Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

you to open it up. And this morning you can open it to Psalm chapter 139. Psalm chapter 139.

For the past couple Sundays we've been reflecting on the truth of how God is worthy of our praise and our worship. And we started this two Sundays ago out at the Schmitz. We had an outdoor service there and we looked at one of the songs that David wrote in which he talked about how God was worthy of praise and how they needed to get services going again long ago in Israel. From there last Sunday we looked through the eyes of John at what he saw in the heavenly throne room in his vision that the Lord gave him about how God is worthy of praise because he created all things. And I never intended for this to turn into a series but it looks like it might be. Today we're going to look very specifically at one of the things which God has made for which he is most worthy of our praise and our worship.

And we find it here in Psalm 139. Up until now in this Psalm David has been reflecting on this wonderful truth that the Lord sees and knows him in the deepest way possible. He knows what he does. He sees it all.

He knows what he thinks. What he's about to say even before he says it. He's been reflecting on how God is everywhere that he goes. And there's a sense of awe and wonder that David has had here but there's also a sense of comfort that he takes knowing that no matter where he goes or ends up the Lord will be there with him. And from here he kind of turns his attention to focus on something else. To wonder at something else. And that something else is this in verse 13 and 14 he says, 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.

So what was up until this point a bit of a song of reflection has now come into a song of praise. David gives God praise because of how God has created him. And there's three things that we notice that David says about how God has created him and by extension all of us. We notice in verse 13 that David speaks of how God, he says, you created my inmost being. You created who I am on the inside, beneath the surface of my physical body.

He says, continuing on in that verse, you knit me together in my mother's womb. He speaks of how God created his physical body as he was knit together in the womb of his mother. And from there he moves into praise.

And he expresses wonder and awe at what God has done in forming him, making him as the person that he is. And so we're going to look a little bit at each of these things today.

We last Sunday considered how God is amazing because of all the things which he has made. And so we want to look a little bit today, this is more of a reflective sermon or a meditation sermon on just how awesome God's work is in creating us, who we are inside, who we are outside.

And so we want to begin by looking at the second thing that David mentions, how God has knit us together in our mother's womb. He's talking here about our physical bodies. He goes on to talk about that a little bit later in this passage. God made us our physical bodies. We were created in the womb of our mother.

And last Sunday we talked about how God has created all kinds of creatures. All kinds of, I refer to them as living machines, which he has kind of sprinkled throughout this world.

Creatures that have all kinds of different parts and functional mechanisms and systems and ways of moving and working. And it's amazing. And it's amazing. Well, today we want to consider just how amazing he has made us in our physical bodies.

Let's think for a moment of one of the things which we have made, which we have designed and engineered. Most of us are familiar with the car.

It's got all kinds of systems and parts inside of it. It's got the fuel system. You put the fuel in and the fuel system helps the fuel get where it needs to go, the right amount at the right time, into the engine.

The engine is another system of moving parts, which takes that fuel in and harnesses the explosions of it into mechanical motion. And this creates friction and heat.

And so you've got the lubrication system. You've got the cooling system. All of these things are needed in order to create the motion of the vehicle.

From there you've got a whole bunch of other systems, because we've got to control that motion. We've got to harness it. We've got to make it smooth. So we've got the drive system with all its gears and shafts and things which move that motion out to the wheels.

And the steering system, which enables us to control where we're going. That's a pretty impressive machine. You can kind of get a pretty decent ride at almost any price point.

But it's nothing compared to the complexity, the engineering and the design that we see in our own human bodies. Just like a car, we too have a chassis of sorts.

We have a frame. We have bones. And our bones have some amazing properties. They maintain this perfect balance of being lightweight, relatively speaking.

I mean, compared to metal, somewhat flexible, and yet durable and strong. They give us our form, our structure. They give us some rigidity, so we're not just blobs, just kind of slooping around.

There are all kinds of different joints, which enable our body to move in all different kinds of motion. Let's appreciate some of that range of motion for a moment.

You know, everybody do this. Think about all the different ways that we can move. We've got all kinds of joints. We've got ball and socket joints.

We've got hinge joints. We've got saddle joints. We've got joints that I don't even understand or know how they work. It's too bad Arlen wasn't here. He would have loved this stuff.

It's an amazing system. And we typically think of our bones as being dead, and yet they're alive. They're growing. They grow.

What an amazing thing. Where did the hardness of our bones come from? It's not like metal, which we just kind of dig up in the ground and heat up and bend and put it into the thing.

Where did the hardness of the bones come from? It's an amazing system. Then we add to that another system, the muscular system, an incredibly complex system.

All of these muscles, these parts of our body, they have this elastic-like tissue which enables us to smoothly and fluidly control all kinds of motion.

