Father's Heart Bible™ (FHB)

Psalm 139:23–24

²³Search me, my Father, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts, ²⁴and see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalm 139:23–24 · Father's Heart Bible™

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What Psalm 139:23–24 means

Psalm 139:23–24 is the prayer that ends one of David’s best-loved psalms: “Search me, my Father, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”

The psalm opened with the same words as a statement: “You have searched me, my Father, and you know me.” In between, David marvels that there is nowhere he can go from our Father’s presence, that he was knit together in his mother’s womb, and that all his days were written in our Father’s book before one of them came to be. By the end, being fully known is no longer something to fear. David asks for it.

The prayer comes right after David’s angry lines about the wicked: “If only you would slay the wicked, my Father!” Instead of ending with his enemies, he turns the search on himself. He asks our Father to find whatever is wrong in him, to know even his “anxious thoughts,” and to lead him “in the everlasting way.” It is a prayer of trust, not fear: the one doing the searching is the Father who made him.

Written by Spirit Media Publishing · Edited by Kevin White · Published November 6, 2026

Psalm 139:23–24 in context

¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, my Father! How vast their number!

¹⁸ If I could count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

¹⁹ If only you would slay the wicked, my Father! Away from me, you who thirst for blood!

²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent; your enemies take up your name in vain.

²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, my Father? Do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

²² I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, my Father, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts,

²⁴ and see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

Read all of Psalm 139 →

Questions about Psalm 139:23–24

What does Psalm 139:23–24 say?

In Father's Heart Bible™, Psalm 139:23–24 reads: “Search me, my Father, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts, and see if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”

What does Psalm 139:23-24 mean?

Psalm 139:23-24 is a prayer asking our Father to search the heart, know its anxious thoughts, show any offensive way, and lead in the everlasting way. It ends a psalm about how completely he already knows us, so it is an invitation from someone who trusts that being known by him is safe.

Who wrote Psalm 139?

Its heading names David: “For the director of music. A psalm of David.” The heading also gives it to the director of music, so it was written to be sung in worship.