09-21-2025 - A Message of Hope and Grace from Pastor Rob Inrig

Lou Hernández
Sep 20
13 min read

Updated: Nov 7

From Bethany Baptist in Richmond, BC

I invite you to pray together: O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and relieve thy sick servants for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon them with the eyes of thy mercy (Vicky O, Nancy R, Tere G, Liz N, Stevie A, Socrates D, Sara's mom H, Margarita G, Rosy Ch, Patricia L. Lina J. Magda- Laci M. Gloria F, Alicia G, Miguel A H.) Comfort them with a sense of thy goodness; preserve them from the temptations of the enemy; and give them patience under his affliction. In thy good time, restore them to health, and enable them to lead the residue of their life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant that finally they may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

You can add names from family and friends who need prayer.

The Hidden Treasures of Life

As garage sales go, it was nothing spectacular. The usual takeaways included some children’s books, a few used appliances, and of course, miscellaneous kitchenware—bowls and utensils.

One couple walked away with a $3 bowl. This bowl soon found a place on their mantel. After a time, they became intrigued by it. After consulting experts, they discovered that their garage sale bargain was a 1,000-year-old Chinese bowl from the Northern Song Dynasty. They were dumbfounded when auctioneers estimated that their treasure could fetch $200,000 to $300,000. Yet when the gavel struck in London, this 5-inch diameter bowl fetched an astonishing $2,225,000 on 03/19/13.

Truth is, that treasure-hunter child still lives in many of us. The only difference is where we now look. We hope an investment will transform our 'on-the-edge living' into prosperity. We long for our children to find what we found to be elusive. We yearn for relationships that exceed our best imaginings.

Discovering God’s Treasures

Here in Psalm 19, the psalmist makes it clear: there is a treasure awaiting discovery. This treasure is placed in plain view for us to see and enjoy. God reveals it to David throughout his life:

To a shepherd boy: When life was simple, writing worship and watching sheep.
To a king in preparation: When life threatened, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts.” (1 Samuel 17:45)
To a king in waiting: When life turned unfair, running to En Gedi’s safety, hiding in the rocks.
To a king in jeopardy: When life became dark, Absalom pursuing his father to take his life.
To a king honoured: When life was at its best, enemies defeated, a blessed nation at rest.

In these times, we are told repeatedly that David inquired of the LORD. That shepherd boy, then shepherd king, learned early and often that God speaks. He directs us to provision and prepares us for victory. But when David failed to inquire of a speaking God, things went badly.

The God Who Speaks

Truth is, we need a God who speaks. When we need direction, when hope feels far away, when dark places hem us in, and when attractive places deceive us, we need to listen. The great news is, we have a God who speaks—not just to kings but to us. He speaks through His Word and guides us by His Spirit who lives within.

Sometimes, He brings a Scripture that we see in a new way. Other times, He leads a person to speak the right word, in the right way, at the right time. The Spirit may come to us in promptings that feel more than coincidental thoughts. Here in this Psalm, God reminds us that He speaks.

In verses 1-6, He reveals His might and power through His creation. Then in verses 7-14, God reveals His heart and purposes through His Word—giving us hope and ultimately wanting us to know the redemption offered by Jesus, our Rock and Redeemer.

The Majesty of Creation

In these first six verses, we receive a revelation of God’s might and power. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament shows His handiwork.” The name for God used here describes Him as Creator, focusing on the mighty things He has done. Through what He’s done, He shows us Himself, revealing His glory.

In 1 Chronicles, we’re told, “Declare His glory among the nations” (1 Chronicles 16:24). Habakkuk 2 tells us, “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord” (Habakkuk 2:14). Of Jesus, we read, “We beheld His glory” (John 1:14).

We often try to equate God’s glory with the splendor of a sunset or a metamorphosis, where the common transforms into the spectacular. But God’s glory is far above these. We’re told that “No one can see God’s glory and live” (Exodus 33:20).

The Invitation to Know God

And yet, with that, God’s heart wants to reveal Himself to us. He does this by giving us glimpses of His glory so we can begin to understand the life He has invited us into. Yet, as C.S. Lewis observed, we often miss it. “Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” Psalm 19 tells us that microdots of God’s glory can be seen in the heavens and the earth.

Consider the heavens: Before the telescope was invented in the 17th century, Hippocrates said there were 10^22 stars. Convinced he was wrong, Ptolemy said, “Nope, there are 10^56.” German astronomer and mathematician Kepler said, “No, you’re both wrong; there are 10^55.” They would have been better to listen to Jeremiah, who said, “The host of heaven can't be counted. The stars are like the sand of the sea” (Jeremiah 33:22).

Today, astronomers estimate there are between 100 billion to 400 billion stars, but that’s only counting those in our galaxy. Numbers aside, they all declare the glory of God. The glory they declare is far more than what you and I can see.

NASA Science writes, “We can’t hear it with our ears, but the stars in the sky are performing a concert, one that never stops. The biggest stars make the lowest, deepest sounds, like tubas and double basses. Small stars have high-pitched voices, like celestial flutes. These virtuosos don’t just play one 'note' at a time, either—our own Sun has thousands of different sound waves bouncing around inside it at any given moment.”

