Psalms 139:7

Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?

World English Bible
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Other translations

WEBBE

Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?

BSB

Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?

KJV

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

ASV

Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

BBE

Where may I go from your spirit? how may I go in flight from you?

Original Hebrew

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The early church

Behold you find that the runaway in a far country cannot escape His eyes, from whom he flees. And whither can he go now, whose "limit is tracked out"? Behold, what says he? "Whither shall I go from Your Spirit?" [Psalm 139:7]. Who can in the world flee from that Spirit, with whom the world is filled? [Wisdom 1:7] "And whither shall I flee from Your Face?" He seeks a place whither to flee from the wrath of God. What place will shelter God's runaway? Men who shelter runaways, ask them from whom they have fled; and when they find any one a slave of some master less powerful than themselves, him they shelter as it were without any fear, saying in their hearts, "he has not a master by whom he can be tracked out." But when they are told of a powerful master, they either shelter not, or they shelter with great fear, because even a powerful man can be deceived. Where is God not? Who can deceive God? Whom does not God see? From whom does not God demand His runaway? Whither then shall that runaway go from the Face of God? He turns him hither and there, as though seeking a spot to flee to.
Augustine of Hippo · d. 430Expositions on the Psalms
"...if our heart think ill of us," i.e. accuse us within, that we do not the thing with that mind it ought to be done withal, "greater is God than our heart, and knoweth all things." Thou hidest thine heart from man: hide it from God if thou canst! How shalt thou hide it from Him, to whom it is said by a sinner, fearing and confessing, "Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? and from Thy face whither shall I flee?" He sought a way to flee, to escape the judgment of God, and found none. For where is God not? "If I shall ascend," saith he, "into heaven, Thou art there: if I shall descend into hell, Thou art there." Whither wilt thou go? whither wilt thou flee? Wilt thou hear counsel? If thou wouldest flee from Him, flee to Him. Flee to Him by confessing, not from Him by hiding: hide thou canst not, but confess thou canst. Say unto Him, "Thou art my place to flee unto," and let love be nourished in thee, which alone leadeth unto life. Let thy conscience bear thee witness that thy love is of God. If it be of God, do not wish to display it before men; because neither men's praises lift thee unto heaven, nor their censures put thee down from thence. Let Him see, who crowneth thee: be He thy witness, by whom as judge thou art crowned. "Greater is God than our heart, and knoweth all things."
Augustine of Hippo · d. 430Homilies on 1 John

Commentary

Matthew Henry · Verses 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.

Read Matthew Henry on Psalm 139 →

Spurgeon · Verse 7

Here omnipresence is the theme, —a truth to which omniscience naturally leads up. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Not that the Psalmist wished to go from God, or to avoid the power of the divine life; but he asks this question to set forth the fact that no one can escape from the all pervading being and observation of the Great Invisible Spirit. Observe how the writer makes the matter personal to himself —"Whither shall I go?" It were well if we all thus applied truth to our own cases. It were wise for each one to say —The spirit of the Lord is ever around me: Jehovah is omnipresent to me. Or whither spirit I flee from thy presence? If, full of dread, I hastened to escape from that nearness of God which had become my terror, which way could I turn? "Whither?" "Whither?" He repeats his cry. No answer comes back to him. The reply to his first "Whither?" is its echo, —a second "Whither?" From the sight of God he cannot be hidden, but that is not all, —from the immediate, actual, constant presence of God he cannot be withdrawn. We must be, whether we will it or not, as near to God as our soul is to our body. This makes it dreadful work to sin; for we offend the Almighty to his face, and commit acts of treason at the very foot of his throne. Go from him, or flee from him we cannot: neither by patient travel nor by hasty flight can we withdraw from the all surrounding Deity. His mind is in our mind; himself within ourselves. His spirit is over our spirit; our presence is ever in his presence.

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Cross-references

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Topics

Cross-references: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. Hebrew and Greek data from STEPBible.org (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0. Library: sources.