Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Psalms 139:14
After his word, our physical bodies are the greatest thing God ever did. Grace Bliss (WM MJ
1995 p 21).
JF WM 1996 Living Sanctified Thought by Thought p 19
Psalms 139:13
For thou possessed [formed, set up] my reins [kelayoth]: thou hast covered [protected] me in my
mother’s womb.
What are the “reins” that God formed or set up? We commonly think of reins as the leather
straps used to direct a horse. Webster’s defines reins as “kidneys.” The Hebrew word kelayoth,
translated as “reins,” is also translated as kidneys in the Old Testament. Wilson’s Old Testament
Word Studies defines kelayoth as “the kidneys or reins, the innermost part of the frame; … the
reins, by the sympathetic nervous system closely connected to the heart, signify close thought
and reflection of the mind.”
God uses the reins (kidney) figuratively for the filtering process of the mind the same way He
uses loins figuratively as the commitment center of the will. Of course we don’t literally have
kidneys or loins in our heads; God is simply emphasizing the parallel in their functions.
Understanding the Biblical concept of the reins comes into breathtaking reality when we see the
correlation between this function of the mind and the functioning of the kidneys. In the physical
body, the kidney serve to filter the blood. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, “the
kidneys help maintain a constant internal environment despite a wide range of changes in the
external environment.” The kidneys function to keep the internal chemical balances within
proper limits.
By filtering everything that is in the blood, the kidneys eliminate wastes and other unprofitable
elements. The useful, purified chemistry is then reintroduced into the body’s system. Without
proper chemistry, bodily malfunctions would quickly develop, leading to sickness and death.
Literally, the body would become toxic from its own waste material and die. The kidneys store,
filter, and balance the blood properties necessary to maintain vitality. In addition to all this, the
kidneys are anatomically located in the loins area.
The first use of the word kelayoth appears in the context of a sacrificial offering. Here it is
translated as “kidney.”
Exodus 29:13
The context reveals that the kidneys were used as part of the sacrifice for the dedication and
setting apart of Aaron and his sons to minister unto God in the priest’s office. The two kidneys
and the fat that is upon them were burned upon the altar as “a sweet savour before the Lord:it is
an offering made by fire,” as it says in Exodus 29:25. The kidneys and the fat were considered
among the choicest parts, and they were offered to God alone.
In Old Testament sacrifices, the kidneys (reins) were among the choicest offerings to God.
Today, in the Grace Administration, we want to present our lives as living sacrifices, to be holy,
acceptable unto God, with our hearts vibrant and pure on the truth.
Psalms 16:7
Being located in the loin area indicates the commitment requiredfor our reins to function
properly in filtering our thoughts. In the Old Testament sacrifice the kidneys were salted,
representing the committed heart of the one offering the sacrifice. Commitment to do God’s
Word is an essential ingredient for our thoughts to be pure and established on the truth.
Another important parallel between the kidneys and the filter of our mind, the reins, is their
ability to keep the balance and vitality of life. Just as the kidneys filter the blood to keep our
body’s internal environment balanced and stable during extremes in external changes, so the
reins of our minds work to maintain the peace and equilibrium of God in even the most
challenging situations.
Isaiah 26:3
To stay our minds on God is a thought-by-thought, day-by-day process.

MA 1996 The Prevailing Word in the Household, LCM, p.7

The Word in Psalms actually compare the human body to a tapestry.
Psalms 139:15 and 15:
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully [awesomely] and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy
works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 
My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought [as a
tapestry, skillfully embroidered] in the lowest parts of the earth. 

In the tapestry, every component binds to the next. Taking out one thread or one stitch harms the
whole. The physical body works like that, and so does the functioning household. We need one
another.

