“Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:16)
The formation of every human being is the work of God no less so than the creation of Adam was. Though parents are the means by which physical life is propagated, the ordering, fashioning, and forming of the body belong to the Lord. David does not speak of himself as the product of blind process or mere natural necessity, but as one whose frame was known, ordered, and fashioned by God while yet hidden from human sight.[1]
This divine workmanship is marked by astonishing precision. Parents do not determine the sex, stature, proportion, beauty, strength, or internal composition of the child. They do not number the bones, arrange the muscles, trace the veins, or order the arteries. God does. The body comes together in such correspondence of parts that it bears witness to wisdom far beyond human contrivance. What appears to man as secret development is fully open before the eyes of the Creator.
The language of the psalm presents this formation as though the members had already been set down according to a divine pattern. Before the completed body appeared, its parts were known to God. Nothing emerged unexpectedly. Nothing escaped His observation. The hidden work within the womb unfolded beneath His perfect knowledge and according to His providential ordering.
Yet man is more than body, and the spirit also comes from God. The body returns to dust, but the spirit returns unto God who gave it. Here the divine agency is even more immediate. The soul does not originate through fleshly means. God is the Father of spirits. He forms the spirit within man and joins it to the body, animating what would otherwise remain lifeless matter.
This gives human life a dignity grounded in divine workmanship. Man is not self-originating and does not belong ultimately to himself. Both body and soul come from God. The Creator therefore possesses the highest right over the creature He has made. The one who gave life, fashioned the body, and formed the spirit has rightful claim to the use of both.
That is to say, man was made for the service and glory of God. All things are from Him, through Him, and to Him, but man occupies a peculiar place because he has been furnished with capacities to know, love, serve, and glorify his Creator.
All the works of God declare His praise, but rational creatures are able to articulate that praise. These abilities were given us that we may worship and adore our Creator. The body and soul are His workmanship, and both find their proper end when they are offered back to Him in obedient praise.
Contemplations:
- Seen Before I Could See. Before I could think, speak, choose, or act, I was already open before You. Nothing in my formation was hidden from Your sight. You knew what was unseen, watched what was formed, and ordered what could not yet be observed. Your knowledge surrounds the whole of my existence from its earliest hidden beginning.
- Fashioned with Deliberate Wisdom. Every part of my frame witnesses to Your wisdom. I did not arrange my own body, number my bones, order my members, or establish their function. My body is therefore not an accident to be taken for granted, but a work fashioned under Your eye. The more carefully I consider its order, the more reason I have to admire the wisdom of the One who formed it.
- The Giver of My Spirit. My life is more than the body You fashioned. You gave the spirit within me. As the Father of spirits, You are the One from whom my rational life proceeds. Thought, memory, understanding, affection, and will exist because You gave them. My inward life therefore belongs to You as truly as my outward frame.
- Made to Speak Your Praise. You formed me to be Your servant and gave me capacities suited to Your worship. I can observe Your works, understand something of Your goodness, remember Your mercies, and consciously bless Your name. Let my body and soul answer the purpose for which You gave them. And may the creature You fashioned become a voice of praise to the Creator who fashioned it.
Prayer (Adoration):
Creator and Father of spirits, I adore You as the One who knew me before I knew anything at all. While my substance was yet unformed, Your eye saw me. Before my members appeared, they were known to You. Nothing in my beginning was hidden from Your wisdom.
Your workmanship fills me with wonder. You ordered the parts of my body with a skill no human hand could imitate. You formed what others could not see and arranged what others could not direct. Every part of my frame bears witness to Your wisdom.
You also gave the spirit within me. My inward life is Your gift. The powers by which I think, remember, love, choose, and worship came from You. I am Yours in body and soul.
You have more right to me than any earthly parent or human authority, because You are the source of my being. Let that truth deepen my reverence and enlarge my worship.
You formed me for Yourself. Let the faculties You gave be returned to You in praise. Let my mind know You, my affections love You, my will submit to You, my lips bless You, and my whole life serve the purpose of Your glory.
Receive the worship of the creature You fashioned, and let everything You have made me capable of become an instrument for honoring the One who gave it.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Further Scripture References:
Ps. 56:8; Mal. 3:16; Rev. 21:7; Ps. 68:29
[1] Thomas Manton, One Hundred and Ninety Sermons on the Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm, (London: Printed for T.P. &c. and are to be sold by Michael Hide, bookseller in Exon, 1681), 495-496.
