What’s your favorite place to go in the summer? A place perhaps with blue sky, a calm lake, the wind blowing and the sun shining. For some it is fishing, sunning or golf. For others it’s mountain biking, hiking or swimming. Often during these times we reflect on things and our thoughts seem clearer. People often express that this area or activity helps them feel close to God. Why is that? There seems to be the danger in busyness that we feel removed from the presence of God, and something specifically about corporate worship that God is in our midst.
Ps 139 as a whole presents the doctrines of God’s omniscience (as we saw last week) and God’s omnipresence (which is the focus of this week) and the omnipotence of the Lord (139:13-18).
Quote: In comparing the omniscience and omnipresence of God, Matthew Henry expressed it like this:
“If God is omnipresent, he must needs be omniscient; but he is omnipresent; this supposes the infinite and immensity of his being, from which follows the ubiquity of his presence; heaven and earth include the whole creation, and the Creator fills both (Jer. 23:24); he not only knows both, and governs both, but he fills both. Every part of the creation is under God’s intuition and influence. David here acknowledges this also with application and sees himself thus open before God”. (Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Ps 139:7). Peabody: Hendrickson.)
The Psalmist appeals to God, seeking God’s forgiveness and cleansing, and expressing his abhorrence of the wicked. To not be counted in that category, the Psalmist shows his ready submission to the closest scrutiny of God. Therefore, admonition to the wicked and comfort to the pious are alike implied inferences from these doctrines. (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., Fausset, A. R., Brown, D., & Brown, D. (1997). A commentary, critical and explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments. On spine: Critical and explanatory commentary. (Ps 139:1). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.)
This morning, as shown in verses 7-12 we see that God was always watching over David and thus it was impossible to do anything over which God is not a spectator. (MacArthur, J. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible : New American Standard Bible. (Ps 139:7-12). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.) This is an expression of fellowship with God. All the marks of intimate friendship—detailed knowledge, reading of minds, a hand on the shoulder to encourage or check—are here ascribed to God. His companionship is unbroken; even the occasional attempt to hide from God is (prevented. In its sense of the omnipresence of the divine Spirit, its delight in walking daily with God from birth to death, and its awareness of the need for inner holiness ).(Elwell, W. A. (1996, c1989). Evangelical Commentary on the Bible . (electronic ed.) (Ps 139:1). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.) In verses 7–12 the psalmist praises Yahweh’s power to be present everywhere; this thought is not only a comfort but a warning as well, since it reminds him that nowhere can he escape Yahweh’s notice (Bratcher, R. G., & Reyburn, W. D. (1991). A translator’s handbook on the book of Psalms. Helps for translators (1125). New York: United Bible Societies.)
Omnipresence is an aspect of God’s infinity in which he transcends the limitations of space and is present in all places at all times. (Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Baker encyclopedia of the Bible. Map on lining papers. (1588). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House.)
• Like omniscience, there is no special Hebrew or Greek word for omnipresence but the concept is clearly and amply taught in Scripture (John S. Feinberg: No One Like Him. Crossway Books. 2001. P. 252).
• God’s Omnipresence signifies that God is present in the totality of His being at each point in space. Therefore, God doesn’t have one part of Himself at one place and another part at a different place. God transcends spatial limitations as so is present at all places at once in His total being. (John S. Feinberg: No One Like Him. Crossway Books. 2001. P. 249).
Although God is in all places at one and the same time. However, the all-presence of God is not the same as pantheism. The latter teaches that the creation is God. Or panentheism, that God is in all things. God reveals Himself in Scripture that He is a Person who is separate and distinct from His creation.(MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ps 139:7). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
• God is not like the manufactured idols of ancient cultures that were limited to one altar or temple area
• Neither is God some spiritual Star War’s type of Force.
