****** psalms 139:13-16

(Psalm 139:13–16

Psalm 139:13–16 (NRSV)

13 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.

Each year we recognize the “Sanctity of Human Life Sunday” and in this study where we celebrate life. It is extremely important that as Christians we have a Biblical world view and that we maintain a Biblical world view in a secular, humanistic, pluralistic, and often atheistic society. In a world that has much disregard for human life we need to know what the Bible says about life.

People take life left and right! People murder others on the ground, in the sky, in their homes, and even in their mother’s wombs. Just recently a man threw his four children off a bridge in Mobile killing them! They ranged from 3 years old and down! People have no regard for life!

There are many life issues facing the world today! Euthanasia, Embryonic Stem Cell research, and the ongoing butchering of babies in Abortions clinics are all problems facing the world today! As Christians we are to be fighting for life! America has forgotten or flat out denied the sanctity of human life!

On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor killing over 3,000 U.S soldiers. America responded and went to war! On September 11, 2001 terrorists flew two jet-liners into the twin towers in New York City and another plane that was hi-jacked crashed in Pennsylvania killing over 3,000 Americans. America responded and went to war. It is sad but killings go on everyday where there seems to be no one that cares and no one responds.

Worldwide there are 55 million unborn children killed every year. Around the world, every day 150, 685 children are killed by abortion. Every hour there are 6,278 abortions. Every minute there are 105 abortions. These are the reported cases. In America there are 1,600,000 abortions every year. In America there are 4,383 abortions every day. That means there are 183 per hour and 3 abortions every minute. Since 1973 in America there have been over 48 million abortions. Abortion kills the unborn, divides families, and causes emotional and even physical health problems. Psychological effects from abortions range from depression to mental trauma to divorce and even suicide. The leading cause of death in America is abortion.

Further statistics:

◦ 52% of U.S women obtaining abortions are younger than 25. Women aged 20–24 obtain 33% of all abortions and teenagers obtain 19% of all abortions.

◦ Black women are more than 3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are 2 1/2 times as likely.

◦ 43% of women obtaining abortions identify themselves as Protestant, and 27% identify themselves as Catholic.

◦ 2/3 of all abortions are among never married women.

◦ Over 60% of abortions are among women who have had 1 or more children.

Statistics reveal 96% of the women that have had an abortion later say abortion is the taking of a human life. That is why we need to teach and preach the word of God and teach others what the Bible says about life! I found this poem entitled: “Ballad of the Unborn”

◾ My shining feet will never run on early morning lawn; my feet were crushed before they had a chance to greet the dawn.

◾ My fingers now will never stretch to touch the winning tape; my race was done before I learned the smallest steps to take.

◾ My growing height will never be recorded on the wall; my growth was stopped when I was still unseen, and very small.

◾ My lips and tongue will never taste the good fruits of the earth; for I myself was judged to be a fruit of little worth.

◾ My eyes will never scan the sky for my high-flying kite; for when still blind, destroyed were they in the black womb of night.

◾ I’ll never stand upon a hill, Spring’s winds in my hair; aborted winds of thought closed in on Motherhood’s despair.

◾ I’ll never walk the shores of life or know the tides of time; for I was coming but unloved, and that my only crime.

◾ Nameless am I, a grain of sand, one of the countless dead; but the deed that made me ashen grey floats on seas of red.

Richard Land of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention wrote, “Our country since its inception has based its beliefs about human life on a sanctity of life ethic. Our Declaration of Independence declares that “human beings are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights” and “that among these are Life …”

He goes on to say, “Christians must sound the clarion call against all attitudes and actions that assault the sacredness of human life. We must bear witness by deed as well as by word that human life is sacred. It is a precious, irreplaceable gift from God. We must oppose the barbaric, lethal combination of technical expertise and spiritual ignorance that would deny human life’s sacredness and that would abort and experiment on our pre-born, harvest fetal tissue, allow death into the nursery for our mentally and physically handicapped infants and encourage euthanasia in our hospitals and retirement homes. Let us, as brothers and sisters in Christ, covenant together to pray for the discernment and the diligence to do this and more.”

The Bible is clear about what it teaches about life! We need to believe what the Bible says about life and without reservation and without hesitation proclaim His word to this world. David declared the Person of creation. his praise for the Creator, and the plan for His creatures. Christian’s know where life comes from and are to make known Who is responsible for life! I want to challenge every born again Christian to believe in the sanctity of human life and to battle for the sanctity of human life. What is your view on life? What do you belief about abortion? What is your conviction about euthanasia? Where do you stand on the issue of life? This text reveals some facts about life!

