Psalm 139:13,14
What an awesome truth David now presents to us! He had, as we already saw, made plain in Psalm 139 that we cannot hide ourselves, or even our inmost thoughts, from God Who is everywhere present. He hears every word we speak, is before us and behind us, is in heaven but also in hell, and sees very clearly in the deepest darkness we can imagine.
Now in verses 13, 14 he adds the truth that not only is God all around us but also in us! He writes, "For Thou hast possessed my reins; Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."
David confesses here that God was in his mother as he was being formed. And God was also in that body that was being formed, causing all the organs to come into being in the right place, with the right cell structure for the right capabilities. We were, indeed, fearfully and wonderfully wrought by God's hand!
What a truth is it then to commit to memory and to sing as we do in our versification of David's words! They are these (PRC Psalter):
All that I am I owe to Thee,
Thy wisdom, Lord, hath fashioned me
I give my Maker thankful praise,
Whose wondrous works my soul amaze.
God does not only know all things that man does, but He made man to be exactly what he is. This presents to us another awesome truth, namely, that we are in debt to God for all the powers and abilities we possess. We are wonderfully but also fearfully made. That means that we were made to live in the fear of reverence and awe before God. We are to be one hundred percent, and in every sense, His possession with an unavoidable calling to serve Him always with all that we have.
Surely there is no room for boasting on our part. Never for a fraction of a moment should we think that He owes us anything. As far as our salvation is concerned, we bring Him nothing; but it and its faith are God's gifts to us. As our versification stated it, we owe Him everlasting praise. He formed us to show forth His praise (Isaiah 43:21).
Read: Isaiah 43:1-21
Psalter versification: #383:1
Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #230
Why not sing along??
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Esther 8-9 ; Esther 10:1-3
I Corinthians 12:27-31 ; I Corinthians 13
Psalm 37:1-11
Proverbs 21:23-24
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Quote for Reflection:
" All (the disciples, MD) are within the sphere of Jesus’ attraction. But the bosom is reserved for, it is the throne of, the Johns. They feel the throbs of the Savior’s heart. They know Him as He knows the Father. Whose is the Gospel that leads to the Holy of Holies, that opens the door into the Lord’s innermost self? I imagine that none but he who lay on Jesus’ breast had the outline of the last discourse and the last prayer complete in its links, complete in its clothing, in His remembrance. The secret of the Lord was with him—“the disciple whom Jesus loved.” ~J.Lang
Additional Info
- Date: 20-August
Heys, John A.
Rev. John A. Heys was born on March 16, 1910 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was ordained and installed into the ministry at Hope, Walker, MI in 1941. He later served at Hull, Iowa beginning in 1955. In 1959 he accepted the call to serve the South Holland, IL Protestant Reformed Church. He received and accepted the call to Holland, Michigan Protestant Reformed Church in 1967. He retired from the active ministry in 1980. He entered into glory on February 16, 1998.