An insurmountable feeling of awe washes over the reader of Psalm 139. The seemingly simple words cause us to come face to face with the intimate relationship between God and man, Creator and creation. The deep connection enjoyed by the Maker and those He has designed, planned, molded, and brought to life, is uniquely special. To disregard this connection, to neglect this intimacy, and to fail to acknowledge our Creator should be unimaginable, though it is all too common. It was said by God in the beginning, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26); of all that He created on earth, there is no closer bond than God and man, for, by God’s love, He shared His own image and likeness with us. It is doubtful that we can comprehend the extent of what God meant by making us in His own image and likeness. The Hebrew word for image (tselem) is defined as “an outline or representation of an original as a shadow is the outline of the original” (Ancient Hebrew Lexicon). The Hebrew word for likeness (demuth) is defined as a resemblance, a model, shape, similitude (Strong’s Hebrew Definitions). The ancient Hebrew pictographs for this word depict a door with liquid; the door represents the idea of movement, while the liquid is a representation of either water or blood (depending on context), together they mean “the flowing of blood”. What does this pictograph have to do with being created in God’s likeness? The Hebrews portrayed likeness as “a son from the blood of his father resembles his father” (Ancient Hebrew Lexicon). This describes our relation to Him; His blood (His life) flowed from Him to us, therefore, a living being resembling Him was born. Psalm 139 takes us on the journey of God bringing new life from the earth as David recounts his own conception.

“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.” (Psalms 139:13-16).

    The reason why David discusses his birth is found in the first half of the psalm and is under the theme that is stated in the first verse: “O LORD, you have searched me and known me!” The psalm celebrates the extraordinary closeness of God, and His knowledge of us inside and out. There is no place too high or low that God is not there (v.8-9). No place too dark and secluded that God cannot clearly see (v.11-12). There is not a word we can utter that God does not already know that we will say it (v.4). God’s knowledge of us is just too wonderful, too high (v.6); we cannot even attain a knowledge of our own selves the way that God knows us. From these powerfully sobering thoughts, David is led to speak concerning the hidden darkness of the womb, and just how well God sees and knows us. In this passage, many are tempted to interpret it in a scientific way, referencing modern understanding of the conception of a child. While there is value in the astounding facts discovered by modern scientists, it was not the original intent of David to speak concerning the science of conception; the text holds its purpose in the spiritual side of conception: the things that God can see, not the things that scientists can see.

David begins by stating that it was God who “formed my inward parts”. The Hebrew for “formed” means to erect, to create. David’s idea of the “inward parts” is the Hebrew kilyah, which is the kidneys. Distinct from our perspective, the Hebrew people viewed the kidneys as the seat of emotions and vulnerable thoughts within the mind of man. Do you see what David is doing? He is furthering his point of how intimately God can work even under the cover of darkness; He doesn’t just erect bones and organs, but He creates our most vulnerable and delicate feelings and emotions while we’re in the womb.

 “You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” The KJV uses “covered” instead of “knitted”. The word refers to joining together, entwining, and to cover over. The emphasis is on the personal work of God’s hand joining every piece of a child together within the womb. Modern science ignores these truths, as do proponents of abortion.

 “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” This text is currently being abused by influencers on social media, where it has been turned upside down to praise oneself. They may say things like, “I am fearfully made, I am wonderfully made. This is what I am made of. Fearful. Strong. I am wonderful.” They have taken these words out of context to fuel their pride. However, David is praising God for the intricate design of man. David intends to consider the forming of man in the womb to be a means by which we would be in awe of God’s greatness, not our own. We are “fearfully” made by God, meaning, we have come into being under fearful circumstances; circumstances that should excite a shudder of astonishment, an overwhelming sense of awe, and would inspire reverence before such a glorious Creator. The next part, “wonderfully made” is another story. David’s use of “wonderfully” is not in application to the amazing design of the human body, but to who God is. It may be stated this way: You have shown Yourself wonderful by what You have made. The Hebrew word palah (wonderfully) means to be distinct, set apart, separated. David’s point is that, as he considers how God formed his body, he is made aware of just how distinguished God is from man. God is set apart from man, He is holy. A look at any part of God’s creation will reveal that the power, the intelligence, and the goodness of God are truly distinguished, it is much higher than man can attain or even comprehend. So, David said “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” not to give any glory to himself, but to praise God’s glory. He is struck with fear over how set apart God is in His greatness.

