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Psalm 139:7–12
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? (Ps. 139:7)
In yesterday’s study, we considered the implications of Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman in John 4: “ ‘God is Spirit.’ ” We saw that He was telling the woman that God is not a material being, that He does not possess a physical body such as we have. Because that is so, He is everywhere. And because that is so, we are always in His presence. In Psalm 139, David speaks eloquently of this truth, saying: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.” He is saying that God is infinite, that His being fills all reality. There is no place where He is not present, no place we can go where God is not.
The Westminster Confession of Faith speaks of this attribute of God, but it adds an aspect of God’s infinity that we must consider today. “There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection” (II, 1, emphasis added). We considered the perfection of God earlier this week, but now we must turn our minds to the conundrum of infinite perfection.
When the confession uses the word infinite in speaking of God’s perfections, it is saying that they are “unlimited.” It is not just a matter of God being greater than we are. There is actually no way to measure His greatness, for there is no limit to it—it is “not finite.” This means, for instance, that God is infinite in power, which is why theologians say He is omnipotent, or all powerful; there is no limit to His ability to do whatsoever He determines to do. He is also infinite in His knowledge. As we saw last week, He knows all things, and even things that could be. Moreover, He is infinite in His love. There is no point at which His love for the other persons of the Trinity and for His people will be exhausted, for He will display it for eternity. The same is true for His wrath against the wicked. Simply put, every attribute of God, every aspect of His nature, is perfect and therefore infinite. Just as we cannot say that His being is confined to a particular place, we cannot say that His attributes extend only to a certain point in time or to a certain degree. Limitations do not apply to our God.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Being imperfect, we struggle to imagine perfection. And the concept of infinity proves too deep for our finite minds. But our God is infinite in perfection, and we do Him a disservice to think of Him as anything less. Ask Him to show you how you are limiting Him in your thinking and pray for help to think of Him aright.
For Further Study
- 2 Chronicles 2:6
- Psalm 147:5
- Isaiah 40:28