CONSIDER THE OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD
TEXT: Psa 139:3-16
INTRO: These verses are beautiful expressions of the
omnipresence of God; conveying deep instruction.
Needed is a plain discourse on the omnipresence of God.
THEME: The giving of careful thought to the sublime, lofty, and grand
subject of the omnipresence of our almighty God is a worthy
undertaking.
I. We are to understand this glorious truth.
A. God is in this and every place.
1. Jer. 23:24b
2. "...Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord."
3. Bible scholar John Gill said, "If a man should hide himself in
the most secret and hidden places of the earth, and do his
works in the most private manner, so that no human eye can
see him, he cannot hide himself or his actions from the Lord,
who can see from heaven to earth, and through the darkest
and thickest clouds, and into the very bowels of the earth,
and the most hidden and secret recesses and caverns of it.
The darkness and the light are both alike to him; and also near
and distant, open and secret places:..."not only with inhabitants,
and with other effects of his power and providence; but with his
essence, which is everywhere, and is infinite and immense, and
cannot be contained in either, or be limited and circumscribed by
space and place;..."
B. In a word, there is no point of space, whether within or
without the bounds of creation, where God is not.
1. "Thou compassest my path and my lying down,
and art acquainted [with] all my ways." (Ps. 139:3)
2. Ps. 139:5
3. Ps. 139:6
C. He next observes, enthusiastly, that God is in every place.
1. Ps. 139:7, 8
2. The great God, The Eternal One, The Almighty Spirit,
a. is as unbounded in his presence as in his duration and power.
b. condesends to our weak understanding
c. is in every part of his dominion; although, it is noted that the
heavens cannot contain Him - ( 1Kings 8:27) "But will God indeed
dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens
cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?"
3. The universal God dwelleth in universal space; so that we may say,
"Hail, Father, whose creating call unnumber’d worlds attend!
Jehovah, Whom none can comprehend, is comprehending all!"
4. Illustration: "What is the space occupied by a grain of sand,
compared to that space which is occupied by the starry
heavens? It is as a cipher; it is nothing; it vanishes away in
the comparison. What is it, then, to the whole expanse of space,
to which the whole creation is infinitely less than a grain of sand?
And yet this space, to which the whole creation bears no proportion
at all, is infinitely less in comparison of the great God than a grain
of sand, yea, a millionth part of it, bears to that whole space."
_______John Wesley
II. God acts everywhere, and, therefore, is everywhere.
A. God acts throughout the whole compass of his creation
1. in heaven,
2. in earth
3. under the earth
B. by sustaining all things
1. without which everything would in an instant
sink into its primitive nothing
C. by governing all
1. every moment
2. superintending everything that he has made
a. strongly influencing all
b. sweetly influencing all
D. He does so without destroying the liberty of his rational creatures.
E. Heathens acknowledge that--
1. The great God governs the large and conspicuous
parts of the universe,
2. He regulates the motions of the heavenly bodies,
of the sun, moon, and stars.
III. God’s Merciful Disclosure
A. The all-informing soul.
1. fills
2. pervades
3. actuates the whole.
B. It is an utter impossibility that any being, created or
uncreated, should work where it(God’s presence) is not.
C. But they had no conception of:
1. His having a regard to the least things as well as the greatest
2. His presiding over all that he has made
3. His governing atoms as well as worlds
D. This we could not have known except--
1. it pleased God to reveal it unto us himself.
2.This comfortable truth,~ that "God filleth heaven and earth,"
3. We learn also from the Psalm 139:
"If I climb up into heaven, thou art there;
if I go down to hell, thou art there also.
If I take the wings of the morning,
and remain in the uttermost parts of the sea;
even there thy hand shall lead me."
The plain meaning is,
If I remove to any distance whatever,
thou art there;
thou still besettest me,
and layest thine hand upon me.
Let me flee to any conceivable
or inconceivable distance;
above, beneath, or on any side;
it makes no difference;
thou art still equally there:
In thee I still "live,
and move,
and have my being."
IV. All things are full of God.
A. He is equally in all, or without (outside) all.
1. Eph. 1:23
2. "...the fullness of him that filleth all in all."
B. Not Pantheism
C. Eternal/Universal Duration
1. duration defined - Continuance or persistence in time,
permanent.
2. If there were any space where God was not present,
a. He would not be able to do anything there.
b. We cannot believe the omnipotence of God,
unless we believe His omnipresence.
3. Where we suppose God not to be present, we must,
of course, suppose him to have no duration.
4. Indeed, wherever we suppose him not to be, there we
suppose all his attributes to be in vain. He cannot exercise
there either his justice or mercy, either his power or wisdom.
5. Such is the blasphemous nonsense
IV. Labor humbly and continually to acknowledge his presence.
A. with reverence and godly fear
1. not indeed with the fear of devils, that believe and tremble
2. but with fear of angels
3. with something similar to that which is felt by the inhabitants
of heaven, where seraphim with both wings veil their eyes.
B. Do not offend the Lord.
1. God is
a. about our beds
b.about our paths
c. observing all our ways
2. Illustration: Suppose that a messenger of God, an angel, would
be standing at our right hands, fixing his eyes upon us, would
we not take care to abstain from every word or action that we knew
would offend him? Yea, suppose one of our mortal fellow-believers,
or a minister stood by us, we would probably be cautious of
our conduct, in words and actions?
How much more careful ought we to be when we know that not a
holy man, nor an angel of God, but God himself, the Holy One "that
inhabiteth eternity," is inspecting our hearts, our tongues, hands,
every moment; and that He Himself will surely bring us into judgment!
(Rom. 14:12, "So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.")
(Mat 12:36 KJV) But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
(Gal 6:4 KJV) But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
(Gal 6:5 KJV) For every man shall bear his own burden.
(1Pe 4:5 KJV) Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
3. Guard the speech (speaking)
a. In particular: There is not a word in your tongue, (not a syllable
spoken,) but he "knoweth it altogether [Ps. 139:4];"
b. be exact in "setting a watch before your mouth [Ps. 141:3], and in
keeping the door of the lips!"
c. How wary does it behoove us to be in all conversation; being
forewarned by our Judge, that "by your words you shall be justified,
or by your words you shall be condemned [Mt. 12:37]!"
d. How cautious, lest "any corrupt communication," any uncharitable, or
unprofitable discourse, should "proceed out of your mouth;"
instead of "that which is good to the use of edifying, that it man
minister grace to the hearers [Eph. 4:29]!"
4. Yea, if God sees our hearts as well as our hands, and in all places; if he understands our thoughts long before they are clothed with words, how earnestly should we urge that petition, "Search me, O Lord, and prove me; try out my reins and my heart; look well if there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!"
Yes, how needful is it to work together with him, in "keeping our hearts with all diligence," till he hath "cast down imaginations," evil reasonings, "and everything that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and brought into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ!"
5. Fight the good fight of faith.
a. Because you are already listed under the great Captain of
your salvation, seeing you are continually under the
eye of your Captain:
b. how zealous and active one should be to "fight the good fight
of faith, and lay hold on eternal life;" "to endure hardship, as good
soldiers of Jesus Christ;" to use all diligence, to "war a good warfare,"
and to do whatever is acceptable in his sight!
c. How studious should you be to approve all your ways to his all-seeing
eyes; that he may say to your hearts, what he will proclaim aloud in the
great assembly of men and angels, "Well done, good and faithful servants!"
Conclusion: In order to attain these glorious ends,
spare no pains to preserve always a deep, a continual, a lively, and joyful
sense of his gracious presence.
Never forget God’s comprehensive word to the great father of the faithful:
"I am the Almighty" (All sufficient) "God; walk before me,
and be thou perfect! [Gen. 17:1]"
Cheerfully expect that He, before whom we stand, will
ever guide us with His eye,
will support us by his guardian hand,
will keep us from all evil,
will make us perfect,
"...will stablish, strengthen, and settle us;
preserve us unblameable, unto the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [1 Peter 5:10]! "
