Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Ver. 7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit?] Here he argueth God's omniscience from his omnipresence; and this the heathens also had heard of, as appeareth by their Iovis omnia plena; and - quascunque accesseris oras,
Sub Iove semper eris, &c.
Empedocles could say that God is a circle, whose centre is everywhere, whose circumference is nowhere. They could tell us that God is the soul of the world; and that as the soul is tota in tota, et tota in qualibet parte, so is he; that his eye is in every corner, &c.; to which purpose they so portrayed their goddess Minerva, that which way soever one cast his eye she always beheld him. But these divine notions they might have by tradition from the patriarchs; and whether they believed themselves in these and the like sayings is much to be doubted.
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?] Surely no whither; they that attempt it do but as the fish which swimmeth to the length of the line with a hook in the mouth.