In other words, heaven and earth are playing a never-ending symphony of praise to God. No wonder we are told, “If Jesus’ followers do not cry out in praise, even the rocks will cry out” (Luke 19:40). Perhaps this isn’t necessarily as metaphoric as we think. The website Geology In tells us, “Ringing rocks, also known as sonorous or lithophonic rocks, are a fascinating geological phenomenon where specific rocks resonate with a bell-like sound when struck. These seemingly ordinary rocks hold a hidden musicality, captivating scientists and music enthusiasts alike.”

God’s Word is true: “The skies and firmament continually proclaiming God’s handiwork.” As Elizabeth Barrett Browning observes, “Earth is crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God: but only he who sees takes off his shoes.” Isaiah 40 says the same: “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens—who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing” (Isaiah 40:26).

The Creator's Power

Isaiah 40:12 states, “Who else has held the oceans in His hand? Who has measured off the heavens with His fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?”

It’s important we hold onto this when times come when we need reminding that God is Creator. He can speak into our world of confusion, disorder, and lies. More than just Creator, He is a God of love who, in ways we often don’t see or understand, is able to step into our world of hurt, deception, and excruciating pain to do His miraculous. Ultimately, this is true in a time to come, yes, but also in our here and now, in situations that seem to have no hope.

The Continuous Speech of Creation

Day after day, the heavens pour forth speech: Their speech continuously speaks. Looked on from afar, we see a palette of color, hills verdant green, skies deep blue, and waters that mirror. But look close, and what we hear is louder: in a swan, 25,000 feathers layered one upon another in beauty but in waterproofed protection; a flower petal with its texture like silk, no design pattern the same; or the flicker—with acute hearing, its tongue wrapped around its head, sticky to catch its prey, not sticky to impede its use, or its head shock absorber equipped to find its prey. Move your look even closer, under microscopic view, to discover complexity. That simple cell is not so simple, or that insignificant bug functioning with its sophisticated gear-structured leg—pouring forth speech.

Night after night, stars displaying knowledge: Displayed to those who look, order discernible, design incomprehensible, function undeniable—all marvels from the hand of a designer.

Suppose I were to say this all just happened. That in some incomprehensible way, what we are looking at just sprang into existence or evolved into order. That it just so happened that the sun’s surface temperature is 12,000ºF and that we are 93 million miles away from it. If we were any closer or any further, we would either freeze or bake to death. But amazingly, it just so happened that we are positioned exactly right for life to exist on our planet.

And it just so happened that the earth does a 360º spin 365 times a year as it circles around the sun, giving us day and night. Or that it just so happens the earth is tilted 23 1/3º, giving us our four seasons. Amazing accidents of chaos that somehow evolved their way into complex order. Perhaps, or maybe Paul got it right: “From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and the sky and all that God has made. They can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and His divine nature, i.e., His glory, so they have no excuse whatever for not knowing God” (Romans 1:20).

Finding Clarity in Confusion

Life is like that—times when disorder comes and things confuse. Pathways less obvious. It’s in these times that we need to look up to see God, the author and sustainer of the solar system. But far more than that, God who sent Jesus so we could have life. Look up, then cast yourself on Him. Knowing that what God has revealed in the light cannot be overcome by what the enemy is doing in the dark.

Darkness may bring fear, but it will never overcome. As hard as these times can be, LOOK UP to get a renewed view of the GLORY of God. His glory is not to be admired but a glory to which we have been invited—to worship, to heal, to embrace, and more importantly, to be embraced. His glory is not a spectacle on which we look or a glory from which we hide, but a glory into which we run, welcomed as His child because of Jesus’ redeeming blood.

The psalmist then tells us, its voice goes out into all the earth—to the ends of the world Out to that remote, far-off Nigerian village; out to the New York skyscraper that a financier has considered the center of power; out to the northern cold where only the most adventurous go. God’s glory is there for all who will see and hear.

David continues with other pictures that celebrate revelations of joy: the sun leaving its tent; a bridegroom leaving his chamber; a strong man running his race (Psalm 19:4, 5)—images of joy as David is on guard in the pasture; reclining on the hillside; hiding in the forest; standing in the palace. No wonder he could say in awe, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3, 4).

For the few minutes we gaze into the heavens, we can be amazed. Complexity functioning silently as if there were none. Immensity, stretching far beyond my little domain. Artistry in the intricacy of color and design. In all of these, the natural points to something greater. Showcasing. Revealing. Declaring. Calling us to see and worship the greatness of His Majesty—that greatness for what He has done.

But as glorious as these things are, the natural world has a beginning and an end. Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away” (Matthew 24:35). This truth is repeated in Revelation and Isaiah: “The sun shall be no more your light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto you; but the Lord shall be unto you an everlasting light” (Isaiah 64:20; Revelation 21:23).

The Mystery of God’s Grace

But for David, there is something far better than the greatness of God and His majesty—and that is the greatness of God and His Mystery—the Mystery of His Grace. This God who created the heavens and the earth can be known and loved. Better still, this God loves us. The natural world of the heavens and earth can’t show us this.

The natural can show us how great God is and how small we are, but His grace shows us something entirely different—the great who made Himself small to show us how big we are to Him. His grace does the unthinkable, becoming man—leaving His throne, leaving His glory so we could have a relationship with Him. This man is willing to suffer, taking on our sin so we could be forgiven and in a completely different way, become His children. He comes to show us how to live, guided by the truth of His Word that gives us wisdom, that shows us what we are to see, that opens to us the treasures we are to find.

Though God can be appreciated for His greatness, relationship can only be known through His grace. This revelation is given to us in His Word.

He originates the relationship and guarantees it. From here on, the psalmist uses God’s covenant name, beginning in verse 7: JHWH. This is the name that Jesus used of Himself: “Before Abraham, I AM” (John 8:58). When the mob came to arrest Jesus, His declaration of “I Am” caused them to fall to the ground (John 18:4-6). I AM is revealed to Moses, to Abraham, to Isaac, to you, and to me.

This relationship can only come through Jesus, our Saviour and Redeemer. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23, 24). “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

The Nature of Our Relationship with God

God determines the nature of the relationship. In verses 7-9, David reveals what we’ve been given in God’s Word, beginning with life given to that which was dead: “The law of the Lord is perfect—reviving the soul” (Psalm 19:7). “You were dead in your trespasses and sins but made alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:1, 5). The heavens tell us there is a God; His Word tells us how this God can be known.

When the Scripture speaks of the law, it refers to the torah, the Word of God. The NIV renders this as “refreshing the soul.” I think both ideas—reviving and refreshing—are important. The latter conveys that God’s purpose doesn’t stop at giving life; His desire is to be constantly refreshing life. Revelation tells us, “The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water” (Revelation 7:17).

His Word tells us of His care, His promises, His faithfulness—coming to us in our water-deprived places, telling us to drink so we can experience His love anew. Because His testimony is sure—what He says is true, where He leads is right, and the wisdom He gives will hold. His testimony won’t be displaced by lies, no matter how convincing those lies may be. His wisdom will never prove false and will never take us in directions that are wrong. How do we know? Because the law of the Lord is perfect. There is no mid-course correction due to unforeseen circumstances, no under-construction realities necessitating a GPS re-routing.

The Joy of Following God’s Commands

THE PRECEPTS OF THE LORD ARE RIGHT, THE COMMANDS OF THE LORD ARE PURE, AND BY KEEPING THEM, THERE IS GREAT REWARD (Psalm 19:8, 11). In this, the Lord makes it clear that following where He leads brings joy. Not necessarily because where He takes us will be easy or the journey fun, but because His leading will take us to the right place.

As verse 8 tells us, following the Lord’s commands gives sight—probably more accurately, insight. The God who loves us will only lead in ways best for us. Assured and anchored in that, there is joy. We can trust where He leads. This word precept can also mean straight, which tells us that following the Lord brings direction. When we follow the path He takes us on, we will know joy by being kept from the detours we are prone to take into side roads that injure and bring hurt—safe from wrong paths that lead to ruin, safe from choices that result in wreckage. Living according to God’s commands enables us to live in joy, free from guilt and free from shame.

We live in a time Scripture describes as, “Everyone did what is right in their own eyes” (Judges 17:6). This way of life seeps into and sometimes pours upon how many are choosing to live today. Scripture is often interpreted through the lens of culture rather than culture being held up to Scripture. But as we are warned, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. Let God be found true and every man be found a liar” (Proverbs 16:25; Galatians 6:7; Romans 3:4).

And here in Psalm 19, God reminds us, the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether (Psalm 19:9). God’s truth provides wisdom for life.

The Value of God’s Word

So what are we to take from all of this? That is best summarized in what we are told in verses 10 and 11: 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 great reward.

God’s laws, commandments, instructions, precepts are good because they restore life, provide wisdom, illumination, and joy. They reveal God.

These are easy things to say. Handy verses to quote. Only there’s a problem because there is another voice that comes to us wanting an audience. He often speaks in whispers because he wants us to come close so we can really hear. At first, those whispers may be easy to ignore, but the more they come, the more curious we become about what those whispers have to say and what merit they may have—namely that there are other pathways to walk, other routes to take. He raises doubts that perhaps there are other things to be seen, doubts that maybe other voices should be heard.

And with that, the deceiver asks, “Did God really say? Have you considered what you are missing out on? Do you know the pleasures that are there to be had?”

Given the choice between instructions and commands and the presentation of the possibility of thrills and adventure, we are so prone to turn aside to look, to explore, and yes, to engage.

The father of lies sets the stage to steal and destroy. And the Psalmist’s warning? Let not them have dominion over me (Psalm 19:13). Look up, look close, come near—to see our God of glory!

The enemy wants us to become deceived and transfixed by mere glow sticks and rechargeable blue screens while ignoring the heavens above that are on glorious display. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.