Since the death of Comedian George Carlin who died of a heart attack at age 71 recently, several commentators have mentioned his impact. "Carlin’s worldview took a toll on him, as drug-use reportedly started the heart-problems that eventually killed him. Five years before his death, the "funny-man" voiced a very dark view: "I sort of gave up on this whole human adventure a long time ago," he said a couple of years ago. "Divorced myself from it emotionally. I think the human race has squandered its gift, and I think this country has squandered its promise”.
Commenting on the impact of this worldview one commentator said: "Here you see a man who is confronted with the disaster which autonomy has brought on our race. Carlin sees some of the bitter fruits of man’s rebellion against God. He longs for redemption. He sees that it will not arise from within us. Yet, like the classic definition of insanity, he has no prescription but more of the same”.
He was raised Roman Catholic, and probably thought (alas, wrongly) that this exposed him to Christianity, to Christ, to the Gospel. Thus he often expressed contempt for religion. Rejecting the fake, like so many he was inoculated against the real item. He misunderstood the nature of God and would often retell of his upbringing and the jokes that he responded with. One of his famous responses in being presented with the power of God was the retelling of the logical classic entitled the “Paradox of the Stone” which asks could God make a rock that is so big that He himself could not lift it? (http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2008/06/george-carlin-and-us.html)
Honest questions about the nature of God are reasonable, but the question is do we really want to know the answer. In Psalm 139, after having addressed God’s omniscience (vss. 1–6) and omnipresence (vss. 7–12), the psalmist now turns his attention to God’s omnipotence (vss. 13–18). Like in our previous discussions, there is not one Greek of Hebrew term that expresses the concept, but it is found thought the pages of Scripture
Revelation 19:6[6]Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. (cf. Gen. 17:1; Job. 9:19; Ps. 24:8)
• In the expression God the Almighty (el sadday), it expresses the Omnipotence of God. The word itself is a Latin theological term with two elements.
o It derives from the prefix Omni meaning all and the suffex Potence meaning power.
Definition: In summary form it is “God’s unlimited authority to bring into existence or cause to happen whatsoever he wills”.( Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Baker encyclopedia of the Bible. Map on lining papers. (1588). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House.)
How is God mighty?
Jeremiah 32:17 [17]’Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. (ESV) (cf. Gen. 18:14)
• God can do all things possible (Mt. 19:26; Mk. 10:27; Lk. 18:27).
• Although nothing is too hard for God, this does not mean that all things are possible, like logical contradictions (making a stone so big that He cannot lift it (known philosophically as the “Paradox of the Stone”, or making a square circle etc.)
• According to Thomas Aquinas’ understanding of omnipotence, “God is able to do anything possible, but not anything impossible, and creating a stone that God cannot lift is something impossible”. (http://www.existence-of-god.com/paradox-of-the-stone.html)
There is a moral limit on what He will do
Psalm 115:3 [3]Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. (ESV) (cf. Ps. 135:6).
• No one can hinder the actions of God (Isa. 43:13).
• It is important to note that God will not do certain things because it does not please Him.
• Since God is Holy, He cannot sin like lie (Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18). Since He is sprit (which we saw a few weeks ago) he cannot physically hunger or get sick. Since He is omniscient, (which we saw last week) he cannot learn or forget anything. Since He is eternal (which we will conclude our series by looking at next week) he cannot die, commit suicide, change the past, nor create another eternal God.
Given therefore what God can and cannot do in terms of His omnipotence, we see that He:
1) Creates and arranges our bodies within the womb (139:13–15)
Psalm 139:13-15 [13]For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. [14]I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. [15]My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
The particular phase of divine omnipotence the Psalmist chooses is the marvelous development of a baby in his mother’s womb. I want to spend most of our time this morning reviewing the elements highlighted in verse 13.
