Psalm 139:17 NKJV
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
How God Treasures You
My Notes
“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” — Psalm 139:17, NKJV
Have you ever been amazed that the God who holds galaxies together also takes time to think about you? David was stunned by this very truth. The same God who formed him, who knew him before birth, who saw every moment of his life, was also continually thinking about him — with love, intention, and care.
When David says, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God,” he isn’t talking about his thoughts toward God, but God’s thoughts toward him. It’s as if he’s holding a treasure chest full of divine thoughts — priceless jewels of grace and mercy — and he can hardly comprehend their value. The Hebrew word for “precious” carries the idea of rarity and worth; God’s thoughts are beyond human reach, infinitely valuable and filled with purpose.
Pause for a moment and let that settle: you live every day surrounded by the constant thoughts of God. You are on His mind, always. He doesn’t forget, overlook, or lose sight of you for an instant. His watchful attention is not fueled by obligation but by affection. As Jeremiah wrote later,
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” — Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV
What David glimpsed in awe, we now see fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Every divine thought finds its expression in Him — the One through whom God’s eternal plan of love and redemption unfolds. Christ is proof that God’s thoughts toward you are not fleeting feelings, but anchored promises.
David’s next words are just as breathtaking: “How great is the sum of them!” He realizes there’s no way to count or measure the scope of God’s loving care. From eternity past into eternity future, from His plans for salvation to His daily provisions, God’s mind is full of you — not with judgment or disappointment, but with compassion and grace.
The God of creation doesn’t merely tolerate your existence — He treasures it. Every detail of your story has passed through His loving mind and sovereign hands. You are never forgotten, never an afterthought, and never out of His mind.
Prayer
Abba, I am amazed that the Infinite Mind that sustains the stars also turns His attention toward me. Thank You that Your thoughts are not of evil or judgment, but are precious thoughts of peace, reconciliation, and love. Forgive me for the times I feel lonely or overlooked, forgetting that I am the constant object of Your affection. Help me to rest in the knowledge that You see me, You love me, and I’m never forgotten. Teach me to treasure Your thoughts as David did — with awe, wonder, and deep gratitude. I ask You for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
- God is Mindful of You: You are the “treasure and pleasure” of God’s thoughts. He doesn’t just watch you; He thinks well of you.
- The “Sum” is Incalculable: If you tried to count how many times God has provided, defended, or counseled you through His thoughts, you would fail. The “heads” of them are too many to sum up.
- Precious and Rare: God’s thoughts are more valuable than any earthly riches. Knowing His mind toward us is our greatest source of security.
- Active Attention: God’s thoughts are active—He is constantly planning, supplying, and educating us through His Spirit.
Cross References (NKJV)
- Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
- Psalm 40:5: “Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.”
- Jeremiah 31:28: “And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord.”
- Isaiah 55:8–9: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Things to Think About
- How does it change your self-worth to realize that God’s thoughts toward you are “precious” and “costly” rather than critical?
- David felt “enriched” by God knowing all about him. Is there a part of your life you’ve been trying to hide from God? How can you turn that into a “precious thought” today?
- Think about the last 24 hours. Where can you see evidence of God’s “thoughts of provision” or “thoughts of protection” in your day?
Proverb for Today
A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is! Proverbs 15:23 NKJV
Daily Scripture
I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. Ezekiel 34:26-28 NKJV
Closing
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
Grace be with you. Amen.
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Summary of Commentaries:
Psalm 139:17 celebrates the wonder that God’s constant thoughts are directed toward His people. Commentators like Spurgeon, Henry, and Barnes note that these divine thoughts are precious, rare, and innumerable—proof of God’s loving care. Rather than fearing God’s omniscience, David finds comfort, joy, and security in it. God’s thoughts are not of destruction but of peace, salvation, and purpose (Jeremiah 29:11), revealing His infinite wisdom and tender concern for every detail of our lives.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!” He is not alarmed at the fact that God knows all about him; on the contrary, he is comforted, and even feels himself to be enriched, as with a casket of precious jewels. That God should think upon him is the believer’s treasure and pleasure. He cries, “How costly, how valued are thy thoughts, how dear to me is thy perpetual attention!” He thinks upon God’s thoughts with delight; the more of them, the better is he pleased. It is a joy worth worlds that the Lord should think upon us who are so poor and needy; it is a joy which fills our whole nature to think upon God; returning love for love, thought for thought, after our poor fashion.
“How great is the sum of them!” When we remember that God thought upon us from old eternity, continues to think upon us every moment, and will think of us when time shall be no more, we may well exclaim, “How great is the sum!” Thoughts such as are natural to the Creator, the Preserver, the Redeemer, the Father, the Friend, are evermore flowing from the heart of the Lord. Thoughts of our pardon, renewal, upholding, supplying, educating, perfecting, and a thousand more kinds perpetually well up in the mind of the Most High. It should fill us with adoring wonder and reverent surprise that the infinite mind of God should turn so many thoughts towards us who are so insignificant and so unworthy! What a contrast is all this to the notion of those who deny the existence of a personal, conscious God! Imagine a world without a thinking, personal God! Conceive of a grim providence of machinery!—a fatherhood of law! Such philosophy is hard and cold. As well might a man pillow his head upon a razor edge as seek rest in such a fancy. But a God always thinking of us makes a happy world, a rich life, a heavenly hereafter.
