Psalms 139:11

If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. IF I SAY, SURELY THE DARKNESS SHALL COVER ME; EVEN THE NIGHT SHALL BE LIGHT ABOUT ME. "Cover" - literally, bruise, or overwhelm, as in Genesis 3:15 [ shuwp (H7779)]; Job 9:17. So the Septuagint and Vulgate here, 'shall tread down.' The darkness and night are not here regarded as a friendly cloak to hide the Psalmist as a guilty fugitive from the presence and the avenging band of God (Job 34:22; Jeremiah 23:24); but as an overwhelming mist of g...

11._If I shall say, _etc. David represents himself as a man using every possible method to make his escape from a situation of embarrassment. 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. It is a mistake in my opinion to consider, as some have done, that the two clauses of the verse are to be taken separately, and read, _If I shall say the darkness will cover me, even the night shall be as light before me _— meaning that darkness would be converted into light, and so though he saw nothing himself, he would stand manifest before the eye...

7-16 We cannot see God, but he can see us. The psalmist did not desire to go from the Lord. Whither can I go? In the most distant corners of the world, in heaven, or in hell, I cannot go out of thy reach. No veil can hide us from God; not the thickest darkness. No disguise can save any person or action from being seen in the true light by him. Secret haunts of sin are as open before God as the most open villanies. On the other hand, the believer cannot be removed from the supporting, comforting presence of his Almighty Friend. Should the persecutor take his life, his soul will the sooner ascend to heaven. The grave cannot separate his body from the love of his Saviour, who will raise it a glorious body. No outward circumstances can separate him from his Lord. While in the path of duty, he may be happy in any situation, by the exercise of faith, hope, and prayer....

Verse Psalms 139:11. _SURELY THE DARKNESS SHALL COVER ME_] Should I suppose that this would serve to screen me, immediately this _darkness_ is turned into _light_....

IF I SAY, SURELY THE DARKNESS SHALL COVER ME - If I seek to find refuge in the darkness of the night so that God would not see me. The word rendered “cover” - שׁוף _shûph_ - means properly to snap, to gape after; then, to lie in wait for; and then, to attack, or fall upon anyone, unexpectedly. It is rendered “bruise” (twice) in Genesis 3:15, “He shall “bruise” thy head, and thou shalt “bruise” his heel;” “breaketh” in Job 9:17, “He “breaketh” me with a tempest;” and in this place “cover.” It does not occur elsewhere. Here it means to fall upon; to overpower; to cover. The idea is, If it should come suddenly upon me; if I should be involved in sudden darkness - “as if” the darkness should come and attempt to “snatch” me away from God. All this would be in

EXPOSITION A song of praise to God for his omniscience, his omnipresence, and his marvelous powers, ending with a prayer for the destruction of the wicked, and for the purifying from evil of the psalmist's own heart. The psalm divides into four stanzas of six verses each—the first (Psalms 139:1) dealing with the omniscience of God; the second (Psalms 139:7), with his omnipresence; the third (Psalms 139:13), with his omnipotence; and the fourth (Psalms 139:19) containing the supplication. Psalms 139:1

IF I SAY, SURELY THE DARKNESS SHALL COVER ME,.... The darkness of a cloud or of the night, so that my actions shall not be seen; that is, if I entertain such a thought in my mind, that what I do in the dark will escape the sight and knowledge of God, and so be emboldened to commit it; EVEN THE NIGHT SHALL BE LIGHT ABOUT ME; and make all my works manifest, as light does....

Psalms 139:1. _O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me._ «Thou hast explored me, as men dig in mines, and make subterranean excavations. Thou hast searched into my secret parts, and known me.» Psalms 139:2. _Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising,_ «My simplest acts, those which I scarcely premeditated.» Psalms 139:2. _Thou understandest my thought afar off._ «Before I think it, when I think it, and when I forget it, thou dost understand my every thought.» Psalms 139:3. _Thou compassest my path and my lying down,_ Making a

Psalms 139 In the Divine Presence _ 1. His omniscience (Psalms 139:1)_ 2. His omnipresence (Psalms 139:7) 3. Praising Him (Psalms 139:13) 4. Delighting in His holiness (Psalms 139:19) Here we see the people of God in the light of God, standing in His presence. He is an omniscient and an omnipresent God. How marvellously this is given in this Psalm. And what a comfort to know that He knoweth, that He seeth, that He is about us, around us, with us everywhere, that His hand leads, that His hand upholds

CXXXIX. GOD IS EVERYWHERE: HE KNOWS EVERYTHING OH THAT HE WOULD DESTROY THE WICKED. This Ps. is among the most spiritual productions of the OT. It deals with the mystery of Divine providence, a theme frequently discussed after the Exile, when the national life had died out and each individual was brought face to face with the difficulties which surrounded him and with the thought of his ultimate fate. Other nations, of course, have engaged in similar speculation, but in very different tone and spirit. Here, as elsewhere, the Hebrew poet manifests intense belief in the personality of God, in His righteousness, in His care for the men He has made. He speaks in the first person singular, because he is giving expression to his own faith and in part to his own experience. Again, he uses no abstract terms such as omnipresence, omniscience, and the like: indeed in Biblical Heb. no such words ar...