In a speck of watery material smaller than the dot over this i, all the future characteristics of the child are programmed—the color of his skin, eyes and hair, the shape of his facial features, the natural abilities he will have. All that the child will be physically and mentally is contained in germ form in that fertilized egg. From it will develop:... 60 trillion cells, 100 thousand miles of nerve fiber, 60 thousand miles of vessels carrying blood around the body, 250 bones, to say nothing of joints, ligaments and muscles. (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ps 139:13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
In verse 13, speaking of the actions of God, the psalmist here notes that God formed his inward parts. He notes that God knows and has power over our innermost personality. (KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (1175). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
• This is a personal reflection by the psalmist. It is not just a consideration of biology but of personal care.
• In many ways it can be compared to the hedge of protection talked about in verse 5 (cf. Ps 22:9).
Please turn to Job 10
The psalmist notes that God knitted him together in his mother’s womb. The knitted (Heb sakak) means properly to interweave; to weave; to knit together, and the (literal translation would be, ‘thou hast woven me in my mother’s womb,’ meaning that God had put his parts together as one who weaves cloth, or who makes a basket.”
Job 10:8-12 [8]Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether. [9]Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust? [10]Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? [11]You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. [12]You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.
The weaving of the bones, tissue, and organs of the fetal unborn are under the control and guardianship of God. (KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (1175). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
• In many ways this knitting or weaving is representative for all of our lives. How could we expect God to explain exactly what is going to happen to us? There are too many factors that are woven together. Like the psalmist, we must simply derive comfort in the fact that God created us and like a tapestry has all the threads of our life together.
Because one’s physical characteristics are prescribed by God and not by the accident of genetics, to criticize the creation is to blame the Creator (cf. Is. 45:9, 10).
Romans 9:20 [20]But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" (ESV)
The grandeur of this event is one to behold. Let’s look at what goes on and appreciate the interact weaving of God.
Medically, Pregnancy is counted from the first day of the mother’s last period. This means that at conception the baby is already counted as two weeks old! The development of life is amazing.
At two weeks conceptions occurs; the fertilization of the mother’s egg and father’s sperm join in the fallopian tube to form a unique human being. Forty-six chromosomes combine, which determine all of a person’s physical characteristics. By three weeks the unborn child is only one-sixth of an inch long, but is rapidly developing. The backbone, spinal column, and nervous system are forming. The kidneys, liver, and intestines are taking shape. At four weeks the embryo produces hormones which stop the mother’s menstrual cycle; the mother will soon begin to suspect she is pregnant. In the fifth week, or just 21 days from conception the baby’s small heart has already begun to beat.
At seven weeks facial features are visible, including a mouth and tongue. The eyes have a retina and lens. The major muscle system is developed, and the unborn child practices moving. The child has its own blood type, distinct from the mother’s. These blood cells are produced by the liver now instead of the yolk sac. The unborn child, called a fetus at this stage, is about half an inch long. The tiny person is protected by the amnionic sac, filled with fluid. Inside, the child swims and moves gracefully. The arms and legs have lengthened, and fingers can be seen. The toes will develop in the next few days. Brain waves can be measured.
By the tenth week the heart is almost completely developed and very much resembles that of a newborn baby. An opening the atrium of the heart and the presence of a bypass valve divert much of the blood away from the lungs, as the child’s blood is oxygenated through the placenta. Twenty tiny baby teeth are forming in the gums. At twelve weeks vocal chords are complete, and the child can and does sometimes cry (silently). The brain is fully formed, and the child can feel pain. The fetus may even suck his thumb. The eyelids now cover the eyes, and will remain shut until the seventh month to protect the delicate optical nerve fibers.
The pregnancy then enters the second trimester. At fourteen weeks muscles lengthen and become organized. The mother will soon start feeling the first flutters of the unborn child kicking and moving within. At fifteen weeks the fetus has an adult’s taste buds and may be able to savor the mother’s meals. By the sixteenth week the baby is five and a half inches tall and only six ounces in weight, but eyebrows, eyelashes and fine hair appear. The child can grasp with his hands, kick, or even do a somersault.
