How Do I Know?

Psalm 19

The world is full of competing truth claims, from Mohammed to Joseph Smith, to Karl Marx. Somewhere in your life there may be a “know it all” who thinks, well…that he knows it all. One of the signs of our times is the rise of “my truth” instead of “the truth”. We can’t know, because there really is no absolute truth. All I can do is be satisfied with whatever glimmers of truth emerge from my own heart.

Into this confusion (and sometimes, despair) comes the Bible, claiming to tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

The first truth Psalm 19 proclaims is that there is a God. We know this because creation is shouting that there is a Creator. “The heavens are telling the glory of God And the firmament declares his handywork Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. Their message has gone out to all the world And it is heard to the ends of the earth.”

All I have to do is to look up and see stars and galaxies moving like clockwork through the night to know that somewhere a master clockmaker is at work. But now I have a decision to make: shall I humbly seek this God in order to obey Him, or shall I try to avoid all thought of Him, and run my own life? The Apostle Paul says, “since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind…. Therefore, God gave them up….” (Romans 1:20-24). Most people, Paul says, are unwilling to approach this amazing Creator, because He might be a spoil sport. His plan for my life might not be as much fun as my own plan for my life.

In other words, God is knowable, but only to those who want to know Him.

The rest of this blog, as well as the rest of Psalm 19, is addressed to those who have decided to keep reading. There is a God; creation makes that clear; and I am one of those relatively rare people who would like to know who He is and what He wants. Now what? We are still left with the problem we began with – competing truth claims. Psalm 19 answers:

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes…. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

The Bible, the law, testimony, and precepts of the Lord, shows me who this Creator is. There is no book like it. Written over the course of 1500 years, by 40 different people, it tells one story and reflects one Mind. Psalm 2, written by King David around the year 1000 B.C., describes the intense anguish of someone who is being humiliated and tortured by having his hands and feet pierced. His bones are out of joint, his heart is like wax, his clothes have been removed and are being gambled away by his persecutors. He asks,” My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Isaiah 53, written about 500 years later, describes him again: “He was despised and abandoned by men, a man of great pain and familiar with sickness; and like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised and we had no regard for Him.” And about 500 years after that, the Gospels record the historical facts about Him. How did the Bible get it so right over the course of so much time? It’s like a golfer hitting a hole in one from 100 miles away. The Bible is not like any other book; it is God’s book that tells God’s story and reveals God’s nature. Therefore it “restores the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, and does all those other wonderful things Psalm 19 describes.

There is a God, and Jesus Christ is His perfect reflection. How do I know? The starry heavens above and the book of truth within.