“The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.” — Isaiah 49:1
In 1809, a boy was born in a one-room log cabin in Kentucky to parents who could barely read. His mother died when he was nine. His formal schooling totaled less than a year. By all external measures, the world had little reason to take notice. Yet before Abraham Lincoln ever learned to write his name, before he split his first rail or read his first law book, something true about him already existed in the mind of God. His mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, illiterate though she was, taught him to read the Bible and told him he mattered. She saw something the world would take decades to recognize.
This pattern appears throughout human history. The world bases value on achievement, capacity, awareness, or usefulness. God bases value on something earlier: His own sovereign purpose and calling. The difference between these two systems determines how we see every human life, especially lives the world struggles to recognize.
Psalm 40:1-11: The Rescued Become Witnesses
The psalmist describes rescue: being brought up from the horrible pit, feet set on rock, a new song given. Then comes the crucial move—the rescued one becomes a proclaimer. “I have preached righteousness in the great congregation,” he declares. The ears God opened allow hearing. The deliverance God accomplished demands testimony. The psalmist speaks of what God has done: His wonderful works, His thoughts toward us, His faithfulness.
The psalm contains a telling phrase: “many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.” Others see the rescue and come to trust. The worship cycle begins here in response: God acts in deliverance, the delivered one sees and testifies, many others see the testimony and trust. Each person rescued becomes a witness drawing others toward recognition of the Lord’s work.
The rescue leads to testimony. The testimony draws others. What begins with one person’s deliverance extends outward to the congregation, creating a pattern we’ll see repeated throughout Scripture.
Isaiah 49:1-7: God Forms and Names Before the World Sees
The servant in Isaiah speaks of being called “from the womb,” of having his name mentioned “from the bowels of my mother.” The chronology matters. God’s calling precedes birth. God’s naming precedes anyone else’s knowledge of the child’s existence. The servant receives purpose—”to bring Jacob again to him,” to be “a light to the Gentiles”—while still being formed.
Then comes the startling phrase: “him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth.” The world rejects the very one God has chosen. Human despising and divine choosing exist simultaneously. The servant whom God called from the womb becomes the servant whom the nations abhor. Yet the text affirms that kings will see and arise, princes will worship, because the Lord remains faithful.
This deepens what the psalmist began: God’s regard for a life begins at formation. Human recognition arrives later, sometimes much later, sometimes never in this age. The servant’s worth flows from being called by the Lord, regardless of whether people despise or honor him. Like the psalmist whose rescue led to testimony that drew many, the servant whom God called will ultimately cause nations to see and worship.
John 1:29-42: Behold and Come
John sees Jesus and proclaims: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” The imperative “Behold” demands attention. Look at this One. See Him. Two disciples hear and follow. They ask where Jesus dwells. Jesus responds, “Come and see.” They come. They see. They abide.
Then Andrew finds his brother Simon and says, “We have found the Messias.” He brings Simon to Jesus. Jesus immediately renames him: “Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas.” The pattern repeats: Jesus names, Jesus purposes, before Simon has done anything to earn the name “Rock.”
Here the worship cycle becomes fully visible: God acts in sending the Lamb. John sees and proclaims. Disciples hear and come. They become witnesses themselves, bringing others. Jesus names and purposes Simon’s future before Simon proves anything. The cycle expands outward from Christ to John to disciples to others, each one seeing and proclaiming, drawing more into recognition.
The Lamb whom John proclaims is the servant Isaiah described—called from the womb, despised by man, chosen by God. The rescue the psalmist celebrates finds its fullness in the Lamb who takes away sin. The testimony that drew many now centers on Christ Himself.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9: Called Saints Waiting for Confirmation
Paul opens with the language of calling: “Paul, called to be an apostle… to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” The calling creates the identity. The Corinthians exist as saints because they have been called, because the testimony of Christ was confirmed in them.
Then Paul projects forward: Christ “shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” God’s keeping spans from calling to consummation. The faithfulness that called them will hold them until the day of the Lord. Between the already and the yet-to-come, God remains constant in His purpose.
The connection completes the pattern: just as the servant was called from the womb with a purpose extending to the nations, just as the psalmist was rescued with testimony extending to many, just as the disciples saw and brought others to behold the Lamb, the Corinthians are called with a confirmation extending to the end. God’s purposes for human lives operate on His timeline, from before birth to beyond death. The worship cycle that began with God’s deliverance and the psalmist’s testimony, that was anticipated in the servant called from the womb, that became incarnate in the Lamb of God, now extends through the church to all who call upon the name of the Lord in every place.
Living the Cycle
This worship cycle gives us a pattern for life. First, we acknowledge that God has acted before we arrived. He formed, named, called, purposed lives before anyone recognized them. Our first task involves seeing what God has already done, opening our eyes to His prior work.
Second, we become witnesses. Like the psalmist, we refuse to conceal what we have seen. Like John, we say “Behold” to others. We proclaim God’s regard for lives the world might despise or overlook. We testify to the calling that precedes recognition, the naming that precedes achievement, the purpose that precedes performance.
Third, we bring others to see. Like Andrew bringing Simon, we help people encounter the truth about God’s valuing of human life. We create space for recognition to grow. We invite people to “come and see” what God has revealed about the worth of every person He forms.
This applies directly to how we treat the most vulnerable. The unborn child, like the servant called from the womb, possesses God-given purpose before birth. The elderly person losing cognitive function, like Simon receiving a new name for a future ministry, retains calling regardless of current capacity. The disabled person, the refugee, the despised—all stand as potential servants of the Lord, called for purposes we may spend years learning to recognize.
Our task resembles Andrew’s: we have seen something true, and we bring others to encounter it. We point to the Lamb of God and say, “Behold.” We testify to lives God has formed, named, and called, trusting that our witness will help others see what God has already established.
Points to Ponder
- Who in your life resembles the servant whom man despises but whom the Lord has called? How might God be inviting you to see His purpose in them?
- The psalmist’s rescue led to testimony that helped “many” trust the Lord. What rescue in your life could become testimony for others struggling to recognize God’s work?
- Andrew immediately brought Simon to Jesus after encountering Him. Who might you bring into recognition of how God values human life from its earliest moments?
- Jesus renamed Simon, giving him an identity and purpose before any evidence supported it. How does this challenge our tendency to base worth on demonstrated capacity?
- Paul promises that Christ will confirm us “unto the end.” How does God’s faithfulness from calling to consummation reshape how you view your own life and the lives of others?
Prayer
Father, You are the God who calls before we answer, who names before we know our own names, who purposes before we can understand. You lifted the psalmist from the pit. You formed the servant in the womb. You sent the Lamb to take away the sin of the world. You called the Corinthians as saints.
Open our eyes to see what You have already done. Teach us to recognize Your calling in lives the world overlooks. Give us courage to proclaim Your regard for every person You have formed. Help us bring others to behold the Lamb of God, that they might see His worth and the worth of all whom You have called.
Make us witnesses who refuse to hide Your lovingkindness and truth. Make us proclaimers of the new song You have given. Make us those who help others come and see.
We trust Your faithfulness from womb to consummation, knowing that whom You call, You also keep. In the name of the Lamb who was called from before the foundation of the world, amen.
“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” — John 1:29
Josh Cehulik 