At twenty weeks the child can hear and recognize her mother’s voice. Though still small and fragile, the baby is growing rapidly and could possibly survive if born at this stage. Fingernails and fingerprints appear. Sex organs are visible. Using an ultrasound device, the doctor can tell if the child is a girl or a boy. The baby then enters the third trimester and continues to grow and develop until it is time to be born at week 40. (Westside Pregnancy Resource Center: www.w-cpc.org/fetal.html)
Even with these factual elements, Since January 1 2001, there have been about 800 000 induced abortions in Canada, which is a rate of about 1/3 of live births (http://www.webhart.net/vandee/abortstat.shtml). There have been over 74 million induced abortions in the Western world (http://www.1way2god.net/tho_abortion_counter.html), and over 340 million induced abortion in the entire world (http://www.1way2god.net/tho_abortion_counter.html).
Illustration: Would You Consider Abortion . . .
Would you consider abortion in the following four situations?
(1) There’s a preacher and wife who are very, very, poor. They already have 14 kids. Now she finds out she’s pregnant with number 15. They’re living in tremendous poverty. Considering their poverty and the excessive world population, would you consider recommending she get an abortion?
• If so, you have just killed John Wesley, one of the great evangelists in the 19th century.
(2) The father is sick with sniffles, the mother has TB. They have four children. The first is blind, the second is dead, the third is deaf, and the fourth has TB. She finds she’s pregnant again. Given the extreme situation, would you consider recommending abortion?
• If so, you have killed Ludwick Von Beethoven. One of the world’s greatest composers.
(3) A teenage girl is pregnant. She’s not married. Her fiancé is not the father of the baby, and they live in an occupied country dominated by a foreign power. Would you consider recommending abortion?
• If you said yes to the third case, you have just declared the murder of Jesus Christ!! (Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.)
In verse 14 of Psalm 139 the psalmist considers the awesomeness of God’s creation and praises Him.
Psalm 139:14[14]I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
It is important to note that the praise results from knowledge.
• The more we consider the awesomeness of God, the better our worship. Godly praise is not from emotion leading to consideration, but consideration that results in exuberance.
The concept of being fearfully made is related to the concept of body symmetry which is a factor of proportion. The nature of proportion in terms of our body shows the genius how our frame and muscles fit together for us to perform various functions in balance, strength and grace.
Being wonderfully made points to the glory of humanity created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) having intelligence, memory, learning ability, discernment etc.
The works of God speaks of the omnipotence of God which is expressed in the various elements of sustaining His creation, and providence, the governing function working things together (Rom. 8:28).
The psalmist here can acknowledge his soul knows it very well.
Psalm 111:2 [2]Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.
Verse 15, says that My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
• The frame mentioned here is representative of the skeletical structure, or bone.
• the depths of the earth is used figuratively of the womb. (MacArthur, J. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible : New American Standard Bible. (Ps 139:15). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.) A similar expression is found in Ephesians 4:9, which speaks of Christ as having descended into the lower parts of the earth.
The substantial part of a man’s being, i.e., the bones which make up his frame, may not be visible to the naked eye; but it is certainly not hidden from the eyes of God. He has power over the formation of the skeletal body while it is yet in the womb.
Quote: Charles Spurgeon made the comparison that:
“A great artist will often labor alone in his studio, and not suffer his work to be seen until it is finished; even so did the Lord fashion us when no eye beheld us, and the veil was not lifted till every member was complete”
• All of our veins, muscles, nerves, etc., were woven together by God, embroidered with great skill, before the world got its first look at us. (KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (1176). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
Please turn to Colossians 1
In creating and arranging our bodies within the womb, God’s omnipotence extends to preservation:
Colossians 1:16-17 [16]For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. [17]And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (ESV)
Not only does God create but He sustains. This quality is spoken of Christ Himself:
Hebrews 1:3a [3]He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high), (ESV)
We see God’s Omnipotence in that He:
1) Creates and arranges our bodies within the womb (139:13–15) and
2) He schedules each day of our lives before we are born (139:16).
