For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I’m fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
– Psalm 139:13–16
What an amazing chapter and passage that gives a glimpse into the process in which God forms you, me, and every single person in our mother’s womb in a way that leads to worship and praise.
Psalm 139:13–16 has long illustrated the origin of human life at conception.
The Psalmist David is saying, the way you form my inward parts, the way you knitted me together, this work of creation just evokes awe and amazement. And David said this not even knowing what we know now, how God takes a little egg and sperm and brings them together, and two weeks later, a human heart is beating, circulating its own blood.
Within a few more weeks, fingers are forming on hands. Brainwaves are detectable. After six and a half weeks, those inward parts are moving. Two weeks later, there are discernible fingerprints and sexuality, kidneys forming, functioning, then a gallbladder. By the 12th week, all the organs of a baby’s body are functional and the baby can cry. All of that within three months, the first trimester of a pregnancy, heart, organs, brain, sexuality, movement, reaction.
And God on high is doing all of it, which leads to just horror at the thought of how many babies whom God is forming are having their lives taken away from them through abortion in my country and in various other countries around the world. And there’s so much we could say here, but the Bible is absolutely clear that the womb contains a person formed in the image of God.
Psalm 139:13–16 shapes the Christian worldview about abortion.
This changes the whole discussion of abortion. As said before in numerous sermons, preached on this, if the unborn is not human, then justifications for abortion aren’t necessary. If it’s just this non-viable tissue mass, then okay, there’s no need for justification for abortion. But if the unborn is human, which is exactly what God’s Word is clearly saying, then justifications for abortion fall biblically inadequate.
We have a responsibility as people who believe Psalm 139 to work on behalf of babies being formed in the womb, the moms who are carrying them, and the dads who are part of this process. We have a responsibility to work for all of them so that all of them might live and thrive, can flourish, and, the way God has designed every single person according to Psalm 139, to flourish. So God, we pray right now on behalf of babies and wombs all around us, all around the world, God, we pray for your mercy on them.
God, we pray for your mercy on precious moms, every precious mom who is carrying a baby, and dads who by your design have been a part of that process. Lord, we pray for your mercy on all of them, and we pray that you’d help us to do justice and love mercy for all of them. God, we pray for laws and leaders who protect the most vulnerable in the world.
This verse encourages us to seek the well-being of children in the womb.
And God, we pray that you would help us as your church to not only work for laws and leaders along these lines but to give our lives, O God, in practical ways to work on behalf of children in the womb and their moms and dads. And once they’re out of the womb, O God, we pray that you’d help us as your church to care for children and their moms and their dads. God, help us to be your church in a world where so many babies are vulnerable and moms and dads are in need of care.
God, so many different directions we could continue praying even for your grace and your mercy and for your healing and redemption where abortions have happened. O God, we praise you as the Author of Life, as the Restorer of Life, as the Redeemer of Life, and we pray that you would help us to value life according to your Word, which leads us to worship God, we praise you for your forming work in the womb.
All glory be to your name as the Author of each of our lives, as the one who knows us and loves us and created us and knit us together for your glory, for others’ good, and for our joy and good. O God, please help us to live in light of Psalm 139:13–16. In Jesus name, we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
