Tonight, I ask you to turn with me again to Psalm 139. Psalm 139. And tonight we read together the first 13 verses, 7 through 12. I'm sorry, the first 12 verses, 7 through 12 being the text for this evening. Psalm 139 as we give our attention to the Word of God. O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know 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 know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in behind and before. You have laid Your hand upon me Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise in the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, surely the darkness will hide me, and the light 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. Beloved of the Lord Jesus Christ, last week we began to consider the greatness of our God who loves His people with a sacrificial love. as we considered from the first six verses of Psalm 139, His omniscience. God has perfect and complete knowledge. He knows all things at all times. And this was David's comfort as it should be comforting to you and me as believers because God has also known our most deep, desperate need for salvation and He has provided the perfect plan of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. But also in the first six verses, David touched upon another amazing attribute of God. Just briefly, he touched upon God's omnipresence, which he talks about in greater detail in our text tonight. Remember, as we said, God's presence and His knowledge go hand in hand. Wherever God is, there is His knowledge as well. And it's as if David is now saying in verses 7-12, in response to the first six verses, It's as if he is now saying that the reason that God knows everything about him is because God is everywhere around him. And therefore, we notice tonight the believer's confession of the Lord's inescapable presence. First of all, in verses 7-9, David speaks of the limitless boundaries of the Lord's presence. Now that may seem like a contradiction in terms, right? After all, how can a boundary be limitless? We all know that boundaries set limits. But as we study these few verses, we notice that David describes the Lord's limitless presence by giving a list of boundaries or checkpoints. God is indeed without limit. But David gives us a series of complete opposites to help us who are limited, who are finite, to understand the immensity or the greatness of God. Now, there are those who say that David wrote this portion of Psalm 139 because he wanted to escape from the presence of God. In the first section of this psalm, as we saw, David talked about the intimate knowledge that God has about him. David says that God knows his every move, great or small. God knows his thoughts and his words even before David expresses them. And those who believe that David desired to escape say that what David now realizes is that God knows him better than he wants God to know him. So David wants to flee, to run away from God because of his sinfulness and his unworthiness. Indeed, David was aware of his own sinfulness. Read Psalm 51. on. But I don't believe that the text at all supports this claim that David wanted to escape from God's presence because of his sinfulness and unworthiness. I do believe that David took great comfort as he wrote these words of God's omnipresence, the same comfort that we are to have as we read these very same words. David begins this text in verse 7, where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? Basically, he asks the same question twice in two different ways. Whether he says your spirit or your presence, he means God. David is saying, where can I go from you, O God? And to ask these questions of God is also to answer them. He could just as well have said, I can't. I can't. There is no place where I can go away from You, O Lord. David says, where can I flee from Your presence? The Hebrew literally says, where shall I flee from before Your face? David cannot flee from before the face of God. He cannot go anywhere without God's eyes seeing and following Him as He moves. Now, of course, we know. We know, don't we, that it's impossible. it's not possible to flee or run away from God. We teach our boys and girls that at a very young age. But David almost makes it sound like there are some who would like to run away from God. Maybe that's us. When we have sinned and we experience the guilt of our sin, then we want possibly to run away from God. And here we can also think of Adam and Eve as after they had sinned, they were trying to hide from the presence of God. Or how about Jonah? Boys and girls, you considered Jonah quite a bit in Vacation Bible School this last week. He found out firsthand, didn't he, how easy it was to run away from God. It wasn't easy. He couldn't do it. Remember, God knew that Jonah was on that ship and He used the raging sea, the storm, and the big fish to bring Jonah to his senses. See, David's questions deserve a negative answer, But instead of simply saying, I can't, He beautifully gives us some boundaries or checkpoints to explain the greatness of God and as well to explain why He cannot flee from before the presence of God. He says in verses 8 and 9, If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise in the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast. Now here David gives two examples of extreme opposites. First, the heavens and the depths, or as some translations, I believe rightly translate, heaven and hell. These are the extremes of high and low, of height and depth. Heaven is considered to be the supreme height, but on the opposite