• God is a personal being, not an impersonal force. God is a personal being, separate and distinct from His creation, transcendent above His creation and yet present and immanent in every part of His creation. (Repeat)
What’s your concept of the presence of God? Is it a general feeling you have? Or is it something you generally don’t think about. Do situations of joy, danger, or sadness change your perception of God’s presence? If so, why? Why is it that situations like the one this week in Kenya, where a missionary couple was attacked got so much press when they spoke of the comfort of God’s presence in the midst of the attack?
• One of the easiest tests of your spiritual state is your view of being in the presence of God: Where He is and where you want to be in relation to that. The answer to that question shows if you are a heretic, atheist, confused, or desiring God.
• The questions must be asked if God is present everywhere, is He in Hell, does he indwell nonbelievers, and why does Scripture portray Him as somehow absent from the wicked? Why does Scripture describe Him coming to a place?
Someone once said that one of a Pastor’s jobs is to show the presence of God in a situation. Today, God wants us to know that: God is always with us.
1) He is in heaven (139:7–8a).
Psalm 139:7-8a [7]Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? [8]If I ascend to heaven, you are there! (If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!)
In verse 7 the two lines are parallel and synonymous: go from and flee from, and your Spirit … your presence. The question in Hebrew is a way of saying that it is impossible to get away from Yahweh’s presence;
it does not imply, however, that the psalmist wants to get away from him. (Bratcher, R. G., & Reyburn, W. D. (1991). A translator’s handbook on the book of Psalms. Helps for translators (1125). New York: United Bible Societies.)
The reference here to your Spirit, is a reference to the Holy Spirit
Psalm 51:11 [11]Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
• God is morally absent from the wicked. Likewise, believers who have broken fellowship with God through sin and have not restored it by repentance don’t experience God’s spiritual presence in the same way as do believers in fellowship with Him. (John S. Feinberg: No One Like Him. Crossway Books. 2001. P. 250).
o That’s what the Psalmist feared and sought reconciliation with God.
o God dwells in a special way with those who have a contrite heart (Isa. 57:15).
o That’s why in places like James 4:8 God calls upon the wicked to “come near” to Him, by repenting of their sins.
• Notice the distinction of the persons of the Godhead. Although being in God’s presence in general, there is the expression to having the Holy Spirit in particular.
Remember from a previous discussions, God is Spirit, and therefore it is folly to think that because we cannot see him he cannot see us (Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Ps 139:7). Peabody: Hendrickson.)
• Since He is Spirit, He is not present physically anywhere. We can understand that He is Ontologically present everywhere. His being is altogether present everywhere.
Please turn to Jeremiah 23
In verse 8 we see the reference to heaven. In terms of God’s presence, heaven is the throne of God (Matt. 5:34)
The vertical extremities of the psalmist’s worldview are represented in verse 8
Jeremiah 23:23-24 [23]"Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? [24]Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. (ESV)
• God is described as coming down to earth or dwelling in Heaven in a special sense. They are special and glorious self-manifestations of Himself.
o This is also reflected in Theophonies where God manifested Himself in a burning bush to Moses or directed the people of Israel as a cloud by Day and Pillar of fire by night.
o We are called to draw near to Him in a special way for corporate worship (Ps. 73:28; Heb. 10:22).
Some folks have the idea that certain places on the earth are more sacred, more filled with the presence of God than others.
• For example, we call Palestine the Holy Land. Obviously we call it that because the events of the Bible took place in that area, but really that area is no more holy than any other area. When you consider the amount of blood that has been shed in that place, you could argue that a better title would be the God-cursed or God-forsaken Land.
• In the religion of Islam, every Muslim is supposed to visit Mecca at least one time in his life if possible. The belief seems to be that Allah is in Mecca in special way, and you get a special charge out of going to that city in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. Not so. God is no more in Mecca than he is in York. Let me state that positively: You can find just as much of God in York, as you can in Mecca, or Jerusalem
• Again, some folks picture God as a faraway being who lives in heaven, and occasionally breaks into the world to do some miracle. Not so. God is right here with us right now. Our God, the God of love, the God of grace, the God of mercy, is always near to our hearts and minds and souls.
