Dr. Terry E. Zebulske, Pastor-Teacher
Grace Community Church
August 27, 2006
 
YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM GOD
Psalm 139:1-12
 
…Hide and Seek was one of my favorite games as a boy.  We called it “Hounds and Deer” and on many Friday nights I would attempt to hide in my neighborhood from the guy who was “it.” 
…It is one thing to hide from men, it is a completely different matter to try and hide from God.  Yet people everywhere think that they are concealed from God.  Men and women try to hide from Him in many ways, just like our first parents did in the Garden of Eden after they sinned.
…However, God knows all things, and everything stands in His presence.  David wrote the beautiful Psalm 139 where he stands in awe of the greatness of God.  David tells us, “you can run, but you cannot hide,” from the Lord God.
TWO WONDERS OF GOD WHICH OUGHT TO MOTIVATE US TO LIVING LIVES THAT ARE HOLY.  Both of these are expressed in wonder and adoration!
I. We Too Need To Praise God For His Omniscience, For Every Dimension Of Your Life Is Known By God’s Penetrating Knowledge.  (vv.1-6) You are utterly known by Him,
A.   David expresses the theme of this Psalm in verse 1, “You have searched me and (therefore) know me. “   God had perfect knowledge of the Psalmist.
1.    To say that God is omniscient means that God knows all things, and that He knows them exhaustively.  We know things too.  But our knowledge is puny and partial.
2.   A. W. Pink put it this way:  “God knows all things; everything possible, everything actual; all events and all creatures, of the past, present and future…”
3.   David does not write of God’s omniscience as doctrine, rather as a confession of the highest wonder and awe.  Confession is one way we worship God.  David does this.
4.   God knows all things, He has always known them and He knows them totally.
…Did you know that God cannot learn anything?  It is true. 
…Did you know that God never discovers something new that He did not know?
…Did you know that God is never surprised?  Never amazed.
…Did you know that God never wonders of the possibilities?
B.    David unfolds God’s perfect knowledge.  (vv.2-4)
1.    God knew David’s thoughts, even before he thought them.  (v. 2)
2.   God knew David’s ways…from one point to the other and all the details between them.
3.   God knew David’s every word. (v. 4) Wow!
…All of his daily activities were completely familiar to the Lord.  No hiding places!
…It is impossible to escape from such knowledge.  Impossible!
C.    David’s response to this amazing knowledge was to praise the Lord.  (vv.5-6)               
                                …”such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. “
                                …This reminds us that the end of theology ought always be doxology.  Praise!
                                …This is the same note struck by Paul in Romans as he concluded his doctrinal study…
                                   Romans 11:33  “oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God.  How
                                   unsearchable are   His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out.”
II. We Also Need To Praise God For His Inescapable Presence, For It Is Impossible To Hide From Him. (vv.7-12)
A.   David wonders if it is possible to hide from the face of God.  (v. 7)
B.   David here is not attempting to flee from God.  He is thinking what would be the case if someone should attempt it.  He imagines three areas in which escape from God might be thought possible.  (vv. 8-11)
1.    “Up or down,” that is heaven or hell.  Yet, God is present there.
2.   “East or West,” like the rays of the morning sun racing…yet, God is there.  (Jonah)
3.   “The darkness,” but even the dark is no help, for light and darkness are the same to God.  Many people pursue evil in the dark thinking surely it will hide them from God. 
…Darkness hides us from men, but not from God.  It is another form of day to Him.
…Darkness hides nothing from God, it is all the same to Him. 
C.    Hebrews 4:13 agrees with David, “nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before Him to whom we must give account.”
LESSONS FOR OUR LIVES:                            
1.  If you are saved...it is very comforting to know that the Lord knows everything about you!
2. You and I live our every moment under the watchful eye of our Savior!
3.  Come to really know the greatness of our God...He is amazing!
4.  May God's omniscience and presence cause you to live a holy life.
5.  It is a dreadful thought to the unsaved...that God knows all....Today: Repent and believe upon Christ!