I hate them with perfect hatred: They are become mine enemies. David, in the verses of Psalm 139:7-12, reminds me of a child hiding from place to place asking the Father, " Can You still see me?" "Can You find me, now?" David runs in his mind to what seems to be the most unlikely places for the LORD to be; only to realize God is still, in fact, there. Look, I see FOUR men! 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. Your care and love for us is like nothing else. Tozer rightly says that the practice of the presence of God does not consist of projecting an imagination from our minds, and acting like it is there; rather it is the recognition of the REAL presence of the One the Bible says truly IS there! The journey of each human heart is unique, purposed, and intimately known by the One True God. Savior, Jesus! 7th Commandment Coloring Page: You Shall Not Commit Adultery, Sunday School Curriculum and Bible Lessons for Kids. You know when I sit and when I rise;you perceive my thoughts from afar. After a few minutes, bring the group back together and give kids time to share what they have drawn or written. Throughout the book, David reminds the reader that God is omniscient. He knows our thoughts because He is with us. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. Your eyes saw my unformed body;all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! 13For You formed my innermost parts;You knit me [together] in my mothers womb.14I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;Wonderful are Your works,And my soul knows it very well.15My frame was not hidden from You,When I was being formed in secret,And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.16Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;And in Your book were all writtenThe days that were appointed for me,When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape]. Psalm 139 reflects Davids prayerful meditation of Gods omnipresence and omniscience, and the effect those characteristics of God have on the human heart. Especially in todays society, as the world endures a global pandemic, isolation has become a reality we experience for long periods of time. 7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? 139 1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! Justas we saw earlier in Psalm 139, where it says darkness and light are alike to Thee, the fact of Gods omnipresencecan beboth a source of comfort and conviction. Seeking Passionate Prayer in Spiritual Warfare, Teacher's Overview: Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson John 6:26-40, "I Am The Bread", "Following Jesus" (Matthew 4:18-22 sermon), Building Your Life On The Rock (Matthew 7:24-27 sermon), Joshua 3:5 Sermon: "Preparing For God To Work", "The Message of the Cross" (I Cor. Or where can I flee from Your presence? God would be there as well (vv. You discern my going out and my lying down;you are familiar with all my ways. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 5 you hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. If I say, Surely the darkness will hide meand the light will become night around me,even the darkness will not be dark to you;the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. Each talent, gift, and occupation have a place in the workforce of the Kingdom of God. Thank You, Jesus, for leaving heaven to defeat death on the cross. Thank His especially that through Jesus we can be in His presence forever. It sings the omniscience and omnipresence of God, inferring from these the overflow of the powers of wickedness, Charles H. Spurgeons Treasury of David explains, since he who sees and hears the abominable deeds and words of the rebellions will surely deal with them according to his justice. Who God is, allows us to understand who and Whose, we are. Color, ethnicity, disability every trait and characteristic were crafted by our purposeful God. Cover our lives with them like a blanket of comfort on a cold, dark night. Where can I flee from Your presence?. (F)20For they speak against You wickedly,Your enemies take Your name in vain. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. Seeking Passionate Prayer in Spiritual Warfare. He says if I go to Sheol Sheol is the Hebrew word for death or the grave God is there too! How vast is the sum of them! (LogOut/ Psalm 139 is a personal prayer and song of praise to God. 5 You have encircled me behind and in front, And placed Your . This scripture tells us three things about God's presence; 1. Even in the depths; in the belly of the great fish, God was there to hear his prayer. You can freely license our resources under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International. Our website has teaching material for children of all aged starting with the church nursery (age 0-1 years old), toddlers (age 2-3 years old), preschool (age 4-5 years old), young elementary (age 6-8 years old), older elementary (age 9-10 years old), and preteen youth ministry groups (age 11-12 years old). And so he pleads, Look into my heart; look into my motives; look at my life completely; find the defects and help me!. 139:12 He cannot be any more here than He already is. Theologian Thomas Oden writes: No atomic particle is so small that God is not fully present to it, and no galaxy is so vast that God does not circumscribe it. Where can I flee from your presence? - Psalm 139:7. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . He wanted Gods help to rid himself of any wicked thought, word, or deed. . See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! You have searched me, LORD,and you know me. The sacrifice Jesus made on the cross negated the shame which compelled Adam and Eve to hide from God in the garden. God gave them life and cares for them infinitely more. But it is also a source of conviction: you cannot get away from God! Article Images Copyright , 5 Powerful Lessons from Psalm 139 about God's Wonderfulness. Judgment belongs to God alone. His will trumps what we want. David understood, innately, that there is nowhere in which God's presence could not be seen, or known. We have each been intentionally set apart, different from the world. Psalm 46:1 says: God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in time of need. Who we are is meant to bring reverence to God. This is true of all three members of the Trinity. Not the easiest places in the world to minister. He knows if words are false, or if they are hypocritical. The only way we can remove the veil, or get rid of the sin that separates us from God is to understand that we are sinners and that we need to be forgiven of our sin and believe that Jesus died to pay the price for our sin. Remind the group of the week when we talked about Gods holiness and how because God is holy He is completely separated from sin. Omnipresence means God is everywhere, simultaneously. Because of Jesus Christs sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the dead, we are able to come freely to God through Christ. We Are Not Alone! How amazing the all-powerful God is! Copyright Ministry-to-Children. From it, we learn many things about our Awesome Creator.things that every believer can take to heart and gain comfort from. John 3:36 says, He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him. And the wrath of God is awesome beyond our understanding: Psalm 2:5 says that God will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury., Psalm 90:11 says: Who understand the power of Your anger, and Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?, Jeremiah 10:10 says, At His wrath the earth quakes., Revelation 19:16 speaks of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty.. Anywhere you go, you can worship God. We are crafted personally and purposefully, to bring glory to God. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. God is in the heavens, in the depths, on the other side of the sea, in the dark, in the light. He is omnipresent. Its hard to comprehend God is in control of a world spinning off its rails. English Standard Version God's Omnipresence and Omniscience. if theyre not a match, for each attribute turned up, say the definition and for each definition say the attribute. Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken]. In verses 19-24, the psalmist distances himself from the wicked and asks God to help him live . The picture here is all-encompassing: from east to west; from high to low; soar as high as heaven; burrow as low as hell; travel at light speed from the rising of the sun to its setting you cannot go anywhere where God is not! Your care and love for us is like nothing else. Photo credit: GettyImages/krisanapongdetraphiphat, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. - Psalm 139:14, We were made with purpose, to bring glory to God. He is with you everywhere and that means everywhere! For less than $5/mo. GOD IS EVERYWHERE! Even devout Christ-followers gaze up to wonder where God is during tumultuous seasons. Psalm 139 helps us to see ourselves and others through Gods perspective. Omnipresence means God. But what does the poet mean when he says, Do I not hate them, O Jehovah, that hate thee? (v. 21). Go on to explain that even though God is everywhere all the time that sometimes in the Bible we read about Him entering time and space: God was in the burning bush, God was in the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, God was in the cloud that settled on the temple. Elisha, speaking with the Spirit of the Lord, said, Did not my heart go with you when you went to get that money? Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. But the reason we need that commitment is so that we can encourage and BE encouragers to others NOT because God is here and He is not somewhere else. We have His protection and power just as much with us in those places as we do right here. 19 # In the first eighteen verses of this psalm, the psalmist acknowledges that God knows everything that the psalmist ever does, no matter when or where he does it. You sit at the right hand of God and will again return to right all wrongs. This fall, we will send a team to the slums of Delhi, India to minister to the new church and school we are helping to start there. David is not saying that he has malicious feelings towards others. A Psalm of David. The old Southern Baptist theologian J.P. Boyce wrote: He is present at one and the same time everywhere. Boyce goes on to say in his Systematic Theology that it is not just that God knows what happens everywhere (as we saw last week) but that He IS everywhere! This should be the prayer of every godly man and woman; and may the Lord help us to pray it more often. God was with when you made that business deal last week. Heaven itself, the highest heaven, cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built. This church does not contain God; there is not a building that could. He concluded by asking God to search and know his "anxious thoughts" (verse 23, NASB). A Psalm of David. I Thessalonians 2:16 says that Gods wrath will come upon them to the uttermost. "Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all". 