Psalms 139:9

“[If] I take the wings of the morning, etc.] 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 wingsf1850; or as the rays of the rising sun, called wings for the swiftness of them, (<390402>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”f1851, as opposed to the morning light and rising sun, which appear in the east; and the sea is often in…”

“If I take the wings of the morning - literally, “I will take the wings of the morning.” That is, I will take this as a supposable case; I will imagine what would occur, should I be able to take to myself the wings of the morning, and endeavor to escape “by flight” from the presence of God, or go where he could not pursue me, or where he would not be. The “wings of the morning” evidently mean that by which the light of the morning “seems to fly” - the most rapid object known to us. It is not to be supposed that the psalmist had an idea of the exact velocity of light, but to him that was the most rapid object known; and his language is not the “less” striking because the laws of its flight…”

“The wings - If I should flee from east to west: for the sea being the western border of Canaan, is often put for the west in scripture. And wings are poetically ascribed to the morning here, as they are elsewhere to the sun, and to the winds. Psalms 139:16”

“139:9 ride the wings of the morning: This poetic expression describes traveling eastward, as far as the sunrise, if that were possible. • the farthest oceans: This expression takes the traveler in the opposite direction, far to the west.”

“If I take: Light has been proved, by many experiments, to travel at the astonishing rate of 194,188 miles in one second of time; and comes from the sun to the earth, a distance of 95,513,794 miles in 8 minutes and nearly 12 seconds! But, could I even fly upon the wings or rays of the morning light, which diffuses itself with such velocity over the globe from east to west, instead of being beyond Thy reach, or by this sudden transition be able to escape Thy notice, Thy arm could still at pleasure prevent or arrest my progress, and I should still be encircled with the immensity of Thy essence. The sentiment in this noble passage is remarkably striking and the description truly sublime. the…”