Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
No one can go anywhere from God's Spirit or flee from His presence, for wherever a person goes God is there. No place lies beyond His presence and rule, and wherever people go they remain within His domain. His reach includes the highest heaven, the grave and the deep, the farthest parts of the sea and the earth's farthest reaches, the deepest darkness and midnight, solitude and secret places, every place and every hour, filling heaven and earth. By His Spirit God is everywhere present and not confined to one place, and His power must not be limited by human ideas. His presence is active and personal, with intimate knowledge of and interest in all His works, and His hand leads, holds, finds, guides and upholds a person even far away.
No conduct escapes His observation, for He sees every action and hears all that is done and said, and knows every word, thought and motive of the heart even in darkness. Unlike human laws that are often broken without detection, God's law cannot be evaded, the deepest midnight is no cover, and He keeps a faithful record of words and actions that must be met. Every act, word and thought is marked as distinctly as though heaven's attention were centered on only one person in the world. Because each person is accountable to Him, His all-seeing presence makes wrongdoing answerable to Him, including every transaction and course of action such as dishonest use of funds. Cherishing this habitual impression that every deed has an unseen witness even when one thinks himself alone causes fear to sin.
No place lies beyond His presence and rule, so wherever people go they remain within His domain and should seek His guidance rather than assume they can direct their lives independently of their Creator. God is present in every action toward a fellow human being as the eternal, universal guardian of justice, concerned with each person's rights and opposed to anyone who does wrong to another, whatever that person's rank or wealth. His protection and hand are spread like a shield over brother toward brother, so to wound or bruise a brother's soul or rights or to violate them is to strike against the justice He upholds and against the hand of justice that holds the sword, even by a single act and even if one wants to get away. God is near to this world and not beyond the reach of anyone who seeks Him, so the humble seeker who draws near to God will not seek in vain because God draws near in response.
No one can go anywhere from God's Spirit or flee from His presence, for wherever a person goes God is there. No place lies beyond His presence and rule, and wherever people go they remain within His domain. His reach includes the highest heaven, the grave and the deep, the farthest parts of the sea and the earth's farthest reaches, the deepest darkness and midnight, solitude and secret places, every place and every hour, filling heaven and earth. By His Spirit God is everywhere present and not confined to one place, and His power must not be limited by human ideas. His presence is active and personal, with intimate knowledge of and interest in all His works, and His hand leads, holds, finds, guides and upholds a person even far away.
No conduct escapes His observation, for He sees every action and hears all that is done and said, and knows every word, thought and motive of the heart even in darkness. Unlike human laws that are often broken without detection, God's law cannot be evaded, the deepest midnight is no cover, and He keeps a faithful record of words and actions that must be met. Every act, word and thought is marked as distinctly as though heaven's attention were centered on only one person in the world. Because each person is accountable to Him, His all-seeing presence makes wrongdoing answerable to Him, including every transaction and course of action such as dishonest use of funds. Cherishing this habitual impression that every deed has an unseen witness even when one thinks himself alone causes fear to sin.
No place lies beyond His presence and rule, so wherever people go they remain within His domain and should seek His guidance rather than assume they can direct their lives independently of their Creator. God is present in every action toward a fellow human being as the eternal, universal guardian of justice, concerned with each person's rights and opposed to anyone who does wrong to another, whatever that person's rank or wealth. His protection and hand are spread like a shield over brother toward brother, so to wound or bruise a brother's soul or rights or to violate them is to strike against the justice He upholds and against the hand of justice that holds the sword, even by a single act and even if one wants to get away. God is near to this world and not beyond the reach of anyone who seeks Him, so the humble seeker who draws near to God will not seek in vain because God draws near in response.