Psalm 139:15  “My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”

The word “frame” (NKJV, ESV) carries the Hebraic idea of abundance, strength, and power. To the Hebrews, strength was associated with the bones of the body. In fact, the bones are often used figuratively by the psalmist and other prophets concerning spiritual and mental strength (Psalm 6:2, 42:10, 51:8; Isaiah 58:11, 66:14). This is a bit different from our culture which measures strength by muscles and does not emphasize the bones. David associates strength and power with the bones/frame of his body. The power of every human body is given by God, each and every time. And this act of creating power is done in “secret”, meaning, in the darkness, under a covering (the womb). Notice the contrast in David’s statement: My power was not concealed from You, when I was made under-cover. This again, like the previous verses of the psalm, brings to the forefront the relationship and intimacy that God shares with what He makes. In the darkness of the womb, there is only a skillful maker and a child. Adding to this, David draws a metaphor, saying that he was “skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” First, skillfully wrought, is the Hebrew raqam, which is defined as needlework; to fashion an intricate design. The fine needlework of God is found in the embroidery of the human body. The body is so complicatedly crafted that it is still largely not understood by scientists and doctors today. God weaves together the threads of DNA, tissues, tendons, muscles, nerves, veins, arteries, and organs. To this, Albert Barnes said, “No work of tapestry can be compared with this; no art of man could ‘weave’ together such a variety of most tender and delicate fibers and tissues as those which go to make up the human frame, even if they were made ready to his hand: and who but God could ‘make’ them?” And all of this is done “in the lowest parts of the earth”, which is David’s illustration for the womb, a place of darkness and obscurity.

Psalm 139:16  “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.”

 The “unformed” substance which David refers to is the Hebrew word golem, which is an unformed mass. David is speaking of the embryo stage, the earliest stage of growth in the womb. It is in these first few weeks of conception that David says that his biography was written by God. What a shocking statement. David uses the word yom, which literally means “to be hot”, that is, the heat of the day; this is the Hebrew word denoting day, time, daily, continually, full, or whole. David pairs yom with yatsar, which is a colorful word that denotes a pressing or squeezing of something, such as what a potter does to his clay. Altogether, we have a wonderful and powerful scene of God pressing, squeezing, and molding every single day that will encompass David’s whole life. Here the omniscience of God is on full display, and it is a doctrine of scripture that becomes most personal for us when reading this text. It is easy to say that God knows all things, but it is overwhelming and baffling to apply this truth to our own lives. To mull over how God has written the full biography of our everyday lives from beginning to end, only adds to the statement that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made”. And why does God write a book about our days even before we face the first one of them? Because He is God. It cannot be that God does not know what will happen tomorrow. If we force God into the box of modern thought and bring Him down to almost our level, then these truths would be impossible to swallow. Anxiety for tomorrow is today’s popular sport. Anxiety thrives mainly on the unknown. But how can we be anxious for anything when all things are well known and fully exposed to the eyes of God? Tomorrow is a day that God has already molded and fashioned for each and every one of us. The moment we begin to trust Him, the sooner we can begin to cast our cares before Him and not fear the unknowns of tomorrow. We must give up our concerns for tomorrow to the one who has molded tomorrow. Truly nothing is hidden from His sight, not tomorrow, not the next decade, and not eternity. Similar to David’s statement, God said this 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.” (Jeremiah 1:5; see also Isaiah 22:11, 37:26).

Now, biographies are not normally written about the un-famous and lesser-known humans; the library only has books about the “important” people of history. Further, no biography on earth records every moment of one’s life, but only the stories of significance. How special then must each one of us be to God, that he would record in His book every moment of our lives, from life’s first cry to final breath. But it is important to recognize that, while God knows all things and therefore knows what decision we will make toward Him in our lives, this does not deny the fact that God has given us the free will to do His will. The decision is still our own. Will we follow Him? God already knows what decision we will make, but it is still up to us to make it.

Article by Tanner Campbell