I am on the emailing list of Doug Hamilton, preacher at the Junction City Church of Christ, Junction City, KS. I received his latest email last week that I would like to share with you.

Good Morning [He says,]

In recognition of the recent US Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade, I recently meditated on Psalm 139:13-14. Attached are the notes from this meditation, which was preached on 6/26/22.

God Bless,
Doug

Note
In this reading of his sermon notes, the personal pronouns refer to and are from the perspective of Doug Hamilton. I am merely reading his sermon as instruction for us on this important habit of meditating on Scripture. Also, this is not a sermon about abortion, it IS a sermon, in my view, about the awsomeness of God — SR

Meditation on Being Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

By Doug Hamilton, Junction City Church of Christ, Junction City, KS

It is always important to employ meditation when reading the Bible. Meditating is [a] process quite different from simply reading a Bible verse. It means to contemplate and make personal application. King David evidently took this process seriously in his relationship with God. [David says in:]

  • Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight…​"

  • Psalm 49:3, "My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding."

  • Psalm 104:34, "May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the LORD."

  • Psalm 119:15, "I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways."

  • Psalm 119:48, "I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes."

  • Psalm 143:5, "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands."

In this lesson, I [Doug Hamilton] am going to take a[nother] verse from David’s writing in the Psalms and meditate [on it] out loud, so as to provide an example of meditation. I will use the following verses. [Listen to what David said:]

Psalm 139:13,14

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.

This is a deeply, thought-provoking image which David reflected on. This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, for David was meditating on the glory of God through the tenth- century B.C. perspective of his own formation in the womb. In doing so, he grew in joy concerning his [then] present relationship with God. I want that same joy in my life [and not walk away from it unchanged]. Therefore, I will also meditate on this verse [but] from a twenty-first century perspective [with some of the scientific knowledge man has gained over the years].

The Meditation of Doug

Conception

God formed my inward parts…​ hmm meditation. At my conception, 23 chromosomes [from] my biological father and 23 from my biological mother, came together at fertilization and formed me, [a] tiny one-cell embryo. My DNA, the most basic of my inner parts, was formed. My 46 chromosomes were assembled for the first time. This is the exact same DNA for which I have to this day and for the rest of my life. No other person on earth, in the past, present or future, will have the same genetic code as me. I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Cell-Duplication and Implantation

The size of my whole being within the first 24 hours was less than the size [of] the head of a pin, but cell duplication is already underway. I descended down the fallopian tube and was implanted in the uterine wall. As the hours tick away, I went from one cell, to two, then two cells to four, and four to eight. Because I was growing inside the womb, the placenta and umbilical began to form to provide the nutrients I would need. Additionally, the amniotic sac formed and began filling with fluid for my protection. Wow! I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

Month One

Over the next four weeks, [m]y body continued forming, along with my oversized head and facial features. The placenta continued to provide all the nutrients, oxygen and immunity needed to keep me alive and thriving. My tiny heart was beating 65 times a minute and I was a whopping 1/4 inch tall! Wow, I truly was kn[i]t together in my mother’s womb!

Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,…​" {God said}

Month Two

Meditating further, at the end of the second month, my legs and arms had formed from the tiny buds on each side me. My facial features had further formed to the point of forming ears, fingers, and even fingers and toes. The neural tube at the back of my [skull] already contained a brain, spinal cord and other neural tissue. I was no[w] one-inch tall, sporting a skeletal structure and early digestive tract.

Eccl 11:5

Just as you do not know the way of the spirit or how the bones {are formed} in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes all things.

{Man still does not know how this is done! When they say test tube baby or invitro-fertilization, do they think they’re playing God? Go get your own inorganic material and start from that! Don’t take organic material God has already made and take credit for it!}

DH added: I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

Month Three

By the end of the third month, my arms, hands, fingers, feet, and toes are fully formed. I was able to open and close my hands and mouth. My teeth were already forming under my gums and my gender was clearly prevalent [no guess work necessary]. I was fully-formed, sporting a 4-inch frame before entering the second trimester.