side is the lowest depth, namely hell. And what does he say? He says, you are there. You see, in order to get to heaven or hell, David or you or me has to either ascend or descend because we can only be in one place at one time, but God is already there. Now that may seem like a surprise to some, especially with regard to hell, but God is actually present in both heaven and hell, but the experience of God's presence is different in each place. In heaven, the glory of God is experienced and the love of God is present. But in hell, the curse of God is felt and His wrath is poured out upon those who are there. Hell is a place of His justice and punishment. But we shouldn't be surprised that God can be found in both heaven and hell. He created those places. He controls them. Nothing. And no one is hidden from God in heaven or in hell. Heaven and hell are naked, as it were, before God. Job 26, verse 6 says, Sheol, hell, is naked before Him, and destruction has no covering. And in Amos 9, verse 2, we read of those who are unfaithful to God and those who would try to escape His presence. And it says, Though they dig into hell, from there My hand shall take them. Though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. And when David says, you are there, he means that God is actually present. He's not just there through his knowledge. It's not simply the fact that he knows what's going on in those places. God is really there. And then David gives a second set of extremes when he says, rise on the wings of the dawn and settle on the far side of the sea. Now, that's colorful language, isn't it? But what does it mean by saying the heavens and the depths David has given us the extremes of high and low height and depth but now he is giving us the extremes from east to west the wings of the dawn means the sunrise in the east every morning as the sun comes up over the horizon we know that its rays of light shoot out across the sky and these rays fan out like wings all across the sky a most beautiful sight for those of you who get up before the sun comes up. But David means more than just witnessing the sunrise here. The wings of the dawn also means movement or flight. Again, before the sun actually appears, we can see its glow. But once the first bit of the sun comes up over the horizon, suddenly its light shoots all across the sky. The light of the sun spreads to all regions as with the swiftness of flight. Or we could say, with the speed of light. When David says, if I rise on the wings of the dawn, he's talking about riding on the wings of the morning, traveling at the speed of light. And the point is, even if David was traveling at the speed of light, he could not outrun God. God would be where he started from and God would be there waiting for him wherever David was going. Boys and girls, think of it this way. If you were going to travel to the moon from here on earth at the speed of light, it would take about two seconds to get there. 1,001, 1,002. God would be here to say goodbye. He would be there to meet you. And David also speaks about the far side of the sea And he's most likely talking about the Mediterranean Sea, which was their western boundary. As far as David knew, the Mediterranean Sea was the end of the world. He probably didn't have any idea what lay beyond that sea, yet he knew that whatever there was beyond that sea, whatever lay beyond it, yet he knew that God is there. He says, and settle on the far side of the sea. Now, here we have a little bit of a contrast with the wings of the dawn and the east in which David is talking about being in flight. Now, he's talking about settling or dwelling, being at rest way to the west beyond the sea. And David is saying that even if he is removed far away from his home and his family, and if he is dwelling in a strange and foreign place, God will also be there leading and protecting him. let that be a comfort for you and me many of us have family members not only across the country but in other countries even across the ocean far away and even some of our Canadian friends who are here some of you we will probably never see again in this life but we have the comfort that wherever our brothers and sisters are in Christ that God is there and we can sing with confidence God be with you till we meet again. People of God, I can't help but to think that as David wrote these words that he was overwhelmed with comfort. Sure, he speaks of fleeing or running away from the presence of God, but not because he wanted to run away, but simply because he knows that it's not possible. David doesn't have to worry about ever being outside of God's presence. And he wants us to know that it's not possible to flee or escape from the Spirit of God. He has given us the limitless boundaries of the Lord's presence. Heavens and the depths, or hell, east and west. In other words, the whole cosmic order. And whether we are at rest or whether we are traveling at the speed of light within those boundaries, behold, God is there. What we need to realize is that God created all of the boundaries that David lists. Heaven, hell, the wings of the dawn, the far side of the sea, are all creations of God. The Spirit of God is present within these boundary points, but also outside of these. In Jeremiah 23, verse 24, God says, Do I not fill heaven and earth? And King Solomon prayed that the heaven of heavens cannot contain God. This means that we are in God's presence all the time. We live and move in the presence of God's Spirit and there is never a time when we are not in His presence. Again, a comforting