Psalms 139:9

9 If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west,

Psalms 139:9 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 139:9

[If] I take the wings of the morning
And fly as swift as the morning light to the east, to the extremity of it, as Ben Melech; as far as he could go that way, as swiftly as the wings of the morning could carry him thither; so the morning is represented by the Heathens as having wings F6; or as the rays of the rising sun, called wings for the swiftness of them, ( Malachi 4:2 ) ;

[and] dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
in the most distant isles of it, in the farthest parts of the world, the sea being supposed the boundary of it: or "in the uttermost parts of the west" F7, as opposed to the morning light and rising sun, which appear in the east; and the sea is often in Scripture put for the west, the Mediterranean sea being to the west of the land of Palestine; and could he go from east to west in a moment, as the above writer observes, there would God be. The Heathens represent Jupiter, their supreme god, as having three eyes, because he reigns in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth F8.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 Vid. Cuperi Apotheos. Homeri, p. 177.
F7 (My tyrxab) "in novissimo occidentis", Pagninus.
F8 Pausan. Corinthiaca, sive l. 2. p. 129.

Psalms 139:9 In-Context

7 Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence?
8 If I went up to heaven, you would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there.
9 If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west,
10 you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night,
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.