Psalm 71:12

Psalm 71:12

Do not be far from me

Theology teaches us that God is immanent. In other words, He is an essential and integral part of all creation. His nature is all-encompassing. He is over all, through all and in all. Ephesians 4:6. God is also before all things, and He holds all things together. Colossians 1:17. 

We believe David wrote the words we are studying her in Psalm 71 and so it seems a strange request for him to ask, “Do not be far from me, my God.” The same writer says in Psalm 139:7-8, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” This is the God who whose eyes are everywhere, who sees a sparrow fall to the ground and who numbers the hairs on our heads, who is revealed in all that He has made. He is not an aloof God but One who is ever present and who may be found by all who diligently seek for Him. 

So why this cry of anguish from the lips of a man who knew better than most, the protective care and love of Almighty God? Is it because David was scared that he might be distancing Himself, that in the indolence of old age and ill health, the Lord God might not be the protector and guardian whom he had known on the battlefield or in his fugitive years? Is this not the heart cry of all who have known God’s immanence? “Please do not ever leave me. Please do not ever be far from me. When I cry out come quickly for I cannot live without Your presence and Your comfort.” This is a heart cry that says more about the state of mind of men than it does about the immanence of God!

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