Quote: Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Nature is too thin a screen, the glory of the omnipresent God bursts through it everywhere!”
There is no God forsaken place in this universe. We have the comfort from God for His people that He: “will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5b)
Story: The Master’s There
In one of his books, A. M. Hunter, the New Testament scholar, relates the story of a dying man who asked his Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going. As the doctor fumbled for a reply, he heard a scratching at the door, and he had his answer.
“Do you hear that?” he asked his patient. “It’s my dog. I left him downstairs, but he has grown impatient, and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside this door, but he knows that I am here. Isn’t it the same with you? You don’t know what lies beyond the Door, but you know that your Master is there.”
(Christian Theology in Plain Language, p. 208 as found in Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press).
God is always with us 1) in heaven (139:7–8) and
2) He is in the place of the dead (139:8).
Psalm 139:8b [8](If I ascend to heaven, you are there!) If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
Please turn to Revelation 14
There are several implications from this verse.
In hell—in Sheol, which may be understood of the depth of the earth, the very centre of it. Should we dig as deep as we can under ground, and think to hide ourselves there, we should be mistaken; God knows that path which the vulture’s eye never saw, and to him the earth is all surface.
Amos 9:2 [2]"If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
Or it may be understood of the state of the dead. When we are removed out of the sight of all living, yet not out of the sight of the living God; from his eye we cannot hide ourselves in the grave.
One of the greatest comforts in the face of death:
Psalm 23:4 [4]Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
• God doesn’t promise we won’t go through difficult circumstances, but that he will be with us through them.
Or it maybe understood of the place of the damned: If I make my bed in hell (an uncomfortable place to make a bed in, where there is no rest day or night, yet thousands will make their bed for ever in those flames), behold, thou art there,
• God is present there in power and justice. God’s wrath is the fire which will there burn everlastingly. (Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Ps 139:7). Peabody: Hendrickson.)
Revelation 14:9-10 [9]And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, [10]he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. (ESV)
In today’s misunderstanding of the omnipresence of God, people think that if they avoid God in this life, they can party with their friends in Hell. God is present in Hell, but it is not for comfort or redemption but judgment.
God is always with us 1) in heaven (139:7–8) 2) in the place of the dead (139:8). and
3) He can be found by the farthest oceans (139:9–10): God’s hand will guide and support us wherever we go.
Psalm 139:9-10 [9]If 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.
As verse 8 described the vertical extremities of the psalmist’s worldview (“heaven” and “Sheol,” the underworld of the dead). Its horizontal extremities are represented in verse 9.
In verse 9 the psalmist refers to the extreme east and the extreme west.
It seems probable that the language is a figurative way of speaking of going to the east, where the sun comes up (so SPCL “if I were to fly away to the east”; GECL has “Were I to fly to where the sun rises”; and FRCL is similar).
The wings of the morning are an allusion to the rays of the morning sun that streak across the heavens from east to west at 186,000 miles per second. Even if we could travel to some remote corner of the universe at the speed of light, we would find the Lord there, waiting to guide and uphold us.
As the Bothwells and Toshes traveled to Zanzibar, literally on the other side of the planet they saw God there. In Zanzibar, which for us could be described as the uttermost parts of the sea. there was the sense of the Lord’s presence and protection.
• Even in the presentation of the Jesus film: The Muslim’s saw a tent as a church. They would not enter but feel safe just outside listening to the message. But God is not a God limited to a building or structure, and worked in the hearts of those outside.
