Verses: Psalm 139Sample

Welcome to day 5 in Psalm 139! A couple of days ago, in verse 7, the psalmist asked, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” Over the next 5 verses, he gives us four hypothetical scenarios: if he ascends to heaven, God is there. If he makes his bed in Sheol (death), God is there. If he takes the wings of the morning and dwells in the uttermost parts of the sea, God is there (leading & holding him). This week is the fourth and final scenario.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

John Calvin sets it up nicely:

“So having acknowledged that it was vain to dream of flight, he bethinks himself of another remedy, and says, If no speed of mine can bear me out of the range of God’s vision, yet, on the supposition of light being removed, the darkness might cover me, that I might have a short breath of respite. But this also he declares to be hopeless, as God sees equally well in the deepest darkness as at noon-day.”

In this scenario, the psalmist seeks to use darkness to keep himself from God’s light. In some ways, this hiding has been instinctual for all of us since Adam and Eve’s game of hide-and-go-seek in the garden with God. We rationalize that as long as we are hidden, or our sins are hidden, they do not affect others. We are “covered” and safe. While hiddenness from others is possible and hiding sin we do not want others to see (be it from shame or a desire to continue in the sin), God is never duped. His vision of us and our activities is not impaired by anything we could do. “Hidden sin” is a contradiction of terms before an omniscient, omnipresent God. The psalmist is confronted with the truth that our darkest midnight is but the brightest noonday for God. His knowledge of us and the places and seasons we find ourselves in are known perfectly by God. He intimately knows the things we’ve done and the things done to us. He knows who did what and why. As we have said before, this truth brings both great terror and comfort. Terror to those who don’t want the light to expose them. Comfort to those who need to know the darkness does not get the last word!

In response to this truth, Spurgeon prayed:

“Dense darkness may oppress me, but it cannot shut me out from thee, or thee from me. Thou seest as well without the light as with it, since thou art not dependent upon light which is thine own creature, for the full exercise of thy perceptions. Moreover, thou art present with me whatever may be the hour; and being present you discover all that I think, or feel, or do. Men are still so foolish as to prefer night and darkness for their evil deeds; but so impossible is it for anything to be hidden from the Lord that they might just as well transgress in broad daylight.”

Darkness and light in this agree;
Great God, they're both alike to thee.
Thine hand can pierce thy foes as soon
Through midnight shades as blazing noon.

Memorize & Meditate

1. Pray David’s words from Psalm 119 to God: “Open my eyes to see wonderful things in your law.” Ask God to reveal Himself to you in His Word, that you might know Him more. To truly know Him!
2. Read Psalm 139:11-12. What stands out? What’s encouraging? What’s confusing?
3. In your journal, write out verses 11-12. The intention here is to slow down a little with the passage and linger.
4. Listen to the Psalm 139:11-12 song by Gatlin Elms.
5. Meditate on this quote from Spurgeon as it relates to verses 11-12. “Dense darkness may oppress me, but it cannot shut me out from thee, or thee from me.” Spend 2-5 minutes expressing gratitude for this truth to God or asking Him for the faith to believe it’s true.

Credits
Song by Gatlin Elms
Devotional by Joel Limpic