Psalms 117 and 139 Bible Teaching

Mercy and Truth in the Psalms

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Psalm 117 and Psalm 139

Mercy and Truth before an Omniscient God
August 10th 2025

Psalm 117

The shortest Psalm, the shortest chapter. Let’s read it.

Psalm 117:1 O praise YAHAVAH, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. 2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of YAHAVAH endureth for ever. Praise ye YAHAVAH.

Okay, thank you! See you next week.

No? No, there is so much to this line in the context of scripture and we are going to first talk about the concepts involved before applying them in the face of chapter 139. The first thing to note is that the Hebrew word for truth is eh-meth, and from this we get the word, Amen, a term that we say at the end of a prayer that conveys we agree with the statements offered. This Hebrew word means “firm,” and hence the scripture will use it to describe something “faithful.”

Isaih 65:15 speaks of the God of Amen, the God of Truth when it says

That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

The God of Truth. The God of faithful. The God of Amen. The word is so solid it is actually assigned to Christ Himself in Revelation 3:14 we read, in the Greek of course

Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith “the Amen,” the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

When we read in the Apostolic Record, amane or amen is translated to verily, and for emphasis, “verily, verily,” which is from “amen amen,” meaning truthfully, truthfully, and is assigned to Yeshua and his teachings frequently. It is also used by Paul and others in their writings to underscore when a statement is true, so much so that Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians 1:20

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. Here in Psalm 117 the writer says, “the amane of YAHAVAH endureth forever.”

Mercy and Truth in Relationship to Humanity

Now, I want to take just one example of how this plays out in YAHAVAH’s relationship to man. And that is by tying the term truth to another word that is frequently used in direct connection and that is mercy. What exactly does truth and mercy have to do with God and humanity? First, lets look at some places where truth and mercy are used together in the text.

The very first time, Truth and Mercy are used together is in Genesis 24:27 where we read

“And he said, Blessed be YAHAVAH Elohiym of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.”

The Psalms are most prolific in their appeal to God being a God of mercy and truth and Psalm 25:10

All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

Psalm 57:3 . . . God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

Psalm 57:10 For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

Psalm 89:14 Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

Psalm 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

A big one is Psalm 85 where we read the lines

Psalm 85:10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

What is the connection between mercy and truth when it comes to God and then human beings?

We get some insight when we read Hosea 4 which opens with the following, describing the Nation that was called to walk with God, and we read

Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. 3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that

The Relationship Between God's Mercy and Truth

4 Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. 5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.

What is the meaning and connection to God’s mercy and truth and the Nation? Because there was no truth, there could not be mercy possible. And from this we understand that God is merciful in the face of truth -and that mercy is impossible where truth does not abide. That is why Hosea wrote

God's Controversy with the Inhabitants of the Land

Hosea 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Because God is true, faithful, sound, firm, amen and because there is no shadow of turning with Him, He must be approached, accessed, relate to in Spirit and Truth, not via flesh and instability, half-truths or deception. His mercy is at the ready in the presence of truth but impossible to give when He is met with untruths.

Herein is the impasse between God and Man – God is merciful and true but to have access to His endless mercy freewill human being must be willing to give it up, to be real, to be transparent before Him and in the face of His Truth. Until that day happens – and remains – with open transparency before God the status quo how on earth could God be merciful toward a lie or something intended to mislead?

Proverbs 16:6 gets to the root of the idea when it says, Proverbs 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of YAHAVAH men depart from evil. See, God has a corner on the truth – the real eternal McCoy never goes away or is altered truth. This truth is what the Psalmist says, endures forever. This is the truth or the amen of God that was made flesh and dwelled among us who called himself the way the truth and the life.

Humanity's Challenge with Truth

Humanity, we are a sneaky lot. We can very much be like human rats scampering from the Light of Truth right? And so the connection seems to be: I am God – the God of mercy and truth, meaning, I am merciful when you comport yourselves to my truth – which is eternal. When you want to get real with me, you don’t have to fear – I am merciful – but only in the light of truth. So, human being, are you willing to get and be truthful with me?

Are you willing to let all the pretenses and fronts and bullshit go in my presence – or are you still trying to fool both me and yourself? I am a God of mercy and truth and if you want my mercy to pour out over you, give it to me straight. This will become apparent when we read Psalm 139 where the Psalmist depicts our human willingness to let God examine us.

Insights from King David

In 1st Kings 3:6 we get some keen insight into the person of King David when his son Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.

Truth is a super interesting concept, ideal, and prospect – especially in the world today where everyone claims to have their own truth or version of the truth. But the Truth is NOT relative – not in the least. It is true and no circumstances in or around it can dethrone it. Human beings have endless and deeply philosophical, even mathematical, studies on the truth and it is a field of epistemological studies that will break your mind if you let it.

Because of this there are a lot of theories on how to see and understand Truth – correspondence theories, coherence theories, pragmatist theories, Tarski’s work and on and on and on. It is so deep I cannot stay in the waters too long – too difficult to grasp for my simple brain – so I humbly turn to there being an author and source of the truth with a capital T that I pursue to vet my life, mind, heart and ways. Why? The Psalmist says

The Nature of Truth and Reality

that His truth endures forever. The fact of the matter seems to be that there is zero difference between the Truth and to reality to which the truth is said to directly correspond – they are one and the same. So, truth can be described as something undifferentiated from reality. Reality is the state in which anything – people, things, ideas – actually exist. Not how they appear to exist, not how they pretend to exist, not how they wish or want to exist – how we actually exist and are. When we are seeking to live in this place without excuse, His mercy abides forever. So, reality is what is actual and real, without default or caveat, and accords with the facts that surround it (get this) from an eternal perspective which is His and not a limited perspective which is ours– such stunning, brilliant sobering facts are called God’s truth. And hand in hand with it, and our complicity and desire for it, comes his endless mercy.

Human Reaction to Truth

The natural human reaction to truth is found of course in the Garden when Adam heard the voice of God and hid and made fig leaves to hide behind. We recently had a social media event where a CEO and his married associate were caught on camera at a concert and we can see right there their response to having a light shined in on their desire to obscure the facts – same as Adam and Eve. Lies can never be met with mercy because there is no truth present to forgive. How can mercy exist where truth is absent – the mercy would be misapplied.

This thinking caused the Psalmist to write in Psalm 85 beginning at verse 8: I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase. Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

Now with all of that in hand, let's turn to the partner of this Psalm which is Psalm 139. Without intention nor planning it was in my lesson plan to teach with Psalm 117. The importance of it in the face of God’s ongoing eternal mercy and truth as this Psalmist pleads with God about things that help keep us from slipping into the realms of shadow and outright lies as the Psalmist says,

God's Knowledge and Presence

Psalm 139:1 O YAHAVAH, 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 YAHAVAH, 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.

In those six verses, we read the terms, know, knowledge, known, understand, knowest, encompass, acquainted are used seven or eight times – all referring directly to God’s knowledge of us in terms of Truth and the writer both admits this and states that he cannot even fathom it. After admitting the knowledge of God, His handle on the reality of each of our persons, giving all of us sound justification for being honest before Him as a means to realize His endless mercy, the writer then asks: 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.

The term translated hell there is of course sheowl and this passage confuses people – especially those who claim God has no access to human beings opposed to him. But here the writer admits that even if he made his bed in sheol God is there. This imagery accords with the passages that speak of every knee bowing and every tongue confessing, and the imperative will of God that says He does not want any to perish. Imagine the scene – some foolish human holding out against God,

God's Omnipresence

Hiding in the dark, living in spiritual rebellion after this life, alienating him or herself from His presence of mercy and truth. Guess what? God is there. Right there with them. What do you think it will take for that created being to acquiesce to their all knowing Maker?

