You asked

how does this psalm's view of god's presence compare with the new testament idea of god dwelling in believers?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Psalm 139:7-10

“Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.”

This psalm is a deeply personal meditation, often attributed to David, reflecting on God's intimate knowledge and omnipresence. It explores the idea that no place, no thought, no moment is outside of God's awareness and reach.

What does this passage suggest about the nature of a relationship with a God who is always present, even when we feel lost or alone?

Then — the setting

Psalm 139 likely originated in ancient Israel, potentially during the monarchy (c. 10th-6th centuries BCE), expressing a profound personal piety common in some wisdom and liturgical traditions. It was composed for a community that understood God's presence to be particularly associated with the Temple in Jerusalem and specific sacred spaces. The psalm expands this idea, asserting God's presence beyond any physical location, in all creation and even in the human heart and mind, reflecting a more developed understanding of divine omnipresence.

Across the Testaments

The Old Testament, particularly psalms and prophetic texts like this one, speaks of God's Spirit (Ruach Elohim) as the active presence of God, involved in creation, empowering individuals, and guiding Israel. This presence is primarily external and cosmic. The New Testament affirms this omnipresence but introduces a unique dimension: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Pneuma Hagion) within individual believers and the community of the church. This shifts the locus of God's 'dwelling' from a physical temple or a general cosmic presence to an intimate, personal, and communal spiritual reality, making believers 'temples of the Holy Spirit' (1 Corinthians 6:19). While Psalm 139 emphasizes God's inescapable, all-encompassing presence, the New Testament deepens this by describing a particular, internal, and empowering presence.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Jeremiah 23:23-24
This prophetic passage also speaks of God's presence filling both heaven and earth.
Acts 17:27-28
Paul's sermon to the Athenians asserts that God is not far from any of us, for 'in him we live and move and have our being'.
Ephesians 2:22
This verse describes believers as being built together into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit.

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