“God’s Precious Care of Our Lives”

Psalm 139

John T. Mabray, Pastor

Rivermont Evangelical Presbyterian Church

Lynchburg, Virginia

January 23, 2005: Sanctity of Life Sunday

8:30 and 11:00 A.M.

THE PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

O LORD, You have searched us, and You know us. You therefore know our deepest needs. You know our inclinations to wander and stray from Your way of life and peace. You know our deepest hurts, our greatest fears, and our highest hopes. So, by Your Holy Spirit, search us, even now, and know our hearts; test us, and know our anxious thoughts. See if there be any offensive way in us, and lead us in the way everlasting, by the truth of Your word, for the glory of Your name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE READING OF PSALM 139

THE ASCRIPTION OF PRAISE

Now unto Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood – to Jesus Christ be all praise, honor, glory and dominion, now and forever. Amen.

          Psalm 139 is an intimate prayer, which I encourage each one of us to pray with regularity in quiet meditation. It is a psalm which calls us to meditate on God’s wonderful knowledge of us and His precious care for our lives. I encourage you to make it your own personal prayer, that through it you may come to a deeper reassurance of God’s precious care for your life.

          This reassurance of God’s precious care for our lives is the theme with which I want to frame this whole sermon; it is the lens through which I want us to look as we consider the issue of the sanctity of life on this “Sanctity of Life Sunday.”

          I also want to acknowledge that the abortion issue, as we all know, is very controversial, emotionally volatile, and perhaps even personally painful. In a congregation this size, with the number of visitors we often have, I realize that perhaps someone here today has been involved in an abortion: whether a woman who elected to have an abortion; a man who fathered the child; or parents who persuaded their daughter, or were heart-broken at her decision. If that is the case with you, I would simply want you to know that this sermon is not a personal attack on you. The fact is that there is no one in this sanctuary who needs Jesus Christ as Savior more than I. I cannot preach this sermon, or any sermon, without clinging to the cross of Christ myself. You are welcome here; the only real reason that any of us is here this morning is that Jesus Christ is in the business of healing wounds and restoring souls.

          Last Lord’s Day, as we considered the death-wave of the tsounami which hit southeast Asia in December, I emphasized the fact that we as Christians must respond with real compassion, while standing on the truth of Scripture and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today, on “Sanctity of Life Sunday,” the principle is very much the same. We might say that on January 22, 1973, the tectonic plates of Constitutional law – how it is interpreted and applied – shifted with the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade; and with the decision to legalize abortion, the Supreme Court propelled a tsounami death-wave which would wash over our nation. In the thirty-two years since, forty-five million abortions have taken place in the United States. The laws of the land do shape society and influence the behavior of its citizenry. But first of all, as with the tsounami in Asia, our first response to the on-going devastation wrought by the legalization of abortion must be tangible, material compassion which makes a life-supporting difference in the lives of women and their unborn children. Thank the Lord that Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center is ministering here in Lynchburg and is making a difference. Each of us, in some way, can make a difference if only we will hear the cry of need and respond to it.

 Since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, the pastoral leadership and the ruling elders have led this congregation in “pro-life” / “sanctity of life” convictions. Together with other Christians throughout history and throughout the world today, we affirm that humanity is uniquely created in the image of God and that every individual human still bears and reflects the image of God, even though that image of God is marred, defaced, broken by sin. We believe, therefore, human life is to be protected except in the cases of just punishment by a lawful civil magistrate or just warfare against hostile combatants, or when the physical life of the mother is endangered. This principle is summed up in the sixth commandment, which says, “You shall not murder,” (Exodus 20:13), and throughout the Scripture we hear the warnings and judgments against the shedding of “innocent blood” (Deuteronomy 19:10; Psalm 106:38; Proverbs 6:17; Isaiah 59:7; Jeremiah 7:6; Jeremiah 22:17).

We seek to hold these convictions with humility, and we must put these convictions into action with compassion. It doesn’t do anyone much good for us simply to believe the right thing in our heads, if we are not willing to do the right thing with our hands.

