Painting
of Psalm 139
by Irv Davis
© 2000 Graphic by Irv Davis
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Psalm 139 is one
of the most powerful Psalms, both in terms of its message and in the beauty
of the poetry of the Psalmist. Everywhere in the universe God is present.
There is no place without God.It
states: "Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee
from Thy presence." Then it describes in beautiful poetry the presence
of God in every corner of the universe.The
painting shows the presence of God is there even when you think it would
not be there - the netherworld sometimes translated as the lower depths
or hell: "If I make my bed in the netherworld, below, behold, Thou
art there." This is pictured at the bottom of the painting as a lifeless
cold, barren place without any living thing, a personal interpretation.
In the
upper left part of the painting, the Psalm soars into one of the most beautiful
lines:
If
I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there would Thy hand lead me,
And Thy right hand would hold me
Then the darkness
of night cannot serve to hide the presence of God, as shown on the right
of the painting and described in these lines:
And
if I say: "Surely the darkness shall envelop me,
And the light about me shall be night",
Even the darkness is not too dark for Thee,
But the night shineth as the day;
The darkness is even as the light.
The center of
the painting shows where the Psalmist talks of the presence of God even
in the womb:
Thou
hast knit me together in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks unto thee,
For I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are thy works,
When I was made in secret,
And curiously made in the lowest parts of the earth.
As it is not
possible to make an image of God, the presence of God is shown by
light or by angels who are His messengers.
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