1 Kings 8:27 [27]"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! (ESV)
Literally, the phrase the uttermost parts of the sea means as far as one could go to the west; the sea is the Mediterranean, which is west of Palestine. In many languages the directions in verse 9 can best be expressed as “where the sun rises” and “where the sun sets.” However, if the translator wishes to keep the geography of Palestine in view, he may translate “west” as does SPCL, “the borders of the western sea.” GECL has “to the end of the seas, where the sun sinks.” (Bratcher, R. G., & Reyburn, W. D. (1991). A translator’s handbook on the book of Psalms. Helps for translators (1126). New York: United Bible Societies.)
Therefore, in verse 9 the references to the wings of the dawn/morning in conjunction with “the remotest/uttermost parts of the sea, is a literary figure to express distance. (MacArthur, J. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible : New American Standard Bible. (Ps 139:9). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Quote: Pascal said of God, “His center is everywhere; His circumference is nowhere.” (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ps 139:11). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
The psalmist is theorizing in his own mind what Jonah had learned in fact. In Jonah chapter one, we see that Jonah was commissioned by God to go and preach against the great city of Nineveh. He was to tell them about how wicked they were. Jonah didn’t like his assignment, not because he was not in favor of telling off the Ninevites but because he knew that God was going to show them some mercy and grace. These people were the mortal enemies of Israel and Jonah wanted no part of God’s redemptive plan for these barbarians. So what does he do? He tries to flee from God. Jonah 1:3 says that he was running away from the Lord. In fact, we know that instead of heading to Nineveh, he booked a boat that was sailing in the exact opposite direction.
He went west instead of east. Scholars tell us that he was headed for the country that is now Spain, trying to get as far away from Ninevah and as far from God as he could.
• The lesson should have been learned from Adam and Eve. There is no hiding from God.
Illustration: Ask Jonah!
A new believer was on a plane with an intellectual (a man educated beyond his intelligence). He sneered at her reading the Bible. Asked if she believed it?
“Yes.”
“Jonah and the whale story?” (A great fish)
“Yes.”
“How did it happen?”
“Don’t know, but I’ll find out when I get to heaven.”
“What if Jonah isn’t there?”
“Then I guess you’ll have to ask him for me.”
( Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.)
Please turn to Romans 8
Wherever the Psalmist may go, he that Yahweh is there to lead him and to hold him (verse 10); the second verb in Hebrew is “to hold, grasp,” in the positive sense of helping or sustaining, not in the negative sense of seizing or arresting. (Bratcher, R. G., & Reyburn, W. D. (1991). A translator’s handbook on the book of Psalms. Helps for translators (1126). New York: United Bible Societies.)
Think of the implications for those in Christ:
Isaiah 41:10 [10]fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
God is always with us 1) in heaven (139:7–8) 2) in the place of the dead (139:8). 3) He can be found by the farthest oceans (139:9–10): and finally:
4) He shines forth in the darkness (139:11–12):
Psalm 139:11-12 [11]If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,"[12]even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. Darkness and light are the same to God.
If he cannot escape geographically, perhaps he can try to hide in the darkness. This doesn’t work either.
In these verses the psalmist uses the figures of darkness and light to show how impossible it is to hide from Yahweh. In verse 11a the Hebrew verb translated cover here this is taken to mean, in a general sense, to overwhelm or to hide. NJV has “conceal,”. (Bratcher, R. G., & Reyburn, W. D. (1991). A translator’s handbook on the book of Psalms. Helps for translators (1126). New York: United Bible Societies).
Isaiah 50:10[10]Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.
"The darkness darkeneth not from thee, for there is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.’’ No hypocritical mask or disguise, how specious soever, can save any person or action from appearing in a true light before God. Secret haunts of sin are as open before God as the most open and barefaced villanies. (Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Ps 139:7). Peabody: Hendrickson.)
Think of the implication:
“Do you think we ought to confess our sins in detail to God?” “Of course. Spell them out. He already knows about them anyway. He was present when you committed them; so you better agree with Him on the subject. Let Him know that you recognize it as sin.”
(Format Note: Outline from Willmington, H. L. (1999). The Outline Bible (Ps 139:11-12). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.)