The Bible clearly teaches that:

I. Life is provided by God: God is the Source of Life. (13–15)

A. The creation of life. (13–15)

In this Psalm David recognized the awesome power of God and complete knowledge of God toward each individual.

The Bible teaches us that God is the provider of life. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Richard Land said again “God is the giver and sustainer of life. Our world needs desperately to hear this truth. Human life, from conception to death and at all points in between, is under violent assault. Unborn babies, handicapped infants, the terminally ill, and the aged and infirm are merely the first to be victimized. The Bible tells us that all life deserves respect, but that human life demands reverence.” In this Psalm we learn that God is the provider of Life. He is the Source of life. In verse 13 we see:

1. The place that God uses. (13)

“You covered me in my mother’s womb.”

David declared the place that God used in creating him. God covered David in his mother’s womb. Covered: cakak, saw-kak’; or sakak, saw-kak’; to entwine as a screen; by implication to fence in, cover over, (figurative) protect, cover, defence, defend, hedge in, join together, set, shut up.

David declares the importance of the womb for God’s creation. God places the unborn in their mother’s womb. It is in the womb that the baby will grow, be nurtured, and develop up until the time of birth. The mother’s womb is a haven for the baby! That haven has been violated, and babies are being murdered through abortion.

Life is provided by God, and we have no right to tamper with life. The Lord Jesus is the giver of life! It is by the design of the Lord that babies come into the world! David understood that God is the Source of Life! We would do well to believe that and understand that fact. David speaks of the place that God uses. We also note:

2. The precision that God uses. (13a, 15)

“For You formed my inward parts.” “My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”

David gives a word about the precision of our Creator in making us. The Lord has formed us! Formed: (KJV: possessed) qanah, kaw-naw’; a primitive root; to erect, i.e. create. The Lord is the Source of life! He is the One that has put us together! Inward parts: (KJV: Reins) kilyah, kil-yaw’; a kidney (as an essential organ); figurative the mind (as the interior self) kidneys, reins. The Hebrews believed the kidneys to be the seat of the desires and longings. The inner parts of man describe the person as a whole! The real person and the essence of a person! God created us all!

David magnifies the precision of the Lord Jesus in creation! He formed us and shaped us and made us! Proverbs 20:12 says, “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD HAS MADE THEM BOTH.” In verse 15 David declares about the creation of life, “My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret,” The little babies in the mother’s womb may not be visible to us, but they are to God! The One who created us is watching over us! The unborn cannot be hidden from their Maker.

Frame: (KJV: Substance) ‘otsem, o’-tsem; power; hence body:-might, strong, substance. God has made our frame and created our bodies with great skill! No master designer can do what He has done! The Lord Jesus has formed us and created us and His power and precision is seen in the face of every baby boy and girl!

David declared that God has made us in secret. (15b)

God knew what He was doing, where He was doing it, and when He was doing it! God is the Source of life! Our life is provided by God and He created us in secret.

Artists, painters, authors will often labor alone in their studio, apartment, or office and not allow their work to be seen until it is complete. So it is with the Lord. He made us where no man could see us and with skill He completed us before He presented us to the world.

David declares that he was made in secret and that he was skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Skillfully wrought: (KJV: Curiously) raqam, raw-kam’; to variegate color, i.e. embroider; by implication to fabricate, embroiderer, needlework, curiously work. This word gives the picture of the precision of the Lord in creating men and women. We are created with wisdom, care, and precision. The Lord has embroidered with great skill those whom He has brought into being. Have you ever thought about the human body? The various parts, the billions of cells, the intricacy and ingenuity of the human body are astounding!

We live in a day that magnifies the creation of man. We have vehicles, jets, laptop computers, cell-phones, MP3 players! We have seen massive bridges across wide bodies of waters. We have seen tall buildings that reach the skies. We have satellites that transmit signals to our televisions where we can watch something live going on the other side of the world. We have seen space shuttles and space stations! We think of all that man has made and we forget what God has made! All of mankind’s creation combined cannot compare with God’s creation and the crown of God’s creation is man! David was caught up with the God who had created him. In verses 13 and 15 David reminds us that life is provided by God. God is the Source of life. In between verses 13 and 15 in discussing the creation of life David breaks out in praise in verse 14. We see in verse 14:

B. The celebration of life. (14)

1. The purpose of his praise. (14a)

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made,”

