Introduction

I really, really love church camp. I think one of the reasons why is because I think it's a wonderful watering hole, where people from different walks of life, different age groups, different congregations even, can come together and express what family truly feels like. So today, I'm going to kick off our series in Psalms, and the theme of this camp is the greatest hits. Now, you might be wondering, it's a series in Psalms, there are 150 Psalms, the longest time is Psalm 119. Are we able to cover this in three days? The answer is no, because different preachers will be covering different Psalms, selected Psalms, Psalms that they have chosen. And at the heart of it all, I think what they really want to do and what we want to do is to show you the Father's heart, through the book of Psalms, no matter the passage, the chapter, or whatever. And I realized today as I start the series, that I have a very tall order. Number one, some of you have not slept or slept very little. You also have very full bellies. And I'm standing between you and your rooms. So, I'm going to be very straight to the point so that we can enjoy the rest of the day. And hopefully this will give you a wonderful taste of what is to come in this camp. Shall we do that? If not let me open up in a word of prayer together. Father, we thank you for bringing us together in such a manner, that even today as we look into your Word, we pray that You would speak to us. We've come a long way, our minds and hearts might be weary and tired. So please help us to give you Lord, our undivided attention in these moments. This we pray in Your Son's name. Amen.

Well, my wife and I spent seven years dating and it was all long distance. So much of our relationship was really through devices and screens. A couple of years ago, when I went to the US for a holiday, my wife was in the Philippines, my then girlfriend, now wife was in the Philippines, she became uncontactable. Now being uncontactable is fine if it's one day, but one day turned into two days, two days turned into a week and a week turned into three weeks. I was contacting her, tried to call her friends but she never responded. Well, it's not because I did something wrong, I hope you get that. It's not because she was avoiding me or she was too busy to entertain her boyfriend, is because there was a very strong tropical typhoon which swept over the Philippines, ravaged her hometown and destroyed every cellular tower. The whole cellular network in that region went down. So all along I was trying to get her to talk to me. I was hoping that someone would be at the other end of the line, trying to respond to what I was going to say.

And perhaps for many, this is your relationship with God. We know He exists, we know He is there, but He is mysterious, opaque and frankly quite distant. We don't quite know whether He's actually at the other end of the line. And perhaps for many, this is why you're at camp this day. Are your relationship with God has tanked, you been distant and you want to get your relationship with God sorted out or perhaps for some your relationship with God is great, but you really really want to deepen your relationship with him. So you've decided to come for this camp to see how it goes.

Well friends, this is why Psalm 19 is so important. Because in this chapter, we are sure that God can be known and desires to be known. We can be assured that God speaks and that He has spoken and He still speaks even today. We can be assured that He has revealed Himself to us, though He is transcendent, distinct from us, He can be known and He can be an intimate and personal God to each one of us. Well, how you might ask? Well, the Psalmist gives us two ways in which God has revealed Himself to us. And this will really be the focus of our time this afternoon. So again, let's pick things up. 

Creation (v1 to 6)

The first thing that we see is that we know God through what He has made, namely, creation. The Psalmist begins with these words, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims His handiwork’ (Psalm 19:1). I wonder back in Singapore whether you've took the time to look up. Now it's quite hard to look up in Singapore because there are buildings, trees, and it's even harder for you guys to get outside because it's hot. You may say, wah you crazy, look outside, so hot. But the psalmist is exactly saying this. Look up. Look at the skies, look at the heavens. They're not just fictious up there, giving you shade and providing sunlight. They are there declaring a message. They are messengers, they are preachers, that deliver a message, they are proclaiming something to us. And what is that message?

Well, in what God has made, in the beauty of what He has created, we see the glory of the creator, the glory of God. In other words, when we look at the skies, the simple act of looking up in this skies, we see the God who actually made this world. And the beauty of what we see is that it's not just once in a lifetime, but it's constant. That's what the psalmist says, ‘Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge’ (Psalm 19:2). Not a day goes by when the sun, when the skies are not there, they're present, they are workaholics, day after day, night after night, we see the beauty of creator, expressed and displayed for us to see. And the Psalmist says they're constantly communicating to us, ‘day to day pours out speech, night to night reveals knowledge’.

But here's the paradox. Although this is something that we know, that creation declares the glory of God, we actually can't hear them speak. They're inaudible. So the psalmist says, ‘There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard’ (Psalm 19:3). The idea here is that creation speaks but they don't speak with a voice. You can't just tune your ears to the wind and hear God speak. Nor you can just hug a tree and you hear what they are saying. They don't have a voice. It's like watching a Korean drama without subtitles. You know what it's trying to say, what it looks like, the beauty and the artistry of the movie or the show. But you don't quite know what is saying but it is there.