Psalm 139:16 [16]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.
• The unformed substance here relates to “the still unformed embryonic mass, the fetus or the embryo in the womb.
• The psalmist is saying that the omnipotence of God guided the very formation of life in the womb, that life being yet an unformed embryonic mass, yet in the course of time was being formed daily. (KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (1176). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
Your book is a figure of speech that likens God’s mind to a book of remembrance (MacArthur, J. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible : New American Standard Bible. (Ps 139:16). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
• Here the blueprint for life is clearly charted by God, so that from the very moment of conception, God begins to fashion the body, even before they are recognizable. (KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (1176). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
Since God fashioned our bodies, why did He create us?
Ephesians 2:10 [10]For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)
• The Creator never finishes but continues to edify and build up the creation
• Therefore in order to realize our potential in God, we must see our worth as God’s creation, made in His image (cf. Gen. 1:26, 27).
How far does God’s omnipotence extend in terms of the scheduling of our lives before birth:
Jeremiah 1:5 [5]"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
The Apostle Paul said in reflecting on his commission:
Galatians 1:15 [15]But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, (ESV) (cf. Eph. 1:11)
• All this is done as Is. 43:7, 21 says that we may glorify God.
We see God’s Omnipotence in that He:
1) Creates and arranges our bodies within the womb (139:13–15) 2) He schedules each day of our lives before we are born (139:16). And finally:
3) He thinks wonderful and innumerable thoughts about us constantly (139:17–18).
Psalm 139:17-18 [17]How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! [18]If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.
• Even though there is great omnipotent care in the fashioning of the human body the thoughts of God are even greater.
Psalm 40:5 [5]You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.
Quote: Pascal said: “The greatest single distinguishing feature of the omnipotence of God is that our imagination gets lost when thinking about it” (Pascal, Pensees,I, XV).
In comprehending the thoughts of God for us, the mass of them is even more than the sand
Quote: One classic author said it like this:
“If all is glorious deeds my song would tell, the shore’s unnumbered stones I might recount as well”—Pindar (B.C. 518–442) ( KJV Bible commentary. 1997, c1994 (1176). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.)
• This would be comparable to the covenantal promises by God in regards to the countless descendants promised to the patriarchs in Gen. 22:17; 32:12 (Davidson, R., M.A. (1998). The vitality of worship : A commentary on the book of Psalms (448). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Edinburgh: W.B. Eerdmans; Handsel Press.).
• During VBS Beryl took a jar filled it with rocks said that these rocks represented the filling of our lives with activity. She took sand pored it in the space between the rocks in talking about our relationships. She then took water which saturated it all representing the saturation of our lives with the person of God. He encompassed all of our lives and truly fills us beyond anything else.
In verse 18 the expression of the psalmist who says “I awake, and I am still with You” could refer to the moment of his birth. In the preceding verses (13–18a) he has been emphasizing God’s closeness to him during the nine months prior to his birth. But even after he is born the picture does not change; he is still with the Lord as his Sustainer, Protector and Guide. He speaks of his birth as an awaking just as we speak of it as “first seeing the light of day.”( MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ps 139:18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
In considering the omnipotence of God it is important to consider on which side of this power you will experience. Follow along in conclusion with the rest of Psalm 139 starting at verse 19
Psalm 139:19-24 [19]Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! [20]They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain! [21]Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? [22]I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. [23]Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! [24]And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
• In the closing moments this morning ask God to search your heart and thoughts. Is there something that grieves God? Confess it to Him, seek His forgiveness and go with Him in the way of everlasting life experiencing His care and not His judgment. (Format Note: Outline from Willmington, H. L. (1999). The Outline Bible (Ps 139:17-18). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.)