And these muscles, they can be conditioned to lift heavier objects or to do different kinds of work or to go operate for a long period of time when we strengthen them.

It's amazing. All of these muscles, bones, are made up of countless living cells.

In fact, one estimate, it's kind of the agreed-upon estimate, is that there are over 30 trillion living cells in every human body. And so, how do we keep all this going?

How do we keep these cells doing their jobs? Well, they need fuel too, just like a car. They have to have some kind of input. So, where do we get that from?

Pizza. Pizza. Yes. We get it through our fuel system, the digestive system.

Maybe not our favorite system, and we think about some of its qualities, but what an amazing system. I mean, you think about a car for a moment.

It's engineered to run off of one kind of fuel, most of the time. Gasoline. And it can't just run off of any kind of gasoline. It's got to be a certain octane.

It's got to have the right balance. And so, to get that, where do we get that from? Well, we've got a place like this, a refinery, where we take the crude oil, and it's got to be refined.

And it's like a small village, where we've got all kinds of buildings, and pipes, and processes, and valves, and workers, and all to make crude oil into gasoline, so that we can put it into our cars, and fuel them.

But what's amazing to me, when we look at this system, the digestive system that God has given us, this thing is a refinery, and a fuel system, all built in one, all packed into this compact area, amidst all my other systems.

And it can take not just one thing, but all kinds of foods, all kinds of different organic materials, from all over the planet, break them down, take out the good stuff from them, the nutrients, the vitamins, the sugars, and separate that from the waste, dispose of the waste, and it's all packed into here.

It's one of the most amazing things. A chemical refinery, so efficient, it puts anything we've ever come up with, to shame. Well, how do we get all those nutrients, and vitamins, and sugars, and things that, good things we need, oxygen, to those 30 trillion cells, in our body?

This is where we need, the circulatory system. This, incredibly complex, network, it's like a hydraulic fluid, transportation system, which runs throughout our entire bodies.

You've got your arteries, which bring the things, to the various cells, and the veins, which take the thing, the carbon dioxide away. This picture, doesn't really do it justice, because off of all of those veins, and arteries, there are an estimated, 10 billion capillaries, tiny little branches, just bringing, bringing what's needed, to each of those little cell clusters, all throughout the body, and taking what's waste, away from those cells.

And all of this is, controlled, and, or it's, the movement of all this stuff, is driven by the heart, this muscle, which is able to, to circulate that stuff, that's needed by the body, throughout the whole thing, very quickly.

It's an amazing system. And we might wonder, well, how does all of this stuff, work, together? How can it be so coordinated, that we actually don't, that it actually works?

Like this is, this is not, a simple matter. God's given us, the nervous system. He's given us a brain, which is like our computer, core, which, oversees, and manages, and drives, all of it, so that the heart beats, at the right speed, so that, everything happens, all at the right time.

It's amazing. The brain's responsible, for language, interpretation, and, and processing the signals, we take in, through touch, and through sight, and through smell.

It automatically, controls, the beating of our heart, our breathing, all kinds of, involuntary processes, that are happening, in the body, in any given moment.

It's amazing. I was thinking about this, this morning, even just, our breathing. Like, here's a system, that at any time, we can just decide, oh, I'm going to take that over.

I'm going to start, controlling my breathing. And then, the next moment, oh, I'm just going to give back, control to autopilot, because I'm focused, on this task. And you don't even think, about inhaling, or exhaling.

The brain, is wired in such a way, that we are able, to do that, to make that switch, just seamlessly. These are the big systems, and that's not even all of them.

I mean, we could talk about, the hormone system, we could talk about, the reproductive system, all of these, fully integrated, with all these other systems. I mean, you think of hormones, I mean, what an amazing thing.

You need a little, boost, so that you can move quickly, we'll give you a little, shot of adrenaline, we'll inject it, so to speak, right into your bloodstream, and boom, you can move real fast, if you need to.

There's a whole, medicine cabinet, full of different hormones, that we can just, whenever they're needed, the body can just, inject them, so to speak, into the bloodstream, and we're ready to go.

And not only that, they can even, target specific parts, or cells in the body, with those hormones. It's amazing. Here's a system, within one of the systems, because all of these systems, have complex systems, within them.

This is in the circulatory system. We have this amazing ability, I mean, wouldn't it be awesome, if a car, when it broke down, could fix itself? We have this amazing ability, for our bodies to heal.

If a blood vessel is broken, if there's a nick, or a cut, blood can actually, form a barrier, at that place, and heal it up. This is amazing.

I mean, Capelli's, out at your greenhouse, you guys got all kinds of, waterworks going on out there. Pipes, and little tubes, going into every little plant, here and there. Wouldn't it be amazing, if those little tubes, whenever they sprung a leak, could just kind of fix themselves?

