“Fearfully and Wonderfully Made”
Sermon Series - A Favorite Psalm of Mine #2
Dr. Peter B. Barnes
June 29, 2014
(Ps. 139:1-18)
Introduction.
There was once a family which made a
regular practice of having devotions in their
home. On one particular night the father
talked to his two children about the story of
the creation of Adam in Genesis 2, and he told
them about the way in which Adam was
created from the dust of the earth and how
God breathed into his nostrils and he became
a living being.
One of the children asked their father, "Did
Adam really come from the dust of the earth?"
And the father said, "Yes he did, honey. The Bible also says, 'From dust you come, and to dust you
shall return,' and that happens when we die."
The little boy thought about that for awhile, and then he said, "Well, if that's true, I don't
know if he's coming or going, but I think there’s someone underneath my bed!"
Psalm 139 declares that you and I are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, and
because of this the Lord knows us intimately in every detail. You and I are not a cosmic
accident. God made us for a purpose, and it’s only when we come to realize this marvelous
truth that our lives can take on the true meaning for which they were intended.
As we consider this psalm today, there are two matters I want you to notice in
particular from this passage of Scripture: we are fearfully and wonderfully made; and we
are known and accepted by God. That may seem pretty obvious to you, but there is more
here than meets the eye. Let’s take a closer look.
I. We Are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.
For You created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be
(139:13-16).
Do you think of yourself as a masterpiece? Most people don’t. Everyone I’ve ever met
has something they don’t like about themselves - how they look, how tall or short they are,
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the shape of their nose, or maybe the six-inch part some of us have on the top of our heads
like I do! But the Bible says that every one of us here today is a masterpiece of God.
In medieval times a craftsman would work for months on a special piece that displayed
his finest artistic skill. Finally, when the work was finished, he would present it to the
craftsmen’s guild of his village in hopes of achieving the rank of master craftsman. In this
way the work he created was called his masterpiece. That’s where the word comes from.
In a similar way, the Bible says that you and I are God’s masterpiece – we are the
crowning act of His creation. In the book of Genesis we’re given an account of God’s
creating the world, and several times in the record we’re told that God looked at His
handiwork along the way and said, “It is good.”
But creation still lacked something, so God
created Adam and Eve and imprinted on them His
unique likeness, His image. Then He looked at
creation and said, “It is very good.” Among all the
creatures of the world, only humans are made in
the image of God, and because of this we are forever
linked in our essence to the Lord. We are His
masterpiece.
David, the king of Israel who wrote this psalm,
understood himself to be a person who was made
by God. His constant use of the first person singular
“me” indicates that he understood God was dealing
with him in a very personal way. God’s eye is on us
even when we’re in the womb, and He superintends
our development from the moment of our
conception onward. With the womb as God’s
studio, the Master Craftsman creates His work of art as He fashions each human being.
A couple of weeks ago I went by the
hospital to see the newest member of
the First Pres family – little “Millie
“Team who was born to Coleman and
Sarah on June 12th. What a picture of
beauty she is! As I held this little girl in
my arms, I couldn’t help but think back
to the birth of my own three children
and the miracle each one was to Lorie
and me. I thought of their prenatal
development and the pictures I’d seen
of little ones as they develop en utero.
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• On the 10th day after fertilization, the
embryo stops the mother's menstrual cycle.
• On the 24th day the heart begins to beat
through a closed circulatory system.
• At 4 weeks arm buds appear, and the
embryo is distinctly curled. Eyes begin to
form.
• At 6 weeks it is less than ½ an inch
long, but brain waves can be recorded.
There are the first movements, and the spine
is clearly visible.
• At 7 weeks they have clearly defined
fingers, he moves his hands. The unborn
female has 600,000 germ ova in her developing body.
• At 8 weeks the unborn child becomes a fetus (which is Latin for "young one"). This is
when the little one has an unmistakably human appearance. They are very animated,
sometimes doing flips in the womb. All systems are laid down: skeletal, digestive,
circulatory and respiratory.
• (SLIDE9) At 9 weeks the fetus has fingerprints that
will
remain the same until their death. She sucks her
thumb,
and she can swallow.
• At 12 weeks she turns her head, frowns, makes a fist,
curls her toes. Fingernails begin to appear. She has
waking and sleeping periods, and she can hear.
• At 14 weeks she just gets larger, fatter and cuter
until the time she is born.1
You and I are fearfully and wonderfully made. God created us and knit us together in
our mother’s wombs. He was there from the beginning, and He has a special plan for each
one of us. From the moment of my conception to the day when I draw my last breath, all
the days of my life have been ordained by God. That’s what the psalmist says.