Because David understood the Source of life and that life is provided by God he was able to praise God. David was resolved to praise God. He said, “I will praise You.” There was no doubt about Who David would praise. To know the Lord is to praise the Lord! David’s praise was pointed! His praise was specific! Only One deserves our praise! We can and should celebrate life because we know the life giver! John 11:25–26 says, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

David tells us in verse 14 the purpose of his praise. He will praise the Lord because he is fearfully and wonderfully made. Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, “We cannot begin too soon to bless our Maker, who began so soon to bless us: even in the act of creation He created reasons for our praising His name.” Fearfully: yare’, yaw-ray’; to fear; moral to revere; causative to frighten:- affright, be (make) afraid. Richard Warner wrote, “So ‘fearfully’ are we made, that there is not an action or gesture of our bodies, which does not, apparently, endanger some muscle, vein, or sinew, the rupture of which would destroy either life or health.” Andrew Fuller said, “The human frame is so admirably constructed, so delicately combined, and so much in danger of being dissolved by innumerable causes, that the more we think of it the more we tremble, and wonder at our own continued existence.”

David was going to praise God because he was fearfully made. But we also learn that David would praise God because he was wonderfully made.

Wonderfully: palah, paw-law’; to distinguish (literal or figurative):- put a difference, show marvelous, separate, set apart, sever, make wonderfully.

→ “By God’s wise designing we are wonderfully made, every part essential and in perfect balance laid.”

This tells me that we are God’s set apart creation! When God created the animals and all the beasts of its kind and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind he saw that it was good. (Gen. 1:25) But when God created mankind He saw that it was very good! (Genesis 1:26–31) We are to praise Jesus because we are His greatest creation. We are fearfully and wonderfully made! In the celebration of life David declared the purpose of his praise. In the last part of verse 14 David declared:

2. The proclamation of his praise. (14b)

“Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.”

As David contemplated the great and marvelous works of God he celebrated the works of God. When we recognize that God is the Source of life we can celebrate and praise Him who has made us. The specific works that David has in mind here is the making of man by God. David thought about how God had made him and that lead David to praise the Lord! If the whole world had the attitude of David there would be no destruction of life, the killing of the unborn, assisted suicides, or the blatant disregard for living men and women. God’s works are marvelous and we need to recognize that fact! God has provided life and He has done a marvelous work in creating life!

David proclaimed that his soul knows very well! David knew the Lord personally and he rejoiced in the Lord passionately. David just didn’t know about the Lord, but he knew the Lord! David’s inner person, his soul, that which will live forever, knew the Giver of Life! The Lord is the Source of life. David teaches us about the creation of life and the celebration of life! We need to celebrate life! We are learning what the Bible says about life: We’ve learned first that life is provided by God: God is the Source of Life. Then in verse 16 we also learn:

II. Life is planned by God: God is Sovereign over life. (16)

A. He perceived the ways we would look. (16a)

“Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.”

In verse 16 David proclaims another fundamental doctrine about life. Life is not only provided by God, but life is planned by God. God is the Source of life and God is Sovereign over life. David magnifies the Sovereignty of the Lord Jesus in the fact that He saw us before we were. The Lord perceived the ways we would look.

The fact is that every baby in its mother’s womb from the point of conception is a living being that is created by God. God sees that baby even before it can be seen. The Lord knows all and the Lord sees all! The eyes of the Lord see the unborn at every stage. His eyes can see the far galaxies; His eyes can see to the depths of the oceans; His eyes can see the heights of skies; His eyes can see around the world; His eyes can see in every room of every home; His eyes can see every baby in every womb. There is nothing that gets by our Lord! David makes a wonderful proclamation about how life is planned by God.

God is the Creator of life, the Sustainer of life, and He has rule and authority over life.

Substance, being yet unformed: (KJV: substance, yet being unperfect) golem, go’-lem; a wrapped (and unformed mass, i.e. as the embryo) substance yet being imperfect. We can rejoice and praise God because we know that He saw us when we were unformed and He has not lost sight of us, nor will He ever lose sight of us. Matthew Henry wrote, “See what reason we have then to praise God for our creation, and to conclude that He who saw our substance when it was unfashioned sees it now that it is fashioned.”

