the LORD Jesus Christ. As our LORD Himself taught, all Scripture speaks of Him. When we read David’s words here, we are brought by the Spirit to listen in on the communion between the Father and the Son. This Psalm unfolds before us as a portrait of the Father’s love for the Son, displayed in perfect knowledge, approval, presence, and purpose.

The Psalm opens with the words, “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me” (v.1). This searching is no mere observation. It is an intimate, thorough knowing—one that speaks of love as much as knowledge. Applied to Christ, it shows us that the Son, Who came in the Flesh, lived every moment under the approving gaze of the Father. He was examined inwardly and outwardly and found without blemish. As the spotless Lamb, He had to be known in thought, word, and deed, and in all of this He delighted the Father (1 Peter 1:19-21).

The Father’s knowledge of the Son did not begin in Bethlehem. “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand” (John 3:35). From eternity, the Son was with the Father, sharing that perfect fellowship of love. In His incarnation, this eternal relationship was not diminished but expressed in obedience. “Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thought afar off” (v.2). Every step Christ took as the Mediator, every word He spoke and every thought of His heart was directed and approved by the Father. Nothing was left to chance. Salvation unfolded according to God's immutable Purpose, not human initiative.

We are told, “Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways” (v. 3). The Father hedged in the Son’s path. Though surrounded by enemies and tempted in all points, Christ could not be taken before His appointed hour. The Father’s Hand was upon Him—guiding, protecting, approving. Even when that Hand would later fall upon Him in judgment, it was still the Hand of Love, laying the sin of His chosen people upon the willing Substitute (Isaiah 53:6-8).

“There is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether” (v. 4). In us, God finds nothing to love by nature. In His Son, the Father found nothing but delight. In thought, word, and work, Christ fulfilled all Righteousness. This is why His obedience could be counted for sinners. What we could never render, Christ rendered fully.

Verse 5 tells us, “Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.” The Father’s Hand rested on the Son in blessing and approval, even as it would later rest upon Him in judgment at the cross. The high priest’s hand laid upon the sacrificial lamb finds its fulfillment here. The LORD Jesus bore the sins of His people and the Father never turned His Face from Christ as the Sacrificial Lamb because He was carrying out His purpose in everlasting love for His elect (Psalm 22:24).

Such knowledge, the Psalm says, “is too wonderful for me” (v. 6). This wonder belongs not only to David but to Christ Himself, Who as a Man lived in reverent submission to the Father. Hebrews tells us that “though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). This is the mystery of godliness: God manifest in the flesh, willingly humbling Himself to save sinners (1 Timothy 3:16).

The Father’s Presence never left the Son—not in life, or death, or in the grave. “If I make my bed in hell [sheol], behold, thou art there” (v.8). Even in the hour of darkness, the Father’s eye remained upon Him. The darkness did not overcome the Light, for the Father was satisfied in the work being accomplished.

From conception onward, the Father’s purpose stood firm. “A body hast thou prepared me” (Hebrews 10:5). Christ was fearfully and wonderfully made, not in Adam’s likeness, but conceived by the Spirit, without sin (Luke 1:35). His earthly work of redemption began in the womb and continued perfectly and flawlessly to the cross, as evidenced by His resurrection and ascension into glory (Hebrews 1:1-3).

This Psalm leads us to worship. If we have fellowship with the Father, it is only “with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). Psalm 139 teaches us not first to look inward, but upward—to Christ, the beloved Son, in Whom the Father is well pleased, and through Whom sinners are brought into that same fellowship of Grace.