"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made"

"Fearfully and Wonderfully Made"

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

marvellous are thy works; and that

my soul knoweth right well."

(Psalm 139:14)

Barnes' Notes explains the translation of 'fearfully and wonderfully' in this way: "I am distinguished by fearful things, that is, by things in my creation which are suited to inspire awe."  Adam and Eve were created by God and He was pleased with His creation.  It was His desire that they live in the Garden of Eden in holy bliss all the days of their lives, but they sinned, and were cast out to work by the sweat of the brow and reproduce with pain.  But, even after being cast out of the Garden, they were still greatly loved, and the very heart of God; they were and would always be: "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made," and so are YOU.

"So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown."

(The Old Rugged Cross, George Bennard, 1913)

The hope for the descendants of Adam and Eve; that would be You and me, is that SIN didn't win.  The Lord Jesus Christ took care of the domino sin effect by His death on the cross, and His subsequent resurrection.  His blood shed for the "fearfully and wonderfully made" has granted us a fearfully and wonderfully beautiful eraser of sin forever; Jesus Christ paid it all on the cross.  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we cherish and cling to the cross, the rugged wooden sign of a "plus," which our Lord Jesus Christ used to give us the victory over death, hell, and the grave.

"The texture of the human body is the most complicated and curious that can be conceived. It is, indeed, wonderfully made; and it is withal so exquisitely nice and delicate, that the slightest accident may impair or destroy in a moment some of those parts essentially necessary to the continuance of life; therefore, we are fearfully made. And God has done so to show us our frailty, that we should walk with death, keeping life in view; and feel the necessity of depending on the all-wise and continual superintending care and providence of God." 

(Clarke's Commentary) 

Ah, "we should walk with death, keeping life in view;" beautiful, isn't it?  We have much for which to glorify God!  We are His creation, intricate in our design, holy in His image, beautiful in our uniqueness, precious in fleshly touch, and it is astounding that we are but dust  ...  Thank You, Lord Jesus. 

  

His Glory is His Diety, His omnipotence, and His position as God of all creation.  We were created to worship Him, serve Him, love Him, as He loves us.  The Book of Isaiah 48:11, "My glory I will not give to another."  God gives us temporal blessings, spiritual blessings, His grace, His love and heaven, but the Glory of who He is, His throne, He will not give to another.  He IS the Creator and every knee shall bow; every tongue will confess   ...  mark it down, it will happen  ...  that Jesus Christ is Lord!

You are the only one of YOU in the world even if you are a twin; there are certain creative origins that are only YOU, which no one else has.  God made You who you are for Him; you are an artwork of His majesty, a form of His splendor, a vessel of His unique and  special magnificence.  For this reason, none of us should ever put ourselves down; we are a bloom of ecstasy in God's garden of souls and He loves you and me with an everlasting love.

 

We are loved even when we're not pleasing to Him.  He is patient and longsuffering, full of compassion, and He understands our moods, our hurts, and even when we are angry at Him.  But, He forgives our transgressions, washes away our sins, and gathers us in His arms once again.  We've all been there  ...  places and times in life when we did not understand "why."  Some things will be explained when we get to the other side.  We march on, soldiers, and we trust and lean not to our own finite feeble understanding; we will understand it all by and by.

Jesus Christ loves you utterly and completely; you are always on His mind; your cares are His cares; His whisper is for peace in your life, His desire is that you prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.  You say, "Well, why doesn't He help me, and get me out of this mess I'm in?"  His answers are: Yes, No, and Wait.  The longer you serve Him, the more you will comprehend those answers.  

I can look back over 35 years of serving the Lord Jesus, and I understand many things.  I asked why I had to go through that, and He said, "I wanted to see if you could prefer your brother."  As my powerful Pastor of wisdom has taught us; we must determine in every trial whether it is "of God, of the devil, or of man."  In other words, if we spend too much, we will have debt, and that's our fault, or man's fault.  Some things are attacks of the enemy; some things are trials of God, and some things are just "life."  We live in a fallen world, and the rain falls on the just and the unjust.  He doesn't always remove the storm, but He will carry us through it.  Through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus  ... 

Look in your mirror today and smile; the reflection you see is beautiful, and that person has cause to praise and worship the One responsible for life, peace, love, joy, strength, beauty, and hope, because, beyond all the troubles; aside from all of life's dilemmas; we can see that above all, we are "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made."

(Visit promiselandchurch.net and theexperience238.com.

PromiseLand Church, Austin, Texas, Pastor Kenneth Phillips)