Psalm 139:13-16 / God Knows Me
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13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it 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 saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
We are going to focus on these verses today.
We are looking at what they tell us concerning the sanctity of life.
Bur before we look more deeply, lets get a context for this wonderful Psalm...
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
Searched – “personally” observed and examined me.
Like how you want to know every detail of your child.
Color of their eyes
Any birthmarks
Their sense of humor
Melissa and I are blessed with 5 children 4 grandchildren
Everyone is unique
I love them all, individually
Known – this is the theme of this beautiful psalm.
God you known me.
notice the past imperfect tense
that’s going to be very important
Highlight the personal relationship that God has with His creation.
Understood is the glory of God
Who am I that you, God, know me?
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
“You formed my inward parts...”
God: You formed, you knitted
Declares God’s personal involvement in MY creation.
Ps 139:13 points to our personhood.
When God created he set man above all His creation
God created man in HIS image.
There is a uniqueness about man
In USA, this is the foundation of our basic rights a human beings
Declaration of Independence
“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness….”
That value is also seen in our laws
“Why is it wrong to murder someone?”
“Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.
Every other living thing is food except man…man is special.
There will be punishment for killing another person.
This is not something we except to argue about.
But the abortion debate brings another question...
When does God acknowledge me as a person?
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
“in my mother’s womb”
A huge point in the abortion debate, “When is the child a person that deserves protection?
Christian response: The child is not simply a “fetus it’s a person and deserves protection.
This is where that position comes from.
It isn’t, “When my baby gets here.”, your baby is already here.
They just live in their mother’s womb.
-(author unknown)
What stage of development does the fetus become a person?
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
“my soul...”
We are more than a physical body.
You don’t have a soul
You are a soul
You have a body
-C.S. Lewis
verse 14 points to the relationship between the real us (our soul) and God...
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
“Unformed substance”
God saw us (knew us) BEFORE we had a physical body!!!
Doesn’t say, “You saw me before I was formed!!!!
That could mean in God’s foreknowledge he saw us.
Therefore: to answer the question...
“What stage of development does the fetus become a person?”
From the moment of conception every person has equal value.
What if you know there is a problem?
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
“The days that were formed for me”
God’s design was perfect but we live in a fallen world
This is a legitimate concern and should be taken seriously. (with grace)
They are not questioning value here; they are asking about the quality of life.
Two points:
Since the child is a person:
It’s not, “What life will the child have.”
As if their life hasn’t yet begun
Christian view is fundamentally different.
To kill a person because of a disability we know is wrong.
We call it murder, infanticide, eugenics …
How do we measure the quality of life?
Every person I personally known that has a child with a disability
I was/ am scared that I don’t know what I am doing.
(BUT) My child is a blessing.
“I never knew how much they would bless us.”
“He/She taught us how to love.”
“He/She taught me patience.”
“He/She taught me to really understand true value.”
Man’s understanding of personal value is flawed. So, if you want to understand the value of a person (born or unborn), you need to see them as God sees them.
22 “When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Does God care about the issue of abortion?
You better believe that He does!
I believe issue of abortion it settled but that doesn’t mean it easy.
Some Arguments from Pro-choice advocates.
Women have a moral right to decide what to do with their bodies
The right to abortion is vital for gender equality
The right to abortion is vital for individual women to achieve their full potential
Banning abortion puts women at risk by forcing them to use illegal abortionists
None of these arguments consider the value and right of the person(s) growing in the womb.
Some harder questions we MUST answer.
What if a fetus is not viable?
What if the mother was raped?
What if the mother’s life is in danger by the pregnancy?
These are not hypothetical questions.
How should we (the church) respond to the issue of abortion?
Speak light in darkness.
Love they neighbor.
Speak the truth in love.
Be pro-life not pro-birth.
We don’t act like we love them … We love them.
Strive to be a beacon of hope not hate.