Psalms 139:12, commentary and pictures

Darkness and light are the same to God, for the night is as bright as day to Him and nothing is hidden from His sight. No person can escape His presence or conceal any word, thought, action, or motive from Him, even in solitude or in the secret of the night. Every hidden plan, every act of dishonesty or unlawful taking, every injustice toward others, and every sin is fully known to Him, weighed, and faithfully recorded, so no one can deceive Him or escape accountability as people may escape human law. Even those who turn away from Him, as Adam did, cannot place themselves beyond His seeing. This same unfailing sight also means that those in their darkest hours of grief and doubt are seen and not forsaken by Him.

Darkness and Light Alike

Darkness hides nothing from God, for the night is as clear and visible to Him as the day, and darkness and light are both alike before His sight. No darkness can conceal a person, an action, or any thing from Him, and no night gives cover to what is done in secret. Even in the darkest hours of grief and doubt, as in the sorrow of the disciples through the Sabbath after the death of Jesus, He sees those who suffer and they are not forsaken by Him. In its setting this means that He knows every word, thought, and action wherever a person may be, and His presence cannot be escaped. People may turn away from Him, as Adam did, yet they cannot put themselves beyond His sight, for He knows every secret thing.

Accountability and Comfort Found

No darkness can conceal a person or what is done, for night and day are equally clear, and every transaction is seen and the course taken is known even when hiding is imagined. Darkness does not hide anything, for night shines as day and darkness and light are both alike, which means all hidden motives and secret plans are seen and understood, including all dishonesty in planning, all unlawful appropriation in any degree of property or means, and all injustice in dealing with fellow men. Presence is everywhere, beholding every situation, word, action, and thought, including what occurs in solitude and what no human can hear or witness, so no one can deceive or escape accountability, for every account is weighed. Every secret thought and action is as visible as in daylight. Every sin and even every thought is fully known, though wrongdoing may be concealed from one another.

Everything in the secret of the night is discerned as well as in the day, and every character every day is faithfully recorded as in the books in heaven. Wherever people are and whatever is done is in that presence with no part of conduct escaping observation, and every act, word, and thought is distinctly marked as though there were only one person in the world and the attention of heaven were centered upon him. Human laws are often broken without detection and without punishment, but not so with that law, for the darkest night gives no cover to the guilty one who thinks himself alone, since to every deed there is an unseen witness and even the motives of the heart are open to inspection. Cherishing this as an habitual impression, especially by the young ever remembering it, gives fear to sin.

Because the Lord is coming and the end of all things is at hand, youth must give all strength and all the powers of the brain, keep the brain in a healthy, sound condition, and keep every practice such as preserves health and vitality in order to give what has been purchased with His own blood. Even in the darkest hours of grief and doubt after Jesus' death, including the Sabbath spent in sorrow, those grieving disciples were seen in their sorrow and were not forsaken.