3aYou1 comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For thereis not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, aYou know it altogether.
5 You have1 hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.
6aSuch knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.
7aWhere can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8aIf I ascend into heaven, You are there; bIf I make my bed in1 hell, behold, You arethere.
9If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall1 fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, athe darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike toYou.
13 For You1 formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for1 I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
15aMy1 frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When asyettherewere none of them.
17aHow precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh, that You would aslay the wicked, O God! bDepart from me, therefore, you1 bloodthirsty men.
20 For they aspeak against You wickedly; 1Your enemies take Yourname in vain.
Thou hast beset me behind and before - The word rendered "beset" - tsûr - means properly to press; to press upon; to compress. It has reference commonly to the siege of a city, or to the pressing on of troops in war; and then it comes to mean to besiege, hem in, closely surround, so that there is no way of escape. This is the idea here - that God was on every side of him; that he could not escape in any direction. He was like a garrison besieged in a city so that there was no means of escape. There is a transition here (not an unnatural one), from the idea of the Omniscience of God to that of His Omnipresence, and the remarks which follow have a main reference to the latter.
And laid thine hand upon me - That is, If I try to escape in any direction I find thine band laid upon me there. Escape is impossible.
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