Journeys of a Former Firebrand

13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.” (Psalm 139:13–16, NASB)

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Understanding life from God’s perspective is so important. As I wrote my last blog post, I felt Psalm 139:13-16 deserved a special look because those verses give us a deep peek into the mind of God regarding life in the womb. Although the main idea of the psalm is to describe how great our God is, there are certainly “mini lessons” like this scattered throughout it as well.

I’d like to tackle one very important one. Life. We find it right here in Psalm 139:13-16.

Our society has devalued life in the womb. The question is whether or not the church should follow suit. Too many are. Is that okay?

The answer is a resounding no. It isn’t okay for the church or anyone else to see life in the womb as anything (or anyone) less than human. How can we say this with certainty?

The answer is simple. God says that life in the womb is fully developed human life, sacred in every way that other stages of life are. There simply is no other answer. An unborn human is fully human.

According to God, human life begins at conception, and that’s where Psalm 139 comes in. It gives us God’s view of the value of life in the womb. It gives us a standard by which we can judge our own feelings and actions regarding the pro-life/abortion debate.

This brings us to all kinds of ethical and moral considerations. I don’t want to get into those in this piece. What I’d like to consider is God’s view on life in the womb so that all Christians, any Christian, can understand that God values life no matter what stage.

As we approach this, let’s consider a few tidbits of truth we find in Psalm 139:

God begins His caring act of life in the womb.

13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

We are taught that life begins because a man and a woman come together in sexual union resulting in a child. This concept of sexual reproduction certainly rings true from a biological standpoint. But there is a greater truth in this.

God Himself begins the process of life.

He not only begins the process but also personally oversees the process. David understood that his God “formed” his “inward parts” as well as everything else. God performed His great handiwork when He “wove” us together in our “mother’s womb.”

No one else has this much say in how we developed or who we become. God oversaw the project and continues that work to this day.

This alone should give us pause regarding life in the womb. If God is this active in the life of the unborn, we certainly should take note and follow God’s example.

Even in the womb, God views us as wonderful creations of His making.

14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 

David knew the intricacies of the human body. Our bodies are more than just containers for our souls as so many other religions teach. Our bodies belong to us for eternity because God gave them to us.

Because of this, we can see why David was so enthralled with a body made by God “fearfully and wonderfully.” All God’s works are great, but when He made human beings, He created His great masterpiece.

What a gift from God our human bodies are! To think that some feel that what God views as “wonderful” is so easily dismissed and discarded. If they had to stand before the Creator of the universe and testify on this matter, how many would agree with David that “my soul knows it very well?”

The short version is this: we as believers can in no way support the slaughter of unborn children because God describes them as “wonderful” creations of His divine power. We should see them that way as well.

In the womb, God sees us and cares for us just like other human beings.

15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.

We’ve already noted that God oversees the whole process from conception to birth. However, we need to look at this more closely since God sees everything that is going on inside the womb.

To this, the psalmist says that his not yet fully formed body “was not hidden” from God. God saw Him as a human being. God cared for Him as a human being.

God did the same for each one of us. Every child “made in secret” and “skillfully wrought in the depths” is one God directly cares for in the same way He does with every other human being. We own souls that God gave us, and those souls are given before we are born. While God is working out the details of our bodies, we are in no way “hidden from” Him.

This kind of statement about God’s care for the unborn in no way allows anyone who follows Christ to even entertain the idea that what lives in the womb is truly fully formed life. Children in the womb are precious souls.

From the womb, God has our life all figured out.

16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

Because God sees our “unformed substance,” David gives us one of the most powerful arguments for life. He explains that “the days that were ordained” for him “were all written” beforehand. In other words, God already had David’s life planned out.

Now imagine that! God has our lives figured out before we even live them. While we still swim in the amniotic fluid of the womb, God knows when our birth and death will be.

To put it another way, God knows our expiration date because He planned our life!

Abortion is simply human beings putting their own expiration date on those who God has “written the days that were ordained” for them. What a tragedy that human beings would stand as judge, jury and executioner for those whom God sees their “unformed substance.”

Those who follow Jesus Christ certainly cannot take a view any different than their Lord’s. With that consideration in mind, all Christians must support life.

So what?

According to God, children in the womb are fully human. They deserve the protection of other human beings. And we as believers certainly must protect precious souls committed to our care.

But what can we do?

First, we should pray with great earnestness for the protection of the unborn. We must beg God to change the heart of the medical community. We should pray that so-called doctors who perform procedures that harm helpless life will change their minds and support life. Only God can do this with real meaning.

Also, we must strive to protect the unborn ourselves. One way we can do that is to support groups that protect the unborn. Volunteer at a pro-life clinic. Give money to projects that strive to protect helpless life in the womb. Attend rallies and support pro-life legislation that seeks a better view, God’s view, of life.

However, there’s one method we forget about that has worked for centuries. There’s one way God tells us He can change a whole society.

Preach the word.

Share the gospel with friends and relatives. Live out your life as an example of Christ. Show them in a real way that God desires the preservation of life rather than the needless slaughter of helpless children.

God can truly change the most stubborn heart through His gospel. He must change hearts if we are to gain ground in this battle. May God bring about a spiritual revival in this nation that embraces the idea that life truly begins in the womb and ends with God.