The reality of God’s Word p.11 Jacque Horney

I realized that I had allow the facts, pressures, opinions of others, and different circumstances to
take preeminence over the Word of God in my life. I had allowed the crystal clear reality of the
Word to be clouded by the facts and figures of Day-by-day living. I wanted to live the Word I
taught, so I decided that I needed to change! I drove my mind to God’s Word. Io claimed specific
promises in the Word so that once again I could make them the reality of my life, so that the
Word would hold preeminence. It worked!
God’s Word is a living reality in our day and time when we believingly respond to it. When
circumstances come up in our lives that contradict the reality of God’s Word – introducing fear,
worry, pressure, whatever – are we going to believe the Word, or are we going to crumble under
pressure? Are we going to stand and resist the adversary, or are we going to allow him a foothold
in our lives to destroy? It’s up to each one of us to make up our minds.

July August 2015 Shinning as Lights in Sales and Marketing by Jerry Jacks p17
Psalms 139:14
The word “fearfully in this verse means awesomely or magnificently. The word “wonderfully”
carries the essence of unique or distinguished in how the Body was made. Once I understood the
beauty of the human body, how magnificently God made it, I learned quickly to love myself
much greater than I ever had before.

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BIBLE

THE STEWARD by Bernita Jess MA 1995 p. 26
The word “steward” can be defined in various ways, but the simpliest meaning is “overseer of a
large household; one who directs the work of others.” Mrs. Donna Martindale gives a
tremendous definition of “steward” in Sunday Night service teaching #1251.
“ A steward is a person who guards, protects, and maintains the affairs of a household which
have been delegated to him by the master or Lord of the household. The steward has no salary or
working hours. He is the ‘right-hand man’ for the master of the house. He works seven days a
week, 365 days a year. He accomplishes his responsibility by utilizing what the master gives him
with wisdom, boldness, and faithfulness.”

The position of an Eastern steward was a peculiar one. A steward received his position by
pledging his services and loyalty to his master. He was not salaried, and he was not paid as a
servant; yet he exercised great authority over the affairs of the household. The steward’s status
was better than that of a servant; he was an adopted member of the family, but he still had a
master. Not only was he in charge of the servants and the other hired workers, but he also looked
after the women and children of the master. An Eastern steward could reprove and correct his
master’s wife, sons, and daughters when the master was not home.
Stewards were given the authority to transact business as they saw fit. They were either single
men or widowers with business training, which their rich master seldom had. Every household of
distinction or of sufficient wealth had a steward who took charge of the food, clothing, money,
and property. This was a position of considerable influence.

COMPANION BIBLE
fearfully and wonderfully. Hebrew = fears and wonders. Put by Figure of
speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6, for the feelings produced by the works.
my soul = myself. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
 BARNES Psalms 139:14

I will praise thee - I will not merely admire what is so great and
marvelous, but I will acknowledge thee in a public manner as wise, and holy,
and good: as entitled to honor, love, and gratitude.
For I am fearfully and wonderfully made - The word rendered
“fearfully” means properly “fearful things;” things suited to produce fear or
reverence. The word rendered “wonderfully made” means properly to
distinguish; to separate. The literal translation of this - as near as can be
given - would be, “I am distinguished by fearful things;” that is, by things in
my creation which are suited to inspire awe. I am distinguished among thy
works by things which tend to exalt my ideas of God, and to fill my soul with
reverent and devout feelings. The idea is, that he was “distinguished” among
the works of creation, or so “separated” from other things in his
endowments as to work in the mind a sense of awe. He was made different
from inanimate objects, and from the brute creation; he was “so” made, in
the entire structure of his frame, as to fill the mind with wonder. The more
anyone contemplates his own bodily formation, and becomes acquainted
with the anatomy of the human frame, and the more he understands of his
mental organization, the more he will see the force and propriety of the
language used by the psalmist.
Marvellous are thy works - Fitted are they to excite wonder and
admiration. The particular reference here is to his own formation; but the
same remark may be made of the works of God in general.
And that my soul knoweth right well - Margin, as in Hebrew, “greatly.”
I am fully convinced of it. I am deeply impressed by it. We can see clearly
that the works of God are “wonderful,” even if we can understand nothing
else about them.

GENEVA
Psalms 139:14
I will praise thee; for I am (i) fearfully [and] wonderfully made: marvellous
[are] thy works; and [that] my soul knoweth right well.

(i) Considering your wonderful work in forming me, I cannot but praise you
and fear your mighty power.