thought for the believer, but a frightful truth for the unbeliever who rejects God. He rejects God, but does not understand that he cannot escape from God. He is truly a fool, as David says in another place, who says there is no God. A couple of days ago, I saw a license plate cover on a vehicle that said, if you're living like there is no God, then you'd better hope that you're right. And how true that is, and that's about all that someone who is living as if there is no God can hope for. David tells us the truth. God is there. Not only does he know what's going on, but he sees what's going on. Now David isn't telling us these things in order to scare us, As I said earlier, I believe that David is overwhelmed with comfort as he reflects on the presence of God and as he writes these things down. You know, David had his ups and downs. We know that. He was a sinner. He would have admitted that. He had difficulties in this life, but he experienced the comforting quality of the Lord's presence. The same comfort that each and every believer enjoys by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, who has satisfied for all of our sins. So that God remembers our sins no more, removes them as far as the east is from the west. Our sin is the reason, the only reason that we would ever want to run away from God's presence. And our sin has been removed. And instead He has restored us to God's favor. And therefore it's a delight for God's people to know that we are always in God's presence. In verse 10, in response to speaking about rising on the wings of the dawn and settling on the far side of the sea, David says, even there your hand will guide me. Your right hand will hold me fast. There is comfort only in being led by the hand of God. And again, David feels the assurance that wherever he goes, he isn't walking around aimlessly and alone. God is there. And God is not there spying on him, following David, looking over his shoulder to see where he is going. No, he leadeth me. God is leading David, keeping him in safety. We know that in the Hebrew, the word for hand can also mean power. And here the hand of God can also mean the power of God. God leads His people like a shepherd leads his sheep. In Deuteronomy 26, verse 8, Moses reminds the Israelites of God's leading hand when he says, So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm with great terror and with signs and wonders. And David says that God shall lead him with His hand. And then he gets even more specific. He says, your right hand will hold me fast. The right hand was considered to be the hand of power. This is the ultimate in protection. Because there is not a safer place to be than to be held safe in the right hand of God. In Psalm 37, verse 42, we read, For the Lord upholds him with his hand. You see, the Spirit of God is the hand that leads and covers and preserves and sustains David. Beloved, these are comforting thoughts. What a contrast to the man-made gods of this world. Man-made gods can't guide, they can't lead, they can't protect. In Psalm 115, we read, Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak. Eyes they have, but they do not see. They have ears, but they do not hear. Noses they have, but they do not smell. They have hands, but they do not handle. Feet they have, but they do not walk, nor do they mutter through their throat. In other words, man-made gods are good for nothing. God leads and moves His people, but man moves His man-made gods from corner to corner to remove the dust. That collects under it. God has created man in His image and likeness. But man-made gods are made in the image and the likeness of man. Beloved, the comforting quality of the Lord's presence is also experienced in respect to the dark. In verses 11 and 12, If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light 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. Darkness can be an awesome thing. There is some sort of power associated with the dark that makes us feel insecure and scared. Many of us fear the dark. Boys and girls, you know that that night light gives you comfort in the dark. And when David speaks about the darkness hiding him, he's talking about the darkest dark, pitch blackness that you or I have never felt. Pitched blackness that feels like it's closing in on you. He's talking about darkness that you cannot escape. And this kind of darkness can hide us from others or others from us. And in our sinfulness, the darkness can hide God from us because we don't see Him. In our sinfulness, we get scared in the dark. We lose our way. We let go of God's leading hand. And therefore, we let the dark hide God from us. but the darkness cannot hide us from God. He can see right through the darkness. David says that before God, the night will shine like the day, and that to God the darkness is as light to you. In this case, the Hebrew literally says, like the darkness, like the light. We've all heard the expression, like father, like son, which means that a father and a son are alike. And here David is saying that the dark and the light are alike to God. And again, why shouldn't this be the case? God made the light. Yet he doesn't depend upon the light or need the light to see in the darkness or to know what's going on in the darkness. But David didn't fear the darkness because he felt the comforting quality of the Lord's presence. And he also knew that the same comfort would be felt in the darkness of death. And this is no more beautifully expressed than in Psalm 23 where we read, 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. Congregation, we