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THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

CXXXIX: Relying On God To Handle Our Most Difficult Relationships, Psalm 139

B. Relying On An Omnipresent God To Handle Difficult Relationships

(Psalm 139:7-12, 19-24)

I. Introduction

A. Some of our relationships with others can be so difficult that we lack the ability to understand how to begin to address them, and we wonder whether we are part of the problem or whether the other party alone is at fault.

B. Psalm 139 addresses this concern by applying God's omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence to it, with Psalm 139:7-12 in light of verses 19-24 focusing on applying God's omnipresence to such relationships:

II. Relying On An Omnipresent God To Handle Difficult Relationships, Psalm 139:7-12, 19-24.

A. The numbering system of the psalm in the Hebrew text matches that of the English Bible (Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 1095), so we stay with the English Bible's numbering system for this lesson.

B. We then translate Psalm 139:7-12 [in light of verses 19-24] as follows: (7) "Where can I go from Your Spirit, and where can I flee from Your presence?" (8) "If I ascend to the heavens, You (emph. pron.) are there, and if I make my bed in Sheol (place of the departed dead), behold You (are there)!" (9) "If I take the wings of the (eastern) dawn and settle down on the far side of the (Mediterranean) Sea [David pictures rising with the first beams of the sun's morning light and traveling with them at the speed of light and ending up in the far reaches of the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and then sinking down into the dark, deep depths of that sea, all in an instant of time!]," (10) "even there will Your hand lead me (have preceded me to be able to guide me) and Your right hand (of ability) lay hold of me." (11) "And if I should say, 'Surely the darkness (of the sea's depths) will hide me and the light become night around me (the day become night above the sea)," (12) "even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like day, for darkness is as light to You."

C. The translation of vs. 19-24 applicable of vs. 7-12 is as follows: (19) "If only You would slay the wicked, O Elohim! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!" (20) "They speak of You with evil intent; Your adversaries misuse Your name." (21) "Do not I have an aversion to those who hate You, O Jahweh, and abhor those who rise up against You?" (22) "I have only an aversion for them; I count them my foes." (23) "Thoroughly examine me, O Elohim, with the result that You know my heart; test me with the result that You know my anxious thoughts," (24) "and see if there be in me any offensive way, and lead me in the way everlasting."

D. We note significant observations regarding this psalm (as follows):

1. There is a strong connection between verse 1 and verse 23, the idea of God's thoroughly examining David with the result that He knew all about him, and verse 23 adds the subject of David's thoughts that are full of anxiety due to his relationshp with oppressive enemies that he cannot handle, verses 19-22.

2. David was so concerned about having God address the difficult relationships he faced with his enemies that he asked the Lord to apply His omnipresent awareness of him to the difficult situation, that if the problem in the relationship with his enemies actually lay with David, that God might expose it to him that David might confess it to the Lord that he might be led of the Lord in God's everlasting way, v. 23-24.

3. The lesson is powerful: if we are overwhelmed by a very difficult relationship, and we do not know if we are the cause of the difficulty or not, we can trust God to apply His infinite attribute of omnipresence to examine every part of us thoroughly so as to ascertain the truth about our hearts to have Him expose what possible sin might lie in us that we might confess it to Him. God can then lead us in His way of blessing.

4. God's omnipresence as described in verses 7-12 is to be noted: (a) Ascending to the heights of the heavens or (b) descending to the depths of the departed dead in Sheol that was believed to be under the earth (c) or going at the speed of light from the eastern sky at dawn over (d) to the far reaches of the Mediterranean Sea and sinking down into its depths cannot make one escape God's presence and thus His awareness of all about him, for even darkness is as light to the Lord, for He is everywhere where even darkness exists!

Lesson: David relied on God's omnipresence to examine him thoroughly with the result that God knew him thoroughly to ascertain if David needed to make any adjustment to attain God's blessing in difficult relationships.

Application: (1) May we rely on God's omnipresence to evaluate all our heart, even its most secret realms, toward correcting us as needed for blessing, especially as it relates to addressing troubling relationship trials we face that are too hard for us to handle. (2) May we find comfort in knowing that God is with us wherever we go!