The Meaning of Psalms 139:23 Explained

Psalms 139:23

KJV: Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

YLT: Search me, O God, and know my heart, Try me, and know my thoughts,

Darby: Search me, O God, and know my heart; prove me, and know my thoughts;

ASV: Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Search  me, O God,  and know  my heart:  try  me, and know  my thoughts: 

What does Psalms 139:23 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 139:14-24 - God's Thoughts And Ours
God's creative power, Psalms 139:14-18. The psalmist goes back to the beginning of life and describes the weaving of our physical nature. Here we may discover a suggestive analogy; for the Church, which is the Body of Christ, has been wrought in secret from its earliest beginnings, and its development continues preparatory to the manifestation in complete beauty and glory at the Lord's coming. "When He shall be manifested, we shall be manifested with Him in glory," Colossians 3:1-4. Remember, also, that the Christ-life in our hearts is subject to the same secret processes.
The psalm closes with the saints' antagonism to evil, Psalms 139:19-24. The more they meditate on the precious thoughts of God, the more they desire to be freed from the tyranny of evil, whether it shows itself in the ways of evil men or in the inward evil of the heart. Our one cry should be that God would lead us in the way, which is based on eternal principles and which winds ever upward from the lowland valleys, where we have dwelt too long, to those glorious uplands, where God Himself is Sun. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 139

1  David praises God for his all-seeing providence
17  And for this infinite mercies
19  He defies the wicked
23  He prays for sincerity

What do the individual words in Psalms 139:23 mean?

Search me God and know my heart Try me my anxieties
חָקְרֵ֣נִי אֵ֭ל וְדַ֣ע לְבָבִ֑י בְּ֝חָנֵ֗נִי שַׂרְעַפָּֽי

חָקְרֵ֣נִי  Search  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: חָקַר  
Sense: to search, search for, search out, examine, investigate.
אֵ֭ל  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֵל 
Sense: god, god-like one, mighty one.
וְדַ֣ע  and  know 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
לְבָבִ֑י  my  heart 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: לֵבָב  
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.
בְּ֝חָנֵ֗נִי  Try  me 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, first person common singular
Root: בָּחַן  
Sense: to examine, try, prove.
שַׂרְעַפָּֽי  my  anxieties 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: שַׂרְעַפִּים  
Sense: disquieting thoughts, thoughts.