can have the very same comfort that David felt. When we understand that our God is omnipresent, then we can have the assurance that His presence covers all extremes, height and depth, east and west, dark and light. Again, the entire cosmic order. But we would be kidding ourselves if we didn't also admit that there are some who appreciate the dark. There are those who rely on the darkness so that they can do certain things unnoticed. The thief, the murderer, the seducer, or other criminals still safe in the dark because no human eye can witness what they are doing. And they honestly think that the darkness hides them and their dirty deeds from God as well. These people are foolish because nothing is hid from God. Those who carry out their evil deeds in the dark thinking that what they do is secret and that no one knows about it will be surprised on Judgment Day. They will be unpleasantly surprised when God rolls back the videotape of their activities and they realize that God had witnessed everything. They will realize that God even knows things about them that they had long forgotten about. And to these people, there is no comforting quality to the Lord's presence in the darkness. In Job 34, verses 21 and 22, we read, For His eyes are on the ways of man, and He sees all His steps. There is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. And people of God, we must also learn from this. We cannot take our Christianity and our faith for granted as a license to live like we want. As Christians, we should not do anything that we are not willing to have God take notice of. That has nothing to do with grateful living. God's people are to live openly for Christ in His light. Matthew 5 says, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. If we're about to do something that we don't want God to see, then forget it. Don't do it. The Spirit of God is all around you witnessing your activities. Yet, beloved, we are not to keep or refrain from evil deeds because we are scared of God, but because by His grace we understand our dependence upon Him. And out of reverence and awe for who He is and what He has done, we desire to live the way that He commands. He says, be holy, even as I am holy. Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, before Jesus was taken up into heaven, He gave us these comforting words. He said, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. He is with us through His Holy Spirit who was given to His church on Pentecost and who fills the hearts of each person who is a child of God. God's presence is for the believer's comfort. He who saves us from our sins, protects us from Satan and his hosts. Jesus said that He would not lose any, not a single one, of all that the Father had given to Him. And that is to be a comfort for you and me in this life. But also how comforting that will be on Judgment Day when we stand with our Lord Jesus Christ and not against Him. As God's people, we must recognize the limitless boundaries of the Lord's presence. He is omnipresent. There is not a place we can go where He is not to be found. And again, this must be the comforting quality of His presence, that He is to be found everywhere, And that wherever we are, He will lead us. He will guide us. He will protect us and sustain us. And when we are confident of the Holy Spirit's omnipresence, then when someone says to you, well, where is God anyway? You can confidently answer by saying, He is everywhere. And in life and in death, the Lord abides with me. Our God has promised that He will never, ever leave us or forsake us. This is true comfort for the child of God to know that God is everywhere I am, everywhere I will be, and everywhere I could be. Do you have this comfort? Do you have the assurance of the Holy Spirit's presence leading, guiding, protecting, and sustaining you? If you can say, yes, I do, then rejoice in the comfort of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if you are not a child of God, you must understand that God is still all around you through His Spirit, but not for your protection. Instead, He is preparing for your judgment. If you don't have this comfort, but instead have the desire to run away from the presence of God, then know, know, please know that the only way to escape the presence of God, the only way to run away from His wrath is to turn and run to Him. It's only in Him that you will find refuge and security. As the psalmist says in another place, He alone is my salvation. He is our refuge and our strength. Our ever-present help in time of trouble. You see, you can run, But you can't hide. And remember, beloved, salvation comes only by being nestled in the palm of His loving hand. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, again, in Jesus' name, we come before You. We thank You for Your blessings. We thank You for Your presence every passing hour. We thank You, Lord, for the comfort that You will never leave us or forsake us. Father, indeed, forgive us for the times when we turn our back on You and would desire to be out of Your sight and out of Your mind, even if it's only for a moment. May it truly be that we would never desire that, that we would always desire to be safe in the right hand of God. Father, we rejoice that nothing is outside of Your control, that all things are very much in Your control, And all things run according to your plan. And all things will continue to run according to the way that you have ordained it. May this be a comfort to each one of us, O Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen.