Walk Of Life – Day 02, September 2022 – Thoughts From The Book Of Psalms
Psalm 49
Men cannot be ransomed or redeemed by wealth—God alone can redeem a soul from the grave—The glory of a rich man ceases with his death.
In the opening prelude, the psalmist exhorts everyone to listen to the message of his poem, both rich and poor alike. The message contained in this psalm applies to the wicked as well as the righteous. To appreciate wisdom, a person must have eyes to perceive it. Spiritual illumination helps us see the truth.
Employing a rhetorical question, the writer points out the foolishness of the wealthy opposing the godly, introducing the idea that the rich enjoy a false sense of security. Riches cannot lessen death’s sting. None of us are able to buy our ticket escaping death. The modern quest for celebrity attempts to circumvent the hard truth that no one is promised tomorrow by fashioning the illusion of living on beyond our earthly life. But fame, like riches, does not prevent the inevitable.
First, the Psalmist takes up the rich man. Too many rich men want to trust in their wealth. But there are only certain things that money can buy, and there isn’t enough money in the world to buy a man’s soul. Because of the word “ransom” used in this section, you need to think of the soul as captured or kidnapped by the enemy deceivers. When someone is kidnapped, the kidnappers usually ask for a ransom of the family and friends of the victim. In a similar manner, our souls have been captured by the devil and sin, and we will certainly be destroyed unless somebody pays that ransom price. If a kidnapper were to take one of our children, we would do everything that we could to pay the ransom, because our children’s lives are very precious to us. This is how the Psalmist speaks of the souls of God’s people in verse 8. They are precious to God, and He sent His Son in order to pay the ransom for those precious souls.
There is a limited period of time in which our souls may be ransomed from death, which is the final enemy to rally against us. Rich and poor alike will die, and the money of the richest people on earth will do them no good in that day. Then, those that trust in their riches will live in their tombs forever, a poetic reference to everlasting death. Everybody wants to live forever.
They want to see that their lives have some lasting value. That is why they name streets and lands after themselves. But those who die without God will never rise out of the grave again. They go to the land of everlasting death. What a hopeless, miserable prognosis for those who trust in themselves! Although the Psalmist does not bring out the word “hell,” or describe it in as graphic of terms as Jesus does in the Gospels, we should conclude that this is the most dreadful place from which everyone should wish to escape.
The assurance that we have is recorded in verse 15 which is But God will redeem my soul from the power of [f]the grave,
For He shall receive me.
Eternal God thank you for planting eternity in our souls. Though we wandered away from your presence and have become subjected to death thank you for delivering us from those snares through your only son Lord Jesus Christ. Father If there is any brother or sister who have not yet known you help them to accept you as their personal saviour. Amen.