Job 31:15, says

“Did not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?

Yes, God did knit me together in the womb through the natural biological programming he installed in DNA.

Month Four

By the end of month four, my fingers and toes were very [well] defined. They could hear my heartbeat pumping blood through my veins. Additionally, I was able to grow eyelids, eyebrows, eyelashes, nails, and hair. I was now the impressive length of 6- inches and could already suck my thumb! I had finally left the most vulnerable trimester, passing from first to second.

Jer 20:17

"Because he did not kill me from the womb,
That my mother might have been my grave,
And her womb always enlarged with me."

DH audio: I don’t know how any of us made it through this process. Not one person in here study molecular biology or genetics, but you all pulled it off. You either were born or gave birth or both…​

[We are] fearfully and wonderfully made, and my soul knows it very well!

Month Five

By the end of this month, I was able to move around in the womb. My muscles have developed enough that I could push against the uterine wall, causing a fluttering movement to my mother. My hair was growing on my head and [my] body was coated with a whitish coating called vernix caseosa to protect my skin from the amniotic fluid. I was ten-inches long and weighed nearly a pound.

Psalm 119:73

"Your hands have made and fashioned me;…​"

DH aud: [I can meditate on my time in the womb and] Yes, he fearfully and wonderfully made me!

Month Six

At that point, my finger and foot prints, which I would have for the remainder of life, are fully formed. My skin was translucent and all my veins were showing. I could hear sound outside the womb, like my mother’s voice or music playing. Sometimes I develop hiccups, even though I am not eating. Being 12 inches tall and two pounds, I could have survived outside the womb had I needed to.

Job 10:11

"You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and knit me together with bones and sinews."

God was a masterful designer!

Month Seven

My hearing at this stage was fully developed and [I] could hear all the conversations around me[.] and [M]y mother’s voice calmed me [and sometimes upset me,] in time[s] of duress. The amniotic fluid decreased because I had grown to 14 inches and almost 2 pounds. I needed my space! [It’s getting croweded in there.]

Month Eight

In preparation of being born, [I] was able to shift my position and kicked the uterine wall quite frequently. My brain was developing rapidly and my lungs, ears, [and] eyes were nearly fully developed. My immune system kicked in for the coming journey. I was 18-inches and nearly five pounds.

Ps 22:10

"On you was I cast from my birth,
and from my mother’s womb
you have been my God."

DH/sr: [whether or not you realize this, the mere fact that in the womb you were knitted together, your inward parts, your insides were formed and put together, there is no one to glory but God…​]

Meditating on this fact leads me to better understand how He has been my God from my mother’s womb.

Month Nine

I was fully developed to the point of being able to respond to sounds, light, and touch. It was incredibly crowded in the womb due to growth, forcing me to shift position and turn head down. I was more [than] 21-inches and over seven pounds, fully ready to enter the world on January 28, 1965. After meditating on:

Psalm 139:13,14, I can conclude, without a doubt, that,

[God did] form my inward parts
    and weaved me together in my mother’s womb.
14 …​ I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
[God,] wonderful are your works
    and my soul knows it very well!

Reflection

At every step of the fetal journey, from conception to birth, it is evident to me that God had His hand in the process. He designed the DNA which made it all possible. He knew me before I was even made, being the master programmer of the whole genetic code. I can see how He formed my inward parts and knit me together in my mother’s womb. If any of those steps failed along the way, I would not be here today. I have meditated and come to a marvelous conclusion: I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

Closing Thought

I once heard of a young teenage girl from a small rural town, who was found to be pregnant. Worse yet, the young man she was going with was a religious man who [had] not [had] relations with her out of respect for his religious convictions. When he found out [she was pregnant], he was extremely upset and did not want to continue [with] the[ir] relationship. If her parents found out about this, it could be very, very bad for her at home. All her friends from the small conservative community would surely frown on this behavior. She was so scared. Though she was in a terrible position, she never considered aborting the child, for which I am very grateful.

DH: [Let me tell you about that child…​]

Matthew 1:23-25

"'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel
(which means, God with us).'

"24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus."