Wednesday March 13
We Cannot Hide From God
Psalm 139:7-12
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
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.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me," Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
Psalm 139 is one of the most notable of the sacred hymns. It sings of the omniscience and omnipresence of God reminding us that God knows all about us and that He is everywhere, and He is always with us! It also describes how God marvelously created each one of us and teaches us that life begins at conception and every human-being is of tremendous value to God!
Some commentators believe that this psalm was written by David shortly after he had united the nation, defeated its foes, put its internal affairs in order, and settled down to be a shepherd-king to Israel. Then it occurred to him that the living God of Israel, the God he had hymned in scores of psalms, the God to whom he owed everything, still lived in a tent. He determined to build God a temple, a temple fitting for such a God as Jehovah. He shared his desire with Nathan the prophet, who gave immediate approval. But then God spoke to Nathan and informed him that David's son would build that temple.
But God also revealed to Nathan that since David was concerned about God's house, God would be concerned about David's house. He would establish David's house as a permanent dynasty until the coming of Christ. The Davidic Covenant was established, and when David heard Nathan’s message about it in 2 Samuel 7and 1 Chronicles 17, the promise rang in David's soul. He told the Lord so, and his heart was overwhelmed at the greatness of God's thoughts toward him. It is possible that David might have gone to his room that night, not to sleep, but to write this hymn, Psalm 139. Maybe that is why he wrote in Psalm 139:17 & 18, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand…”
Yesterday in verses 1-6, we saw where God is omniscience and that He knows us intimately and we can never deceive Him. He knows our thoughts before we think them. He takes notice of every word we speak and searches us out in our innermost being.
Today, in verses 7-12, David reminds us that God is omnipresent and that He is with us constantly and there is no place we can hide from Him! It is amazing that we think that we can hide from God! But because of the sin nature we were born with, when we realize we have broken God’s holy law, we attempt to run and hide from Him. Or we attempt to deny that there is even a God in heaven Who is aware of our deeds. That is what most of America is doing today!
But all the "escape routes" we go down are futile. David reminds us if we go up to heaven or down to hell or sheol, the realm of the dead, God is there. If we take the “wings of the morning” and we travel the speed of light to the east or west (the Mediterranean Sea was west of Israel), His hand will catch us and tenderly lead us. We cannot hide even in the darkness, for to the Lord, the darkness is as the light.
God wants to walk with us and guide us, because His plan for us is the very best. Why should we want to run away and hide? Adam and Eve tried it and failed (Gen. 3:8), and so did the prophet Jonah, who only went from bad to worse.
My dear friend, we need God's presence with us if we want to enjoy His love and fulfill His purposes. Take time to read Isaiah 43:1-7 and don’t forget Psalm 23:4, “Yea, 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 bless!