Let’s give God the victory, power and ability to see the human creation through our existences, folks. Let’s hang on His desire to call all souls to Him to receive His mercy when they accept His truths and not their own delusions and fabrications. After exclaiming that there was no escaping Him and His knowledge, the writer continues and says at verse 9:

The Psalmist's Reflection

9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Growing up by the sea I relate to this passage as there are few more desolate places on earth than being out of sight of land, in the middle of the ocean – at night. At least in the desert there is some certainty under your feet but in the ocean there is unknown blackness below, an often black sky above and darkness all around.

The imagery of the Psalm is profound because his ultimate conclusion is God is leading, guiding and present him even there. Jeremiah plainly wrote in 23:24: Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith YAHAVAH. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith YAHAVAH.

God's All-Seeing Presence

The Psalmist now takes us even deeper and adds, 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. In other words, the physical darkness or spiritual does not affect Him – He sees all things in absolute light as if it were day. Isn’t that amazing?

His truth and mercy are at the ready – pushing into our every cell – calling to receive and believe – we cannot escape it – even at the bottom of the sea, the furthest reaches of space, the pit of the former grave or hell are all seen by Him as if in clear day, close at hand, and comprehended – if the dark recesses of space and the sea are that to Him isn’t our very heart, mind, flesh and soul known and apparent to Him?

I suggest that they are – and that there is no escaping His understanding – so why do we run and hide behind figgy camouflage and pretense and straight up self-delusions? Be open with Him. Transparent. Truthful. Totally honest. If you want to experience God’s mercy, which brings forth His peace, consider the observations of the Psalmist and ready thy heart for His immediate presence to be made known.

When you do, something happens – you recognize how far afield we really are from His truth, you break in submission and contrition and humility, and His mercy fills your soul. From verse 13-16 the writer continues and delves into some areas that are interesting as he speaks of his being created in utero and says,

13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. The ancient Hebrews apparently believed that the reigns (which is literally the kidneys but could also speak to the soul of a person) were the first things developed in a human being and so this is describing the development of a fetus as he adds, “thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.”

And then we get the oft-cited passage in verse 14 where he adds, 14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. The verse is translated with subtle distinctions and are worth noting because where the King James says, Psalm 139:14 (KJV) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully [and] wonderfully made: marvelous [are] thy works; and [that] my soul knoweth right well.

The RSV says Ps 139:14 (RSV) I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well; And YLT read Psalms 139:14 (YLT) I confess Thee, because that [with] wonders I have been distinguished. Wonderful [are]

Understanding God's Omniscience

Thy works, And my soul is knowing [it] well. Ps 139:14 (BBE) I will give you praise, for I am strangely and delicately formed; your works are great wonders, and of this my soul is fully conscious. But turning to the Septuagint version we read, I will make acknowledgement for you, for fearfully you caused wonder, the wonders of your works, that my soul knows exceedingly. From this we readily see how the scripture is a leader and guide but not an immediate ready reference for certainty at the first pass.

Verse 15 and 16 open us up to an even greater view of God’s knowledge of us as the Psalmist now says, Verse 15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. The term substance comes from a Hebrew root word for bones, and it is believed that is the meaning here, My bones or structure was not hid from you when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. The Psalmist is of course referring to his inutero development and posits clearly that God was fully aware of him in that stage of his existence.

Biblical Hebraisms

When he writes that he was curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth, it is a great passage to question biblical literalism against scripture Hebraisms. Almost every scholar admits that this is a Hebraism where lowest parts of the earth refers to the womb where the writer's substance was being curiously woven or knitted together. The parallels to all of creation, to masculine and feminine traits, to the Genesis creation, to the act of reproduction, to the creative impulse, even in parallels between the imperial mountains above us, static and sure verses the mysterious seas, impetuous and mysterious are all reflected in creation of earth, man and other things in God’s economy.

In the dark wet recesses of a woman's womb God knew, while the unfinished in process body was being knit together, the parts, the tissues and all of the components that would be part of his person. And the writer goes on and says, 16 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. The BBE translation reads, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book all my days were recorded, even those which were purposed before they had come into being.”

God's Foreknowledge and Purpose

YAHAVAH came to Jeremiah in the first chapter of his book and we read Jeremiah 1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. 6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. 7 But YAHAVAH said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith YAHAVAH. 9 Then YAHAVAH put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And YAHAVAH said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

In speaking to Isaiah we read a Messianic prophecy of Christ and the predestinational role God put Him in long before He was made as Isaiah says, Isaiah 49:1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. 2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; 3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. 4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God. 5 And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again.

God's Purpose and Calling

to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. 6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Because God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew you,” and the same essential thing about the promised Messiah in Isaiah, some suggest (like the LDS) that Jeremiah was living in the heavens with the preincarnate Yeshua. Interestingly, Paul says something similar (but not exact) about himself in Galatians 1:15.

Biblical Examples of Divine Calling

Galatians 1:15-16 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: We also know John the Baptist, from the womb of Elizabeth, was filled with the Spirit of God to fulfill a role in the establishment of God’s kingdom. Does this mean mean what the LDS claim? Are there people who God plans and calls according to His aims and will? Obviously, this is a biblical reality. So, it seems to follow that God often, has intended purposes for some from people to fulfill from the womb or birth and He appears to endows them in their creation with talents adapted to that.

Isaiah writes in Isaiah 13:3, I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. Are these souls determined? At least in the case of the Nation of Israel and all God did to bring forth His victorious will, it seems to be so – even all the way down to the whole of the Nation. But predetermined does not always mean destined – at least in the scope of all of human history. Perhaps God today is more like an owner of a horse stable and watches what comes forth, has a hand on some and decides in the womb, at birth, or down the line to use us in various ways?

God's Sovereignty and Human Purpose

Perhaps like in the case of Jeremiah, and the Messiah, and John the Baptist and Paul his hand and eye is on them very very early on? Perhaps God makes doors open and close according to the very desires of each of our hearts, and reading and knowing them so intimately (even from the womb) uses them (us) to do His bidding, but perhaps He is not determining it all but watching it all unfold before Him and like a stable owner, recognizing who and what can be best used where and when. I would caution against using the Jeremiah or Paul instances to make a general rule of a universal pre-mortal existence of man for the simple reason Christ plainly stated to His audience when He was alive, John 8:23 “Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.” With the line, “from beneath” quite literally referring to the lower parts of our mothers.

At this point the Psalmist continues on his points about God’s omniscience in his life and adds, 17 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 18 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Then He goes into how all of this has made him a warrior for God and he says, 19 Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 20 For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 21 Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

Before you get all righteously indignant, remember that the Lord advised against this attitude when He came and taught that while it was taught in the past to love our neighbor but hate our enemies that He said, Love your enemies. Bless those who hurt you. Do good to those who betray you. And pray for those who despitefully use you . . . And Psalm 139 ends with the following.

Understanding God's Omniscience

Appeal where he writes,

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

It is a bit confusing how the Psalmist has declared the depths of understanding that God has of his person, and how he goes to great lengths to express this omniscience, but concludes with a request for God to search him as a means to know his heart, to even test or try him again and ostensibly to know his thoughts and to see if there be any wicked way in him as a means to lead him in the way of everlasting. The way of everlasting is another way to say, to lead him to the way of God’s truth. In that place, there is mercy. It’s the place where mercy and truth meet. But it appears to be found on a two lane highway that involves the utter omniscience of God and the utter desire of his true children to exist in accordance with it all.

Reflections and Responses

Questions. Comments. Prayer.

Before each other, we are forced to serve, speak, help, teach, encourage, uplift, aid but before our God I have nothing to say in the face of His knowledge of me, in the face of His understanding of my soul and person.

Personal Reflection

Before Him all I can say is remember me in your kingdom, forgive me a sinner, save me, guide me, do what you will with me, use me, forgive me.