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Earlier I stated that we are made in the image of God. Part of this masterpiece of God’s
creation isn’t just the physical side of things. There’s a spiritual, metaphysical side of
creation that is just as remarkable. But what does it really mean that we are made in the
image of God? Does it mean that God looks like us, that He has two eyes, a nose, and a
mouth?
The word “image” is a familiar one today, but the meaning of the word has changed so
that now it tends to mean virtually the opposite of its original meaning of “likeness.” For
example, politicians hire an image-maker, a job applicant dresses for a successful image, or
a corporation seeks to develop the right image. In all these usages, image has come to
mean the illusion of what something is presented to be, rather than the essence of what it
really is.
However, there are still some ways in
which we use the word image in its
original sense. For example,
photographers use the word “image” to
describe their finished product. The
picture isn’t the original; it is only a
likeness. Or think of a little baby who
looks just like his daddy. We say, “He is
the spitting image of his father.” A
resemblance exists which cannot be
denied.
It is in this way we use the word
image when we speak of humanity being
made in the image of God. However, it isn’t that we look like God. Rather, we reflect
something of who God is. We bear His likeness. Our capacity for relationships, our ability
to communicate and create, and our potential as free moral beings with the ability to
choose – all these things are what it means to be made in the image of God. You and I alone
in all creation possess these capacities, and they’ve been given to us by God as the
masterpiece of His creation.
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When I read this psalm, I suddenly get a sense of the significance of my life, and I’m
blown away at the intimate interest God has in who I am and how I was made down to the
last detail of even my fingerprint. If you’ve ever wondered about your significance in this
world or ours, if you ever feel like you’re just a number and you don’t really matter, read
this psalm and remember this truth – you are fearfully and wonderfully made by God! And,
as someone once said, God don’t make no junk!
II. We are Known and Accepted by God.
How well do you know God? Better yet, how well do you know yourself? John Calvin,
who was the father of Presbyterianism, wrote in his book the Institutes of the Christian
Religion, “True and substantial wisdom principally consists of two parts, the knowledge of
God, and the knowledge of ourselves.” To know God, you must know yourself. But to know
yourself, you need to know God.
Psalm 139 tells us a lot about God, but it also tells us a lot about ourselves as well. It
says that God knows everything; there isn’t a single thing that is hidden from His eyes. It
says that God is everywhere, and there isn’t a place on this planet you and I can go to
escape His presence. It says God is thoroughly acquainted with all our ways. He knows
when you are sleeping, He knows when you’re awake, He knows when you’ve been bad or
good…. Oh yeah, that’s somebody else! But the same thing is true about God!
The amazing truth in all this is that God knows everything about us, yet He still accepts
us – warts and all. Our tendency is to run from God. We want to hide and cover up when
we do something wrong, and we’re afraid for people to know who we really are. Or we
think no one is watching, no one will notice, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Do you remember the story in
Genesis 3? After Adam and Eve ate
of the fruit of the tree of knowledge
of good and evil, what did they do?
They covered up, and they hid. God
came walking in the cool of the day,
as He always did, but Adam and Eve
were trying to hide from Him. The
Lord called out, “Adam, where are
you?” (as if God didn’t know!).
Adam said, “I hid myself because
of was naked.”
God asked, “Who told you were
naked? Did you eat of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil about which I commanded you?” (Again, as if God didn’t
know!)
Adam said, “The woman (whom You created, by the way) did give me the fruit and I did
eat.”
Eve said, “The serpent (whom You also created) deceived me, and I did eat.”
Then the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on!
Our tendency is to run and hide whenever things go wrong, to cover up and blame
someone else. But you and I can run as fast and far as our little legs will take us, and we’ll
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never be able to escape the presence of God. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “We may ignore, but we
cannot evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him.”2
Maxie Dunham tells a story about a Catholic nun. She had been raised in a very strict
home, and somewhere along the way she developed a fear of God. Her parents warned her
that God was always watching her. Instead of being comforted by this truth, she was
always intimidated by it and she feared God’s disapproval.
One day she was talking with another nun, and the first nun told her the story of how
she was often frightened by the reality that God was always watching her. The second nun
shared with the first nun a liberating thought. She said, “O, my sister, you’ve got it wrong.
God does see you all the time, but do you know why? It’s because He just cannot take His
eyes off you! He loves you so much.”