This is amazing. Here's a map, a schematic map, of all the different proteins, and their interactions, that are required, just to form a clot.

That successfully, creates the barrier, so that you don't bleed to death, but also keeps some of the chunks, from going back up, into the stream, and going into your brain, and causing a stroke.

It's mind blowing. And these kinds of little systems, of interactions, are all over, in every system of the body. We are walking miracles.

Masterpieces of engineering, and design. Let's consider for a moment, that these are just the big systems, and what we can see easily.

Beneath all of these, there's the world of the cell. And I talked a little bit, about this last Sunday. There's all kinds of things, happening in the cell, that are mind boggling. And I'm not going to try, to do them justice.

I'm going to show us, a video clip today, so that we can just, get a little glimpse, of what's going on, in the cell. It's amazing, to consider, even for a moment, that all of that, is happening all the time, in our bodies.

In just once, in each cell. It is the Lord, who has created, our bodies. You knit me together, in my mother's womb.

All of me, came from, one human cell. And inside that, was everything that was needed, to unpackage, and assemble me.

It's no wonder, that David says, I praise you, because I am fearfully, and wonderfully made. All of that, is just, our physical bodies.

David also reflects, on how God, has created, our non-physical parts. We see that, in verse 13, he says, for you created, my inmost being.

Literally, you created, my kidneys. In their culture, and in their day, that was kind of, the organ, that they pointed to, as the seed of the emotions. The place, where our character, lived, where our wisdom, came out of.

In our culture, we typically use, the words like, heart and mind. Who I am, deep down in my heart. David's not referring, to physical kidneys.

This is poetry. This is song. He's saying, you created who I am, deep down inside. In my inmost being. The physical part of us, our bodies, are amazing machines.

But we are not just machines. We are not just robots. There's a non-physical part, to us as well. We have intelligence. We have the ability, to make decisions.

To choose what to do, with this body, and with our parts. How to move. We have the ability, to communicate, with other people.

Have relationships. There's a whole, other aspect of this. And it's amazing, how all of this, is integrated, so deeply, with our physical bodies.

I mean, we could make the decision, to spend, an hour a day, practicing piano. And the body, changes as a result, of that decision.

Seldom used, alleys in our brain, are strengthened, into well-traveled highways, that enable us, to just flow, and do all of that, fine coordination, in our fingers, effortlessly.

We have the ability, to plan. We have the ability, to envision things, calculate, estimate, and then move, towards those things, and try to, bring those plans, into being.

All of this, is part of, who we are, in our inmost being. David says, you created that. Our character, our self-awareness, our conscience, is, as David, reflects on these, two realities, how God, created us, deep down on the inside, and on the outside, physically, non-physically, he comes to these words, he says, I praise you, because I am fearfully, and wonderfully made.

I love that word, fearful. It speaks, of awe. You know, when I see that stuff, going on in the cell, it's just, it's like the fingerprint, of God, is upon us.

The signature, of his design, is upon us. There are things, going on inside our bodies, that we, we couldn't even hope, to engineer, or build, or coordinate, in all of our best designs, and planning, and schematics.

It's evidence, it's evidence, that we have been made, by someone, that is vastly, superior, to us. God. It's something, that should, put a little bit, of fear, into us.

A little bit of awe. We are, full of wonders. I praise you, because I am, wonder, fully made. All of these, move David, to praise, to sing.

And God is worthy, of praise. He has made us, like this, such that, we, I mean, David didn't know, all of these things, about the cell. He didn't know, probably half of the stuff, that we know.

He might have cut, a few guys open, and seen some things, in there, but, isn't it amazing, that God, has made us, to live, and move, as we do.

He has made us, on the inside, and the out. He's added a whole, richness to our lives, and enjoyment, of this world, through our senses, smell, sight, touch.

We're able, to experience, relationship, with one another, intimacy, all kinds of things. All of these, point back, to the truth, that we've been looking at, these past couple weeks, that God, is worthy, of praise.

He deserves it. It's only fitting, that we, that we give it to him, that we sing to him, that we do it, day after day, and Sunday after Sunday, as a church, when we come together, like this.

and so I pray, that we will continue, to grow in the wonder, and awe, of what God has done, making us who we are, and making the world, that we live in.

Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you, for the good gift, of life, of breath, and all the enjoyment, that we get, out of the things, you have made, of relationship, with each other, family, children, and grandchildren, there's a sweetness, to those things, sometimes there's a hardness, and a bitterness, yes, a difficulty, but there's a beauty, to it, and a wonder, and we just thank you, that you've given us, the gift of life, we pray this, in Jesus name, amen.