NO PLACE TO HIDE

 

                       

Oscar Hammerstein saw a photograph of the Statue of Liberty from a helicopter. He said the picture revealed the intricate details that had been sculpted on Lady Liberty head, her hair, her crown and all of those things at that angle which no one could ever see. He said “I got to thinking that sculptor must have realized that never will anyone see the top of the Statue of Liberty’s head, since there were no airplanes or helicopters when the statue was set in place.” But he spent the same kind of details, care and painstaking craftsmanship on the top of Lady Liberty’s head as he did down at the feet and everywhere else that would be seen by everyone; little did she know that someone could see it from above someday.

Psalm 139 was written by David.  The psalmist is stunned by the thought that God knows everything and is everywhere. In verses 1-6 David speaks of the God who sees and knows him very well. In verse 1 he draws our attention to the God who sees and knows everything about him. He says “you have searched me Lord and you know me “.  He is amazed not just that God knows everything, but that he knows David personally. He is amazed not just that God was everywhere but he was with David everywhere he went. God is intensely personal to him.

In verses 2-4 David says “you knows when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out  and my lying down, you are familiar with all my ways, before a word is on my tongue you Lord know it completely ” David says that God  knows  what  he is doing when he is seated and when he rises up God knows where he is going. God knows David’s passive life and his active life.

God does not only know the smallest aspect of David’s everyday life, he also knows his thoughts and his words before they are spoken. God even understands David’s thoughts which come unbidden in a constant flow of mind. He knows him in the subconscious, the unexplorable as well as the conscious part of his life. He is overwhelmed by the fact that God knows him better than he knows himself.

In verse 5-6 David says “You have hedged me behind and before. You have laid your hand upon me.”  The psalmist talks of a God who is active in his past (hedged me behind), present (your hand is upon me) and the future (hedged me before). Hedge in the Bible is a protective barrier. God has hedged David on every side, so that nothing came to him unless it first passed through Gods permission. Psalm 125:2 echoes the same words in a different way “as the mountains surround Jerusalem so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forever more”. David exclaims that knowledge is too wonderful for him; it is high and he cannot attain it.

In verses 7 to 12 the psalmist says that there is nowhere he can go to escape Gods presence. He speaks of a God who pursues him and is with him everywhere. In verse 7 he asks “where shall I go from your spirit, or where shall I flee from your presence”. David knows that there is no corner of the universe hidden from God. If he ascends up into heaven (the highest point) God is there. If he makes his bed in Hell (the lowest point) God is there too.

David is also saying “in the highs when I've had a wonderful day and I'm on the mountaintop you're there, but when it seems like I've made my bed in hell, in the worst of my days, you are still with me”. The psalmist says even if he makes his bed in Sheol God is are there. Even in the grave God is there. Our union with Christ is not severed by death; our bodies will rest in the grave to wait for the resurrection morning just the way we sleep on bed at night to wait for morning.

In verse 9-10 David uses a beautiful poetic expression “if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea even there your hand shall lead me”. The rays of the rising sun shoot across the heavens with the speed of light and reach the farthest part of the horizon. David knows that even if he flies with the speed of light and reaches the farthest point of the earth, he would still find God waiting there. God owns and runs his universe and there is no escaping his presence. The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good (Prov. 15:3).

when David feels like God is million miles away, he is right there close enough to hold him up with his mighty arm, which is strong and high (Ps.89:13, Rom. 8 39) When we get into trouble the lord will bring us out with a strong hand and powerful arm (Deut 26:8, Ps. 136:12) Jesus said “my sheep…shall never perish, no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of my father’s hand (John 10:27-29).

Verse 11-12 David says “let only darkness cover me and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to you, the night is as bright as day, for darkness is as light with you”. No darkness physical or mental can hide us from the presence of God; he can see us no matter how dark it is. When darkness surrounds us, that we feel like we are going to get swallowed by our enemies, our protector is right there with us and for him darkness shines as a day.

Darkness may indeed conceal us from the sight of men but all things are open to God. Jeremiah said” can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him says the Lord, don’t I fill heaven and earth (Jer. 23:24). Paul said “In him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Sometimes we think we can escape God, Jonah attempted the impossible: to run away from God. But, he soon found out, in the belly of a whale that he could not escape God, not even in that belly.     

In Psalm 26:1-3 David cries out to God “vindicate me, Lord for I have led a blameless life. I have trusted in the Lord and I have not faltered. Test me Lord and try me. Examine my heart and my mind for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love. In Psalm 19:14 he prays “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord” His advice to his son was “my son Solomon, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every intent of the thoughts. (1 Chron. 28:9).

David felt enveloped within Gods concern and it was wonderful to him. The psalmist celebrated the personal presence of God. There was no place that he could go, where God was not already there waiting for him. He also realized that he could not go outside of God’s presence. What does God knows about us? Everything: our thought, words and actions. Where can we hide?, nowhere. God is everywhere in space and everywhere in time “nothing in all creation is hidden from his sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13).

God’s ever presence guarantees constant guidance and protection. It also means each person will get what they deserve because God the judge has perfect knowledge “for my eyes are on all their ways, they are not hidden from my face” (Jer. 16:17). Solomon prayed “Render to each according to all his ways whose heart you know , for you alone know the hearts of all the sons of men” (1 King 8:39). God says “I am he who searches mind and heart and I will give each of you according to your works (Rev. 2:23)