Psalm 139
v.5-6
You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Being hedged behind, David cannot stop or quit because he is being herded forward. Being hedged before, he cannot accelerate or push ahead, he can only move forward at the pace the Lord sovereignly sets for him. He can’t work up momentum, and he can’t quit. Then, he’s under the mighty hand of God, which means he can’t move to the left or right either. He is a man without options. And his evaluation of this place of constraint, restraint, and harnessed direction? David could have been tempted by this as highly constrictive and controlling, but instead he called it such high knowledge he cannot attain it!
v.17-18
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.
The “thoughts” of God are too magnificent, too numerous, and too exalted for a human being to comprehend, whose “thoughts” are fully konwn to the Lord. But the Lord’s love is real.