He has told you, O man, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

It is good for us as Christians in the United States to pray for and to work for and to vote for pro-life legislation in our nation. And may God have mercy upon this nation in the appointment of judges who honor His law and fear His name in the recognition that all the nations of the earth are accountable to the King of Creation. Yes, it is good for us as Christians in the United States to pray for and to work for and to vote for pro-life legislation in our nation. But it is not good enough; it is not good enough for those of us who claim the name of Him who gathers the lambs in His arms, and carries them in His bosom, and gently leads those who are with young (Isaiah 40:11); the One who said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).

Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God in human flesh and blood, has shown us God’s precious care for our lives. Jesus Christ has shown us, and proven, God’s love for sinners. Jesus Christ has shown us God’s compassion for the poor, God’s help for the helpless, God’s mercy for those who cry to Him. Jesus Christ has shown us the face of God, whose precious care for our lives is beautifully expressed in Psalm 139.

Verse 13 beautifully expresses the truth that God personally creates us and that life begins at conception.

…you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

This is the consistent teaching of Scripture. Psalm 119:73 says, “Your hands have made and fashioned me.” Job 31:15 refers to God as the one who “made me in the womb.” The LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5).

Of course, unbelievers do not readily accept the word of God as truth nor submit to it; but there is also the testimony of scientific knowledge. At the moment of fertilization, all the human chromosomes are present, and a unique human life begins. On the twenty-second day after conception, the child’s heart begins to beat with his or her own blood, which can be a different blood-type from the mother; at six weeks, brain waves are detectable; at 8 weeks after conception, every organ is in place, and the unique fingerprints are beginning to form; at week 12, the spinal cord and nervous system are developed to the point of being able to perceive pain; at 20 weeks, the baby recognizes his or her mother’s voice, and by 21-22 weeks, the baby is now usually viable for life outside the womb with neo-natal support. These are simple facts of human life, which cannot be ignored. And we need to educate ourselves, and our children, and our grandchildren, and our whole society about these facts of human life.

But the sanctity of life is not only about the “facts of life.” It is also about the preciousness of life. What women in crisis pregnancies and women who have suffered the trauma of abortion need is to be assured of what Psalm 139 teaches us: that God knows us intimately, cares for us deeply, and is present with us wherever we go and in whatever situations we find ourselves. Even when covered by the darkness of despair, even when covered, as it were, by the darkness of our own sins, or the darkness of evil in this fallen world, God sees us as in the light of day. Psalm 139 teaches us and reassures us that we are never alone in this world, that we can never really run outside the presence of God, even though we may try.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

          Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

          If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

          If I settle on the far side of the sea,

Even there your hand will guide me

          Your right hand will hold me fast (Psalm 139:7-10).

Psalm 139 teaches us that we are really never beyond the bounds of God’s care, if only we will turn to Him in faith. It reassures us that God does not forget us or forget about us, but rather His thoughts are directed toward us. And in a hurting world, to hurting people, we, the Body of Christ, are called to show the love and care of God as best we can so that others may come to know Him in the depths of their own souls.

Oh, to be sure – please do not misunderstand – to be sure, there is a spiritual warfare to be waged against evil. We must expose the evil for what it is and oppose it. There are ungodly and pagan forces in our land, in our governments, in our judicial system, in the media, in the entertainment industry, in some circles of education – indeed, worst of all, and it is a heartbreaking shame to say, even in some sectors of the visible church – which not only advocate the legality of abortion but propagate and defend the lie that it is acceptable to God. But brothers and sisters, if we get angry about that with righteous indignation, then our anger must first of all be transformed and expressed in compassion – compassion upon the women and children who are the victims of the dark powers and principalities, victims of the ungodly who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Romans 1:18).

Of course, we now know that the pro-life/sanctity of life concern is not limited to unborn children. Now the concerns have to do with the elderly and the severely disabled, and the threat of government-sanctioned euthanasia. Even more to the forefront these days is the debate about stem-cell research. The good news (which the major media largely ignore) is that there is now evidence indicating that adult stem-cell research will bring medical advances, eliminating the need to destroy embryonic human beings. At the risk of sounding redundant: a human embryo is the embryo of a human, a human in embryonic form. It’s how each of us got our start; each of us was once an embryo, but we just can’t remember it! We can’t remember it, but God can; He remembers it very well.

And so the psalmist affirms, and so can we, and so can everyone else:

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth --

(that is a poetic image of that secret place in the womb known only to God) --

your eyes saw my unformed body (Psalm 139:15-16a).

