Known Day 7 El Chuwl: Digging Deeper
July 18, 2023
Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!
Psalm 139:13-18
16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began. 17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is! 18 If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you.
The Original Intent
1) Why does the psalmist say God’s works, including the psalmist himself, are wondrous? (verse 14)
In Psalm 139:14, David praises God because he has been “remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.” David knew God as the Creator of everything, including people. (Genesis 1:27) He knew God declared His creation to be very good indeed. (Genesis 1:31)
As a shepherd (1 Samuel 17:34) and soldier who lived in caves (1 Samuel 24:3) and slept under the stars (1 Samuel 26:3), David observed the intricacies of nature. He noted with awe the incredible colors, patterns, diversity and abilities of all creation, and he marveled at God’s most complex creation of all, humans. Lori Stanley Roeleveld points out, “Our design—physical, biological, mechanical, functional, mental, emotional, and spiritual—reflects our God’s expansive intelligence, wisdom, and creativity. We are wondrous and awesome in every way, and that was God’s idea.”
David wasn’t a scientist, but he did observe God’s remarkable design in the birth of children (2 Samuel 12:24) and in their growth, and in the body’s ability to heal itself and endure trauma (Psalm 38:7). David’s observations caused him to praise God for His wondrous work in designing people.
David Guzik notes, “The workings of the human body are stunning in their design and execution. We know far more than David ever did about how we are made, and it should make us full of more awe and praise than David ever had.” When we hold a newborn baby, we are reminded of the mystery and the complexity of human life. When we witness an elite athlete run at incredible speeds or a mathematician solve complex equations, we marvel at the abilities of the human body.
Next time we glance in the mirror, we should remember that all of God’s works are wondrous, including us!
The Everyday Application
1) Why does the psalmist say God’s works, including the psalmist himself, are wondrous? (verse 14)
If asked, “Is God’s Word true?” (John 17:17), my emphatic answer is yes! But if you judge by my actions, the answer is less certain, especially when it comes to Psalm 139:14, “I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.” I marvel at God’s design of the human body; it is my own human body I find less than wondrous.
Sadly, many women believe lies from the enemy (John 8:44) that tell us we are hideous, not wondrous, and this becomes our mantra when we look in the mirror. Melissa D’Arabian suggests that the negative comments we direct at our bodies are “actually directed at God. He tells us we are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and then we respond by essentially saying, ‘Your handiwork is just not good enough for me.’”
Instead of doubting we are remarkably and wondrously made by God, we can use this truth to combat the lies we have believed. Jo Saxton emphasizes that we can use this verse to “acknowledge that your body, your personality, your talents, all of you is fearfully and wonderfully made. His words have the power to level and liberate you, a Spirit-filled sword (Ephesians 6:17) to cut through the most resistant of chains.”
When we focus on God as the Master Craftsman, it is easier for us to appreciate that we are His marvelous workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10) Tara Sun asserts, “When we stand in proper view of the reality of our Savior, we can stand in thankfulness and contentment for how we were created. Bumps, dimples, curves, saggy skin and all.”
Thank You, Lord, for hand-crafting each one of us into a unique masterpiece!
The Original Intent
2) What does the author mean by saying he was formed in the depths of the earth? (verse 15)
Discussing his wondrous creation by God, David states that his “bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth.” (Psalm 139:15) David isn’t suggesting he was made deep inside the earth, although he could be making a reference to the first man, Adam, who was created by God from the dust of the earth. (Genesis 2:7)
Harriet Connor suggests, “The first man was formed in the ‘womb’ of the earth, as God shaped and animated the dust of the ground.” The psalmist, according to David Guzik, uses “lowest parts of the earth to refer to any mysterious, unseen place.” Specifically, David is referencing the mystery of human gestation in utero.
Albert Barnes suggests David is describing a place “much beyond the power of human observation as though it had been done low down beneath the ground where no eye of man can penetrate.” The Scriptures refer to the mystery of human development in Ecclesiastes 11:5, “You don’t know…. how bones develop in the womb of a pregnant woman.” Jeremiah 1:5 also references God forming a person “in the womb”.
Harriet Connor notes, “Woman is like the earth in that she has the potential for gestating new life within her body.” David is awestruck contemplating the mystery of how God forms a life inside of a mother.
Although the secrets of gestational development are unknown to him, David is certain God is there, orchestrating everything.
The Everyday Application
2) What does the author mean by saying he was formed in the depths of the earth? (verse 15)
When I was pregnant 20 years ago, I marveled at how much we understood scientifically about pre-natal development. I showed everyone the ultrasound, which wasn’t available to my parents when I was born. The knowledge for Gen-Z parents is even greater; I recently read a study that linked fetal alcohol syndrome to excessive alcohol consumption by the father before conception.
For all our advancements, there is still a great deal of mystery surrounding what occurs in utero. In Psalm 139:15, David talks to God about the process as best he can describe: “My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth.” Alexander Maclaren explains, “The mysterious receptacle in which the unborn body takes shape and grows is delicately described as ‘secret’ and likened to the hidden region of the underworld, where are the dead. The point of comparison is the mystery enwrapping both.”
How amazing that God has been with me since even before I was born, in the mysterious darkness of the womb. God has “been my God from my mother’s womb” (Psalm 22:10), and He promises He will never leave me or abandon me (Deuteronomy 31:8). There is nowhere we can go that He will not be with us. (Psalm 139:7)
It encourages and comforts me to know that God is with me forever, from before birth to my last day on earth (Psalm 48:14) until I stand in His presence in Heaven. (John 11:25) No matter how dark the situation is, God is there with me, strengthening me and sustaining me with His love (Romans 8:38-39) and through His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:16).
I know I can trust in God, who has been with me since even before my first breath!
The Original Intent
3) Why does the psalmist say that God’s thoughts are precious to him? (verse 17)
In Psalm 139:17, David declares, “God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is!”. David marvels that the God of all Creation formed him in secret, knit him in his mother’s womb, and planned out all his days even before he was born (Psalm 139:16) The fact that God was mindful of him was mind-boggling and humbling to David. (Psalm 8:4)
Having the God of all things notice him and care for him was precious to the psalmist. David Guzik notes, “David was filled with amazement and adoration by considering how God knew and cared for him. It is precious that God should think of us at all; it is beyond precious that He would think well of us and think so often of us.”
David knew there was nothing spectacular about him that God should think about him, so he found God’s thoughts toward him precious. He was just a simple shepherd, a youngest son (1 Samuel 17:12-14) whom God chose to bless and prosper, and David was overwhelmed by the grace shown him.
Charles Spurgeon remarks, “That God should think upon him is the believer’s treasure and pleasure.”
The next time you feel unseen or forgotten, remember how precious it is that God is mindful of you and thinks a vast sum of thoughts about you!
The Everyday Application
3) Why does the psalmist say that God’s thoughts are precious to him? (verse 17)
Every year, churches around the globe observe clergy appreciation month in October. As the children’s pastor at my church, I enjoy the notes of encouragement from parishioners, the hand-made cards from students, and the letters of thanks from parents. I also look forward to the home-made goodies and the gift cards I receive.
One October Sunday, a couple placed an envelope in my hand and thanked me for my service to the Lord and our church family. I was astonished to find $200 inside! That was a lot of money, and I was flabbergasted that they (or anyone) would think to bless me with such generosity. Their children had long since grown up, and it surprised me that the children’s minister would even be on their radar.
David registers similar joy and surprise when he considers the thoughts of God toward him, and he declares that they are precious and vast in sum. (Psalm 139:17) To know that anyone thinks of you is special, but to know that The One whose thoughts are so high above your own (Isaiah 55:9) thinks much of you is precious indeed!
Ever since David was conceived, before he was even born, God had been with him, thinking of Him and making plans for him. (Jeremiah 29:11) What could be more precious than knowing the Creator of the universe has been thinking of you since before your birth and continues to think about you every day?
Like David, we can rejoice that no matter what we think about ourselves, our Omniscient God has good thoughts toward us.
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