Verses: Psalm 139Sample

We are memorizing and meditating on the whole of Psalm 139! Today is day 4, and David focuses and meditates on God’s infinite presence (omnipresence). Though we are finite beings, held and bound to a body, a geographical place, and a particular time, God is “spatially unchallenged.”

If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.

In verse 8, the psalmist employed opposites (heaven & Sheol) to clearly state that nowhere is out of God’s reach on the vertical axis. In verse 9, the psalmist does this again, but this time on the horizontal plane. The “wings of the morning” point us to the far east (the sunrise) and “uttermost parts of the sea” to the far west (west of Israel on the Mediterranean sea). The ESV Study Bible explains, “This rhetorical device, using two polar opposites, indicates that everything in between is included.” From east to west, north to south, be it in ordered or chaotic times, God is with you and near you.

The same hand laid upon David in verse 5 is now the hand that leads and holds in verse 10. God’s hand and personal engagement in our lives, no matter where we find ourselves, should be a great comfort whether we think we’re near or far from Him. It is as if these verses could have been written by the wandering prophet Jonah himself, who knew this truth intimately. He sought to run away from God, heading in precisely the opposite direction of where God was calling him, only to find out he was still led and held by the very One he was running from. No matter where you are in life, no place is too far out of God’s reach or from His presence. Seasons come and seasons go, but God’s hand remains near. There is not a square inch in this universe that God is not Lord over and near to.

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 139:9-10. What stands out? What’s encouraging? What’s confusing?
3. In your journal, write out verses 9-10. The intention here is to slow down a little with the passage and linger.
4. Listen to the Psalm 139:9-10 song by Jeff Capps.
5. What are some of the ways you seek to escape God? What are your “wings of the morning”? Where are the places you set up a dwelling “in the uttermost parts of the sea”? Are there any ways you feel your life is far from God’s reach? Because of things you’ve done or situations you’re in? David speaks these powerful words to us: “even there.” Write down in your journal “even here.” God meets us in the moment and place we are currently in, not where we wish we were. Meditate on this passage for 2-5 minutes.

Credits
Song by Jeff Capps.
Devotional by Joel Limpic.