And this is seen universally, ‘Their voice goes out through all the earth, and the words to the end of the world.’ (Psalm 19:4a). In fact, he likens this universal aspect of creation to the sun. ‘In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them and there is nothing hidden from its heat.’ (Psalm 19:4b-6). So apparently there's this tent up there and in the heavens, God has pitched the sun within them. Now as you can say, this is figurative language, is not literal language. And like a bridegroom, the sun is coming out of the tent, not only like a bridegroom, but also like an athlete. And I love the poetic imagery here because I think it's so communicative. The sun is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. It brings us to the wedding night, the chamber is that wedding night where the husband and wife, consummate the marriage. And so, the sun is coming out of that chamber, like the bridegroom coming out with sheer joy and happiness because he has done what he needed to do. And likewise the sun is like that athlete running his course, with joy, with eagerness with sheer vitality. 

Well, next month we'll be witnessing the spectacle that is the Paris Olympics. And I'm sure we're eager to see our Singapore hope for Shanti Pereira, win something for the nation. And now it's when Shanti goes on to the starting line, I am pretty sure she will not be slouching. There is not going to be any haphazard workouts or warmups, there's not going to be late. But she'll be geared up and ready to go. And this is how the sun is pictured in a passage standing at a starting line, ready to run the race circling the heavens above.

Now, I say this because David's point, I think it's very clear, that God has revealed himself in creation in everything that the sun touches, everywhere where the sun's heat is felt everywhere, every location that sits under the heavens, there's no place on Earth with a voice of God is heard through this communicators where there is the sun, the heavens, the day and the night. There's nothing that God's voice can't be heard. So, Psalm 19:1-6 tells us this, that creation declares the glory of God, in what God has made, in the beauty of His creation, we can see the Creator.

Well, one of the perennial questions that most non-theistic folks have in our world today is this. Is there a God out there? And if there is a God out there, can He be known? Well, the Psalmist says, look outside. Look at the skies. Look at creation. Creation says that there is a Glorious Creator, everything that has been made suggests that there is someone who made them. For example, we don't go to MBS or Jewel and say, Wow, an earthquake made this place. Amazing. No, because there was an architect, or a mastermind behind the creation. And the Bible tells us that this world did not come about by chance we are who we are, creation is experienced as it is, because there is a loving Creator who made us, who loved us and made us according to His own pleasure.

And the implication is this, no one today can say there is no God. Because simply by looking at what He has made, everyone can perceive that there is a God who made the world. Isn't this what Romans was talking about? Paul says, all wrath was poured out to all humanity. To which the Gentiles says, how can that be fair, Paul, we didn't have the law. We didn't have the gospel. To which Paul says, look outside, look at creation, you see that there's a God who made the skies, the sun, the sea, and the earth. Is not that you lacked hard evidence, is that you suppressed it, instead of worshipping God, you worship idols, creation, rather than the Creator.

In fact, this is what Paul says, ‘For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.’ (Romans 1:19-20) ‘For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. He goes on to say claiming to be wise, they became fools’ (Romans 1:21-22). In other words, creation, though partial in its revelation of God is absolute in what it says about Him, enough to actually hold people accountable to God. So can God be known? Absolutely, yes, He can be known. He has revealed Himself in what He has made. But at the same time, I think we have to say that such knowledge of God, such knowledge of creation holds us to account. But while creation tells us true knowledge of God, it does not tell us everything about Him.

Code (v7 to 11)

Because if you look at Psalm 19, verse seven, perhaps right to verse 11 tells us that there is another witness. And the psalmist says that not only creation reveals God, but the law, the codes reveal God. Have a look at verses seven to nine. Well, I'm not going to flash the verses here but I want you to look at the form of the poetry in this section. It is pretty interesting, from verses seven to nine, there are a total of six units, six units of thought, but honestly, they talk, really about the same thing. And in these six units of thought, the form is really similar. At first, we see the synonym for the law or the Torah. And then we see its attribute. In the middle column, it's perfect, sure, clean, true, righteous, so on and so forth. And it's followed by an effect or the impact that it has on the doer of the law. Right, it refreshes, it makes wise, it enlightens, it rejoices the heart, so on and so forth. Now, I can go through each one of this, but we probably won't have time to check in. So, I'm just gonna give you a few points for us to consider, for us to stimulate our minds and to actually think what does the psalmist actually bring to the table in these few verses?