God knew how we would look before we were even formed or created. The Lord Jesus knows the ways we would look! That tells me that He made us the way we look, and we should not be ashamed of the way we look. I am red headed with blue eyes because Jesus made me that way! Now granted we are living in a fallen world and sin-cursed world and because of that our bodies are decaying and wasting away. We grow older and we gain weight. Some people’s hair turns gray and others turn loose. Sometimes our teeth fall out, our bodies hurt with constant aches and pains. Throughout life our bodies change and our looks change, but one thing is for certain, the God who made us is the same God who knows what we look like throughout life.

Have you ever run into someone you hadn’t seen in years and say “you’ve changed so much I hardly recognized you.” That’s because people change; their looks change! Thank God we know that the Lord knows what we looked like in the past, what we look like now, and what we’ll look like in eternity!

He perceived the ways we would look! The world places so much attention on the way people look! Weight watchers commercials, designer clothes, the nicest vehicles, etc … The world’s perception is messed up and it makes many people feel like they are worthless. God knows how each of us looks and He loves us and we are worth a great deal to Him. As a matter of fact we are worth so much to Him that He sent His only begotten Son into the world to die on the cross for us so that we can be saved and live forever with Him. In verse 16 we are learning that life is planned by God! God is Sovereign over life. David declared that God perceived the ways we would look. We also learn in verse 16:

B. He planned the days we would live. (16b)

“And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”

Again David magnifies the Sovereignty of the Lord! He knew what we would be, where we would be, and when we would be. Derek Kidner, in his commentary on the Psalms, wrote, “the stanza so far has laid its main emphasis on our pre-natal fashioning by God—a powerful reminder of the value He sets on us, even as embryos, and of His planning our end from the beginning.”

Our days are planned out by the Lord! He knows how long each of us will live! We need to understand that life is not by chance or happenstance. When we have the Biblical perspective about life we can life a God honoring and Christ exalting life. Psalm 90:12 Moses proclaimed, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Our days are numbered and the Lord knows how many they are! We would do well everyday to realize that life is fragile and that we should live each day to glorify Jesus because we do not know when our last day we be.

David proclaims that all the days of our lives are written in God’s book.

Days: (KJV: continuance) yowm, yome; from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours). Fashioned: (NASB: ordained) yatsar, yaw-tsar’; (through the squeezing into shape); to mould into a form; especially as a potter; figurative to determine (i.e. form a resolution) earthen, fashion, form, frame, make (-r), potter, purpose. Can you see how God is the Source of life and that God is Sovereign over life!

God not only has planned out the length of our days, but He knows who we are and what we will be doing. Isaiah 49:1 says, “The LORD has called Me from the womb; from the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.” Jeremiah 1:5 the Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

There’s a poem written by an unknown author entitled, “Before He formed a Star” that says what David has said in this Psalm:

◾ Before He formed a star, our God arranged our lot; our little lives were planned afar, when we as yet were not.

◾ Time hath no aimless strands, God’s warp and woof combines; life’s loom is in His holy hands, His shuttles know their lines.

◾ He purposed all He sends, He knows what us awaits; He marketh now the distant ends of paths to hidden gates.

◾ All acts His eyes foresee and never choice constrain; so willeth He that we are free His grace to lose or gain.

◾ His love hath filled the past, an ocean without shore; our purchased souls Him first and last love, trust, obey, adore.

The Lord has planned the days that we would live. We can take comfort in life and know that God is Sovereign over life. We are to worship Him, work for Him, and witness to this world about God who has provided life for us and who has planned life for us. What do you believe about life? God’s word teaches us the truth about life! Do you have a Biblical view of life?

We need to take a stand and tell the truth in a world that kills the unborn! Abortion is not the unpardonable sin! Those who have had abortions can be saved and forgiven! Those who support and empower abortions can receive mercy and forgiveness only when they repent of their sin and trust in Jesus to save them and forgive them. The church has been asleep far too long on critical issues in this world! It’s time that we wake up and speak up and never be ashamed to tell the world that life is provided by God and that life is planned by God. God is the Source of life and God is Sovereign over life.

Do you need to pray for someone today that has a disregard for life? We need to pray for our nation that has fought for the right to kill the unborn! We need to pray for our leaders and those who support the ungodly destruction of life!

God is the giver of life and every person in the world has life because God has made them! But God not only has given us life, but He longs to give everyone eternal life! God sent Jesus, His only Son, into the world to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins so that we all can be saved! It is a tragedy to believe that God gave life and believe that God is the Source of life and yet reject God’s free gift of eternal life by trusting in Jesus Christ. This life is coming to an end one day! We are all going to die because of our sins and we need to be forgiven and given eternal life! Today do you know Jesus Christ the One who is the way, the truth, and the life?