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Enduring Word
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God: David was filled with amazement and adoration by considering how God knew and cared for him. It is precious that God should think of us at all; it is beyond precious that He would think well of us and think so often of us. (Guzik)
i. How precious: “The root meaning of the word rendered ‘precious’ is weighty. The singer would weigh God’s thoughts towards him, and finds that they weigh down his scales.” (Maclaren)
ii. “He is not alarmed at the fact that God knows all about him; on the contrary, he is comforted, and even feels himself to be enriched, as with a casket of precious jewels. That God should think upon him is the believer’s treasure and pleasure.” (Spurgeon)
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Albert Barnes
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! – On the word “thoughts,” see the notes at Psalms 139:2. Compare Psalms 139:23. The remark is made here doubtless in view of the numberless “thoughts” involved in planning and forming a frame so wondrous, and in the care necessary to bring it to perfection; to develop it; to provide for it; to guard and defend it. How many “thoughts” of a parent are employed in behalf of his children, in providing for them, teaching them, counseling them, and anticipating their needs. How many more thoughts are needful on the part of God in reference to each one of us: for there are numberless things necessary for us which cannot occupy the mind of a parent, since he cannot accomplish these things for us; they do not lie within his province, or in his power.
How great is the sum of them – literally, “How strong are the heads of them.” That is, the heading of them, or the summing of them up, would be a task beyond the power of man. And who “could” estimate the number of the “thoughts” necessarily bestowed on himself by his Maker in all the care exercised over him; all the arrangements for his development and growth; all that is done to defend him from danger; all that is indispensable in providing for his needs; all that was necessary to secure the salvation of his soul! See the notes at Psalms 40:5.
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John Gill
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!…. The word signifies that which is scarce and rare, and not to be attained and enjoyed; see 1 Samuel 3:1; the thoughts and counsels of God are impenetrable and unsearchable; he knows our thoughts, as Aben Ezra observes, but we do not know his, Psalm 139:2; as well as it likewise signifies the worth and value of them; God’s thoughts are infinitely beyond ours, and infinitely more valuable and more important, and are concerning our welfare and happiness: it is marvelous that God should think of us at all; it is more so that his thoughts should not be thoughts of evil, to bring that evil upon its we deserve, but thoughts of peace and reconciliation in and by his Son, in whom he was reconciling the world to himself; thoughts of salvation and eternal life, and of the way and means of bringing it about; thoughts to provide for our present supply in this world, and to lay up for us for the world to come; see Jeremiah 29:11. It may be interpreted of the thoughts which David had of God in his meditations of him, which were sweet, precious, and comfortable to him; of his lovingkindness to him, covenant grace, precious promises, and gracious dealings with him; but the former sense seems best. The Targum is, “to me how precious they that love thee, the righteous, O God!” and so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it, “thy friends”;
How great is the sum of them! or “the heads of them”; that is, not the chief of thy friends, but the sum of thy thoughts, these in the bulk, in the general, are not to be counted; and much less the particulars of them, these are not to be entered into or described.
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Matthew Henry
Here, the psalmist makes application of the doctrine of God’s omniscience divers ways.
He acknowledges, with wonder and thankfulness, the care God had taken of him all his days, v. 17, 18. God, who knew him, thought of him, and his thoughts towards him were thoughts of love, thought of good, and not of evil, Jer. 29:11. God’s omniscience, which might justly have watched over us to do us hurt, has been employed for us, and has watched over us to do us good, Jer. 31:28. God’s counsels concerning us and our welfare have been,
1. Precious to admiration: How precious are they! They are deep in themselves, such as cannot possibly be fathomed and comprehended. Providence has had a vast reach in its dispensations concerning us, and has brought things about for our good quite beyond our contrivance and foresight. They are dear to us; we must think of them with a great deal of reverence, and yet with pleasure and thankfulness. Our thoughts concerning God must be delightful to us, above any other thoughts.
2. Numerous to admiration: How great is the sum of them! We cannot conceive how many God’s kind counsels have been concerning us, how many good turns he has done us, and what variety of mercies we have received from him. If we would count them, the heads of them, much more the particulars of them, they are more in number than the sand, and yet every one great and very considerable, Ps. 40:5. We cannot conceive the multitude of God’s compassions, which are all new every morning.
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Miscellaneous Comments
“How precious also are thy thoughts unto me,” etc. So far from thinking it a hardship to be subject to this scrutiny, he counts it a most valuable privilege. However, others may regard this truth, “to me,” my judgment and my feelings, “how costly,” valuable “are thy thoughts,” i.e., thy perpetual attention to me.
—Joseph Addison Alexander.
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