Well, number one, I want you to see that the law itself originates or comes from God. So, David has utmost respect and praise for the law, because it's not man's law. These are not man's codes. But this is God's law. You see it? The law of the Lord, the testimony of the Lord, the commandment of the Lord, and so forth, you get the drift. Now, that's an important point, because one of the key questions that most theologians, philosophers, commentators of religious texts have, is this. Where does morality, where does the law, where does our innate sense of right and wrong come from? Is it from nature? Is it what the natural world tells us? Or is it from culture? What society and people, human behavior tells us? Or is it just something innate in us? Our own perhaps, subjective feelings, our own moral compass? The answer is no. In fact, what Psalms 19:7-9 tells us is the law originates from God Himself. It is the morally pure and good law giver that gets to decide what is right, and what is wrong. And so because it comes from God, David with full certainty can say within the second column, that the law is perfect, sure, right and pure.

And this perhaps leads us to the second observation, that the law that comes from God reflects the moral goodness of the law giver. Have a look at what David thinks of the law. It is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, enduring and righteous. How do we know that the law is all these things? Only when the authority, the law giver is himself pure, trustworthy and right, in all respects. Hence, today, we can have confidence that the law is not arbitrary of filled with error, that it will always be good, true and right in every situation and we can be confident despite the rapid moral decline of society. Even when the world today tells us that sex before marriage is okay, even when the world tells us that you can play fast and loose with the truth, or you can decide your own gender. We can be confident that the law is not arbitrary. It's not filled with error. It's not a scam because the goodness of the law comes from the goodness, the moral purity of the law giver himself.

And because the law reflects the Lawgiver, for the psalmist, for David, the ethical life is the desirable life. Here's what he says. ‘More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them, is your servant warned; in keeping them there is a great reward.’ (Psalm 19:10-11) Why? Because the law is inherently good. We've been a lot more convinced now that when you're in a plane, you have to wear your seatbelts. Why? Because no one will say, ‘Wah, whoever made this rule is a stupid rule’. We have to wear seatbelts because it's good. It's good, to wear our seatbelts, it’s good to protect yourself against turbulence or against unnecessary accidents.

So the law is beautiful, because it tells us fundamentally who God is, and what He has decreed. But you know, as I think about this subject of the law, and its goodness, it's easy to say, okay, obey the law, and that's it. That's the easier thing to do. That's the inspiring sermon, perhaps some of you might need. You know, I can say, just obey the law, just desire the law, just fulfill the law, and that would be an inspiring sermon in itself. But I'm afraid as I look at Psalm 19 and as I look at the whole plethora of biblical revelation, that can't be the case. Because the message of Christianity is not do this, and you will be happy, or you will be saved, or you will be transformed. Because the message of Christianity is that the law is not there to tell you that you can do it, actually it is there to tell you that you can't do it. Because greater biblical revelation tells us that the purpose of the law was never meant to show us that we could, but it's to show us that we couldn't, and therefore trust in the one that could.

And we see this hint throughout, Psalm 19. What is the outcome of obedience to the law? It revives the soul, it makes wise the simple, it rejoices the heart, it enlightens the eyes. But I want you to notice the issue that the law is trying to address. What's common about these four things? Well, it's describing a change in our spiritual faculties, isn't it? Though the soul gets revive, the simple mind is made wise, the heart rejoices, and darkened eyes are enlightened. Well, if you know your Bibles, well, this is echoed throughout the book of Romans, and especially Romans one that in their idolatry, they have exchanged the glory of the Creator to the creature. By doing so they made their minds futile, they became futile in their thinking. And their foolish hearts were again, darkened, claiming to be wise, they became fools.

So we are reminded about the corruption that the fall brought into all humanity. And so if we're not careful when we read Psalm 19, we might have this tendency to think this way. Okay, we have a problem of sin, sin has corrupted the world, our human and spiritual faculties. So what we need to do is just obey the law and everything will be alright. You are revived, you're made wise, you get your eyes enlightened, so on and so forth. But there is a problem with such a tendency of reading it that way. It's not that David is wrong. Obedience to the law is a great thing. But obedience to the law is only able to do this if we're able to obey it perfectly. And so that's the issue. We are not able to obey perfectly because greater biblical Revelation tells us if we are guilty of one for instance, we're guilty of all. So what does the law demand throughout all these? Well, it demands absolute obedience and that is something we all could never achieve. So again, we see that both creation and the law, they are all wonderful things. They reveal to us the glorious Creator, the glorious law giver. But incidentally, they also reveal to us who we really are.