13For You (Q)formed my [i]inward parts;You (R)wove me in my mothers womb.14I will give thanks to You, for [j]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;(S)Wonderful are Your works,And my soul knows it very well.15My [k](T)frame was not hidden from You,When I was made in secret,And skillfully wrought in the (U)depths of the earth;16Your (V)eyes have seen my unformed substance;And in (W)Your book were all writtenThe (X)days that were ordained for me,When as yet there was not one of them. Then, say something like, although were always in Gods presence now because God is everywhere, there is still something that separates us from God. It has been absolutely thorough. (LogOut/ When we seek to learn, when we look for help or healing, when we express gratitude or anxiety, and when we celebrate blessings we pray. How Do We Know What God's Best for Us Is? Some of the rogue thoughts that enter our minds are absolutely crazy! Then, move in closer and ask Can you be here and be in the next room? 139:8 2. wings of the dawn (i.e., east) - remotest part of the sea (i.e., Mediterranean Sea to the west), Ps. He knows that God will judge evil men and punish them. Through His sacrifice on the cross, the Holy Spirit dwells in every Christ-follower. For you created my inmost being;you knit me together in my mothers womb. A person may be tempted to look for some escape from such an overpowering presence, but no . 11-12). The NIV Study Bible relays, This final Davidic collection contains the Psalters two most magnificent expositions of the greatness and goodness of God, one of them (Ps 139) focusing on his relationship with an individual (emphasis added). The psalmist David wrote extensively about God's omnipresence in Psalm 139:1-18. But we do have some say over what happens to them once they arrive. But, He was also everywhere else at the same time.Tell the kids that there is one chapter in the Bible that really helps us to understand that God is everywhere by asking a simple question. Judgment belongs to God alone. Verse seven begins with a question, and David knows the answer. Photo credit: GettyImages/krisanapongdetraphiphat, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. - Psalm 139:14, We were made with purpose, to bring glory to God. He is everywhere! He could not escape His presence, no matter where he went, for good or for bad and neither can you! Though the curse of sin we live under compels us to do the samerun and hide when we sinGod made a way for us, through Jesus, to bring our sin to His feet and confess and repent of it. In Psalm 16, David says: I have set the Lord continually before me. The truth is, the Lord IS continually with us; but we dont always ACT like He is. Where can I go from Gods presence? The Doctrine of Gods Omnipresence: God is everywhere. (B)5You have enclosed me behind and before,And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.6Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me;It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it. My frame was not hidden from thee, When I was made in secret, And curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. He hates them in the sense that he deplores their wickedness. Nothing in the universe is random without divine design and purpose., Where can I go from your Spirit? 5 Christian Football Players Who Love Jesus On and Off the Field, 5 Ways to Invest in Your Spiritual Growth This Year, This site is a proud member of the Salem Web Network, a subsidiary of, Copyright 2023, Crosswalk.com. If only you, God, would slay the wicked! In Psalm 139, David has written a song to celebrate God's Omniscience and Omnipresence and His Sovereignty. David realized that he was finite (v. 5), but God is infinite beyond comprehension (v. 6). Gods Word is Truth, and in its entirety points to Christ Jesus. 139O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.2You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do];You understand my thought from afar. 4 before a word is on my tongue you, lord, know it completely. He continues, This is not personal vindictiveness. get to know the Bible better! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. This church is one of His lampstands. A Psalm of David. From the creation surrounding us to each hair on our heads, Your intentionality is unmatched. Jonathan Edwards said, The saints are in His glorious presence, and the wicked in hell are in His dreadful presence. (Works, Vol. Quarantine puts us in our rooms alone for half a months time! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: When I awake, I am still with thee (13-18). Notice how in the next few verses "contrasts" are used to show the full extent of truths about God's omniscience and omnipresence. He has numbered our days, and nothing can change or alter His good plan for our lives. Sensibly, these verses are followed by: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Davids pen was divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. This should give us comfort when we feel scared or alone to remember that God is always there. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'ministry_to_children_com-leader-1','ezslot_3',109,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-ministry_to_children_com-leader-1-0'); Read thememory verse(Psalm 139:7) a few times together and each time you finish the verse yell NOWHERE! (Now, too many have used this as a cheap excuse to do what Hebrews 10 says that we should NOT do: forsake the assembling of yourselves, as if the habit of some, but encouraging one another . And He is mighty to save. Always active in her community and local church, Meg also leads Bible study for women and teen girls. "But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) Seek out Spiritual wisdom! My wife's childlike sense of God's omnipresence opened up her realization of His omniscience and omnipotence. They speak of you with evil intent;your adversaries misuse your name. Revelation 21:22 says there is no temple there, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. Verse 23 says: The city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it. Where can I go from your Spirit? 9 If I take t Ps 7:9; Prov 17:3; Jer 11:20; 1 Thess 2:4, Ps 146:9; Prov 15:9; 28:10; Jer 25:5; 36:3. And Your right hand will take hold of me. God's Omnipresence and Omniscience. Where Do We Find the Gospel in the Book of Daniel? Though the world is hard and dark at times, You can only be light. David knew these qualities of God well, as he was chased down by a crazed King Saul and exiled to hide in a cave! 139 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. Change). 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken], In the midst of daily life, Christians do well to remind themselves of the Good Shepherds knowledge and provision, wrote Jason Helopoulos for Ligonier, most of the doubts, anxieties, and fears that occupy the Christian soul can be attributed to a lack of trust in Christ as the Good Shepherd.. Being intimately known by our sovereign God means we are not hidden, nor should we feel compelled or convinced by guilt or shame to hide from Him in any way. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Solomon said in I Kings 8:27, "But can God indeed dwell on earth? If only you, God, would slay the wicked! 7Where can I go from Your Spirit?Or where can I flee from Your presence?8If I ascend to heaven, You are there;If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there. David begins with a startling admission. The omnipresence of God means that we can worship Him anywhere. He was right there when you told that lie. He is also a God of justice, and He is a God of wrath. All rights reserved. He acknowledges that God formed his organs; he reflects upon how his Maker knitted him together; how the Lord embroidered him like an ornate rug; how the Creator saw his undeveloped form. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from youwhen I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. (You might want to read John 14:16-20 and point out that if you are a follower of Jesus and have turned to Him for forgiveness that you are in Him and He is in God). May our lives bring glory to Your name. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. We are all loved by God this way. Because of the realization that God is all around him, the psalmist sometimes feels helpless (5-6). God is Omniscient (Acts 4-5) Lesson #26 in What is God Like? Psalm 23 says Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me! Everything about you. You will never escape the eternal presence of the wrath of Our Omnipresent God.. You discern my going out and my lying down;you are familiar with all my ways. Not only is God everywhere with us now; He will be in eternity as well. O Jehovah, thou hast searched me, and known me. And the same thing is true for YOU! So much injustice, unfairness, tragedy and heartbreak surround everyday circumstances world-wide. 139:1 - God has thoroughly searched/investigated your life.and He KNOWS you. If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea. He is everywhere! Where can I flee from Your presence? but like Jonah there will be no place to hide. It is FAITH that pleases God, not sight; not experience as such! Your donation gift(s) are very much appreciated and may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes. The sacrifice Jesus made on the cross negated the shame which compelled Adam and Eve to hide from God in the garden. But it is up to US to realize that He is with us, and to ACT like He is. Some of the truths to discuss are: God knows His people- He has to be present where we are to know us. He concludes with a request. God knows His people- He has to be present where we are to know us. When the heart is mentioned in Scripture, it often refers to the seat of our souls, and the place from which we make decisions and harbor our beliefs. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? This is not a reflection of personal hatred; it is a matter of principled conviction. Therein, David reflects on Gods omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and righteous judgement. Place them all face down and take turns turning over 2 at a time looking for a match. All content appearing on this site is owned and maintained by the Fortify Your Faith Foundation, a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, religious corporation as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Its who You are, and we are Yours. He knows our words before we let them exit our mouths. God's omnipresence is a comfort to David (verses 11-12), he felt secure because of this truth. becauseHe is always with you. D. God Knows Everything I Say. God is everywhere, and everywhere the same. The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary explains, Not a part but the whole of God is present in every place. He is not limited by time and space. We like to think of God, at least subconsciously, as residing in certain places, like in heaven, or in church and then that we leave Him there, and then go and do as we please, and He will leave us alone. If I say, Surely the darkness shall overwhelm me, And the light about me shall be night; Even the darkness hideth not from thee, But the night shineth as the day: The darkness and the light are both alike to thee (7-12). Why Christians Should Understand the Daughter of Zion, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Shop our Sunday School Curriculum and Bible Lessons for Kids. If I say, Surely the darkness will hide meand the light will become night around me,even the darkness will not be dark to you;the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. Davids heartfelt journey with God, through the good, bad, challenging, and unbelievable, remains alive and relatable throughout Psalm 139. 5 Most Well-Known Christian Symbols and Their Meanings. You have searched me, LORD,and you know me. Here is where Hebrew parallelism helps us understand Davids question. New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. In the hold of the ship, God was with him. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, And art acquainted with all my ways. They were not alone even in the fiery furnace. When I became a mother, I experienced love on another level. Encourage them to write the wordOMNIPRESENTsomewhere on the paper and then write or draw something to help them remember this attribute of God. Pray that the kids in the group would come to know God more and more each week through this study and that they would remember that all of us are sinners who need to be saved and that they would turn to this good God for salvation. Ask them again where they could do to hide from God and remind them that we cant go anywhere to get away from God. Praise and glory and honor to the God who formed us and rescued us. 23(AI)Search me, O God, and know my heart;(AJ)Try me and know my anxious thoughts;24And see if there be any [n](AK)hurtful way in me,And (AL)lead me in the (AM)everlasting way. Jesus calls us friends. He soon found that there was no such place! Through His sacrifice on the cross, the Holy Spirit dwells in every Christ-follower. . There is infinitely more happening in the world and our lives than we can plausibly see. They are enemies of God (v. 20). Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. Those who follow Christ will be welcomed into heaven for eternity upon death on this earth. Nothing in the universe is random without divine design and purpose., Where can I go from your Spirit? God is everywhere, all at once. He is all-knowing and everywhere. Scripture advises to take our thoughts captive. God knows our thoughts and our words before we speak. And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways. and the appearance of the fourth was like the Son of God! Because of who He is, we are always loved and never alone. He will be with you in your heartbreak; He will be with you in your illness; He will be with you in that financial struggle; He will be with you in that false accusation; He will be with you when you that bad news breaks; He will be with you when everyone else has deserted you; though father and mother give you up; He will not. Can you be here and on the moon? Here Are 5 Lessons from Psalm 139 to Strengthen Your Heart: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. - Psalm 139:13. If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there. This is the theme of Psalm 139. In You, and You alone, we find peace, love, joy, forgiveness, and mercy. That is the truth: God is everywhere, and He will be with you no matter what. Salem Media Group. That means everywhere. Omni means all, present means here the doctrine of Gods omnipresence means that God is always present; He is everywhere. There is no area of our lives in which He is not present. Try Bible Gateway Plus free today! There is nowhere that He is not. But the truth is, you never leave His presence. Here Are 5 Lessons from Psalm 139 to Strengthen Your Heart: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. - Psalm 139:13. Those who follow Christ will be welcomed into heaven for eternity upon death on this earth. Where can I flee from your presence? - Psalm 139:7. We find this doctrine taught in Psalm 139, as well as in other places in the word of God. Give each child a blank piece of paper provide markers or colored pencils. Cant wait to continue our series of truths about God! We all know that in heaven, every one of us who has trusted Jesus as Savior will be in the continual presence of the Lord. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. - Psalm 139:16. 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