The good news of the Gospel is that God knows everything there is to know about us
and all the things we’ve ever done – good or bad, and He still loves us. He just can’t take His
eyes off you and me!
In our world today, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle, and there are times when we don’t
feel like we matter much to anyone. But the truth of this psalm is that God is always
watching over us, and He wants the best for you and me.
God won’t let you get lost in a hospital ICU. You can’t get lost in hospice care. You can’t
get lost in the shadows of life when darkness stalks you and you’re not sure which way to
go. You won’t be lost to God when you go to the far country and squander your inheritance
there like the prodigal son did.
You won’t be lost in grief when all you can do is cry, and the hole in your heart simply
won’t heal. And you won’t be lost to God when you go through a divorce, and you feel
rejected and like a failure.
There is nowhere we can run and nowhere we can hide and nowhere we can fall that is
outside of God’s amazing love which is always present and always available!
Writer Kathleen Norris was raised in the faith, but she wandered away from it for many
years. She searched and dabbled in a variety of things for a long time, but eventually she
returned to her family’s farm in Lemmon, South Dakota and went to church. She writes, “I
came to understand that God hadn’t lost me, even if I seemed to have misplaced [Him].”3
How do you try to hide your true self from God? When do you hide your true self from
others? In what ways do you hide even from yourself? How is God calling you to return to
Him and to allow Him to throw His loving arms around you? What’s keeping you from that
warm embrace of acceptance? God just can’t take His eyes off you. He loves you that much.
Conclusion.
God made us and He loves us, and because of that fact He knows us better than anyone
else. He has a special place in His heart for every person here. He loved us so much that He
sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins and bear the punishment we
deserve, so He has our best interest at heart. Look to Jesus and trust Him as you make your
way through this coming week.
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I close with this. A young
boy once built a small sailboat.
He spent many weeks carefully
carving the hull, tying the
rigging, sewing the sails, and
painting the whole thing.
When it was complete, this
sailboat was the best sailboat
the little boy had ever seen. It
was beautiful, and it was his.
Every day after school, he
would take the sailboat down
to the creek near his home and
sail it until the sun went down.
One day however, after it had
rained a great deal, the current
was much stronger in the
creek than usual, and the boy
wasn’t able keep up with his
sailboat, and it got lost.
Every day after school, he
would walk down to the creek
hoping to find his lost sailboat.
But all to no avail. After a few
weeks, the boy walked further
than he had ever gone before, and around a bend in the creek he came to a swimming hole
which had a small sailboat in the center of it. It was scratched and the sail was a little torn,
but it was his sailboat because it has all his familiar markings. He was so happy to have
found his lost sailboat at last.
Just as he was about to reach for the boat, another boy appeared and shouted "Hey, get
away from that. It's mine!"
"But it isn't yours,” the boy said. “I made it. It belongs to me!"
"I found it, so it's mine!" said the second boy.
"Let me buy it back, then?" pleaded the maker of the boat.
"How much do you have?" the boy asked.
And the little boy said, "If you promise to come back here tomorrow, I'll show you."
With that the young boy ran home as fast as he could. He gathered all of his toys, his
comic books, and marbles, his soccer ball, even his most prized pocket knife, and he
bundled them all together into a backpack.
The next afternoon, the young boy took his backpack of treasures and ran to the
swimming hole. There waiting was the other boy with the sailboat in his hand. The young
boy put his backpack on the ground and opened it, allowing the other boy to see everything
that was inside. The other boy’s eyes lit up for a moment, and then a very serious look came
over his face.
"How much of that can I have for the sailboat?" he asked.
"I will give you everything I have," was the young boy's reply.
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And the deal was done. The boy took his little boat and headed for home. And he was
heard to say as he held the boat tightly in his arms, “Little boat, I love you even more now
than ever. You are twice mine - once because I made you, and now because I have paid for
you!"
) God made us in fearful and wonderful ways, and Jesus paid for our sins on the cross of
Calvary. We have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. So we are twice His!
He made us, and He paid for us. May the Lord bless us each one as we cling to the truths of
this psalm and remember that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and the Lord died to
ransom our souls for heaven. Amen.
1
Fetal development information taken from: Nova film series; Dr. and Mrs. J.C. Willke, Abortion: Questions and
Answers; Lennart Nilsson, A Child Is Born; Life Magazine article, "Life Before Birth"; and Bernard Nathanson,
Aborting America.
2
C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcomb Chiefly on Prayer, p. 75.
3
Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace, p. 104.