And so how does the psalmist respond? Well, this is how he respond in light of what has been revealed. He responds with deep contrition. This is what he says, ‘Who can discern his errors. Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins, let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.’ (Psalm 19:12-13) You see what it is saying? Let me paraphrase. It says this, ‘God, as I look at the goodness of what you have made, and what you have decreed, I realize that I am utterly powerless to fight and save myself.’ The Psalmist comes face to face with the reality of sin and what he truly is in the sight of God, utterly distasteful, repulsive, odious, unpleasant in the eyes of God, and therefore he throws himself in the mercies of who God is. And who wouldn't be. Because as we come face to face with who God is, the true knowledge of God makes us painfully aware that we are utterly sinful, that even those hidden sins that no one can see, sins that are private to us. The kinds of sins that no one knows is utterly odious in the sight of a holy God.

When I was younger, I never ate pork. And I'm a Filipino. Well, I never ate pork, not because of health reasons, or not because of my religious convictions, is because when I was younger, when I was playing with my cousins, I saw a pig dragged to its slaughter. And I could still see the blood dripping out, the entrails hanging out, I could still hear the screams, the squeals that it had. So every time there was a birthday party, and I couldn't eat, every time we eat, I would vomit, my mom would tell me, this is chicken. And therefore, I actually ate pork. But every time I would eat, I would think about the trauma that I received when I was young. And my stomach would turn, and I would really, really vomit. You know, this is the perspective that the psalmist has on this passage. Because God is so good in what He has revealed and what He has written, He is so holy, morally upright, that any sense of sin turns his stomach, odious, unpleasant, according to his taste, because God is supremely holy, that any thought of sin, any time we entertain sin, it will make us shudder.

So the psalmist ends with this beautiful, beautiful prayer. It says, ‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.’ (Psalm 19:14) Because true knowledge of God leads us to a heart that really wants to desire to please Him, to reject sin, to be disgusted with sin, and to please Him.

Conclusion

So, let's conclude. Can God be truly known? The answer is a resounding, yes, God can be known. He has revealed Himself in what he has done in creation, such that when we look at the heavens above us, we see the beauty and the glory of the Creator. But not only in the skies, we also see Him in the law that He has revealed Himself through what He has written. The law is beautiful and good. Why? Because it reflects the moral goodness and uprightness of the one who rightly and divinely authored His law. Yet at the same time, such revelation is really not incidental to us because not only does it reveal God for who He is, we are also revealed to be people who are far from Him. We are culpable men and women, we have rejected the Creator. And we have absolutely spurned what He has written, we have disregarded the law. So while they are true witnesses, they tell us about the reality of this world and what He has made, they're not the ultimate witness that we see in the world today. Because if there's one message that both creation and the law declare, it's this, God is glorious, and we are not. 

And therefore, we need to be in a right relationship with God. And thankfully, that's not the final word. Because God has spoken, ultimately, not in creation, not in His Word, but He has spoken the best and ultimate Word in whom He has sent. There is a series of passages in John that will furnish this point and I just want to read it to you so that you can get the point that I'm trying to say. Is John chapter one, it says this, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ (John 1:1) ‘And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son, from the Father, full of grace and truth.’ (John 1:14) Verse 16, ‘For from his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace, For the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.’ (John 1:16-17)

Here's the final thing, ‘No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he’, through Jesus, ‘has made him known’ (John 1:18). Isn't it amazing? How do we know God today, a God that can be seen, heard and felt. As we looked at our pages into the life and the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, we know God, by knowing the Son.

So maybe today, you want to know who God is. You tried many means and methods, but you just can't grasp Him for who He is. You have questions, does He really love me, is He real, does He have a wonderful purpose for my life? Well can I invite you to look to Jesus, because in Jesus, who He is and what He has done, God has perfectly revealed Himself, He has made Himself known to what He has accomplish through His Son, that in that divine Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, men and women, can have a restored relationship with him.

But perhaps for some of you, you have drifted. You've been distracted much with life. And you've felt that you have deserted God or that He has deserted you. And you've come to this camp, thinking and hoping that this will be sorted out, your relationship with God will be ignited and sparked. I hope that in the remaining few days as you spend time in the Word, again, this is a teaser as to spend time in the Word, as you spend time with gospel community, you will gain an even deeper an intimate relationship with the Lord. My final word is this, you can know Him because He desires to be known, and He desires to love you, and He desires to save you.

Prayer

Come let's pray together. The psalmist says, let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. We thank You Father, that you are glorious in what you've made, and how you have ordered the world as it is. But as we see you for who you are, we recognize that we are utterly and despicably sinful. So in light of what your Word says, would you bring us nearer, still nearer to you? We pray for our souls to be nourished as we continue to dig deeper into the heart of Psalms. And we pray that ultimately, we may see God for who He is, continually know him and see ourselves for who we are. In Jesus’s name, Amen.