For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. Psalm 139: 13-16, NKJV.
Loving LORD, We thank You for reminding us how precious we are in Your sight. As we contemplate how delicately, and marvelously, we have been created, we give You thanks, and we magnify Your name! Please continue to speak to us through the study of Your Word. This is our prayer in Your name. Amen.
There has been a lot of discussion about when life really begins. Is it at conception? Is it at birth? And there are good arguments on both sides of the question. Today, I invite us all to take a look at these words of the psalmist, written “by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3: 16), with the vocabulary of a human being. I invite us to concentrate on the “message,” enclosed in these words, and allow the Holy Spirit of God, to speak to our hearts.
“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.” This sounds so poetic, so beautiful, so comforting! The thought of God “covering us” in our “mother’s womb” speaks eloquently of the fact that although so many things can go wrong during gestation – we could come to the very moment of birth, and die without seeing the light of day – nevertheless, so many of us survive! Praise God! It has to be the protective arms of a loving God that covers us and keeps us alive! I see allusions to this covering in the Old Testament, in Exodus 12: 13, “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” Emphasis provided. Even today, the blood of the Lamb still serves as a protective covering for His people, and in many situations, the entire world. Hallelujah! Also, Psalm 91: 1, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Emphasis provided. In the New Testament we find this gem, ” ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing’ ” (Matthew 23: 37, emphasis provided)! God’s covering provides us with protection! It just thrills my heart and soul, to know that even before, we were born, He was protecting us! Praise God!
“My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.” At no time in our existence are we hid from the all-seeing eye of God! The psalmist is here recognizing that before there was “a little boy named David,” God saw what would be. When, perhaps, not even his mother or father knew that a little boy had been conceived, God saw! For women who are pregnant at this time, and may be worrying about what is going on inside of you, remember that God sees! Go to him in prayer, ask His blessing upon the child in your womb. Claim His promise. Remind Him of these words of the psalmist. Say to Him, “LORD, David said that You did it for him. I am asking you to do it for my child!” Our God is able! And, He is willing! Hallelujah! Ask Him to “skillfully,” form your child in the depths of your womb! I see in the “earth” symbol, perhaps a subtle inference to the earth from which humankind was originally taken. Perhaps the womb of “mother earth” is referred to as, the “lowest parts of the earth.”
“And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.” I would shout for joy, except, my husband is sitting across from me, and I do not want to scare him! Can you imagine this! What a neonatologist, or a pediatrician will ever need to know about a newborn baby, they could find in God’s book! What forensic medicine takes days and weeks to find out about a corpse, is written in God’s book! Before David’s first day of life, God had written his entire life story in His book, “when as yet there were none of them[!]” It does not get better than this! Not only our life story, but your life, and mine, are in God’s hands! Hallelujah! There is no better place for us to be!