Now, you see, this is the revelation of God to us. The written word of God reveals His mind to us on this point. God says to us in Psalm 139 not only that He knit us together in our mother’s womb but also, even before that, He saw our unformed body.

Of course, the unbelieving world may reject that truth, but when it does, where does it leave us, where does it lead us? You see the over-arching question, in all of these issues, is: what will guide and guard our morality and ethics in these issues regarding human life? Shall we proceed, as a society, as if there can be no transcendent moral answers on such matters? Shall we proceed, in scientific research, as if there is no God? As if human life is not uniquely created in God’s image? As if there is no inherent dignity in human life? As though human life were ultimately of no more inherent value than that of a research rat? Is that the kind of over-arching mindset, the prevailing philosophy, the dominant worldview of society in which we want to live and raise our children and grandchildren? Is the human individual nothing more than the most magnificent research rat?

Now, it is right at this point – when we see what the Bible teaches about the precious value which God places on human life, and the precious care which God promises His people – that we can better understand verses 19-22. These verses suddenly burst forth with a cry of righteous anger against the wicked, almost to the point of sound contradictory to the rest of the psalm.

If only you would slay the wicked, O God!

away from me, you bloodthirsty men!

They speak of you with evil intent;

your adversaries misuse your name.

Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,

and abhor those who rise up against you?

I have nothing but hatred for them;

I count them my enemies (Psalm 139:19-22).

          I think that this segment comes at this point in the psalm precisely because the psalmist has been meditating deeply on the goodness of God, the preciousness of life, the joy of intimate fellowship with God, the wonders of God’s love and faithfulness, and so he realizes what is at stake when the wicked oppose God, when bloodthirsty men seek to do violence and to destroy life, men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. We know how this feels, don’t we? Righteous indignation cries out for the justice of God against evil. And there’s nothing wrong with that, and the psalm gives us permission to pray this way and to voice our cries for God’s justice in this world. But notice very carefully, however, that the psalmist places all judgment and all vengeance in the hands of the LORD.  There is, in these verses, not one shred of support for personal violence or personal vengeance against others.

Yes, the psalmist expresses a hatred for God’s enemies, in the sense of turning his back on all that is wicked and evil, in terms of having nothing to do with the agendas and plots of the bloodthirsty. But in like fashion, Jesus calls us to “hate ourselves” in the sense of hating our sinful, selfish inclinations, to have nothing to do with them, not to heed them, but rather to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and submit our wills to His Lordship. So, here in Psalm 139, in that sense, to hate our enemies means not to go along with, not to give heed to, not to give in to, not to be influenced by, not to be led astray by the wicked who hate God and who rise up against Him in rebellion. But it has nothing to do with being hateful in the sense of being mean, vindictive, malicious, and personally harmful toward others. These verses are really a cry for the fullness of God’s kingdom ultimately to come – that kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in which no wickedness shall dwell, in which no evil shall molest God’s people. So, when the psalmist cries out with righteous indignation in Psalm 139, he is crying for the coming of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth in all its fullness … all the fullness of life, which Christ died to give us.

Therefore, we, the Church, are called to proclaim and to show forth the kingdom of God, which Christ has come to bring, is bringing, and shall bring in all its glory. We are called by God to declare the good news to the world that there is a Creator who loves and cares for His creation, there is a God who created us in His own image, an eternal Being who has conferred dignity upon the human creature. And this God is not some impersonal power or force, but a God who is intimately involved in the details of our lives, a God who knows us better than we know ourselves, a God who knows our thoughts before a word is on our tongue, a God who numbers the very hairs of our head, a God who ordains all our days before there is one of them, indeed, a God who personally designed our own individual DNA, a God who knew us and named us before He formed us in the womb. And it is this God who declares that life is precious. He has created us with precious care, and He calls us into precious, intimate fellowship with Himself.

All of the promises of Psalm 139 are sealed to us in the blood of Christ, who for our sake and our salvation bore our sins in His own body on the tree. He, the all-glorious Son of God, in humility condescended to our lowliness, and was conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the virgin Mary. He, the eternally beloved of the Father, the uncreated Son of God without beginning, became an embryo, an unborn child, a baby, a man of human flesh and blood …who died, that we might have life eternal. And in His name, by His grace, under His mercy, and thankful for His precious care, we may pray:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).

Amen.