Psalms 49:1-7
“Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, both low and high, rich and poor alike: My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle: Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me— those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—“
Psalms 49:1-7 NIV
Wisdom is something that can truly dictate the heart of one’s life and actions. If one chooses to incline their hearts towards things that are of more value and meaning, rather than material things that are only temporary, then one can truly say that their life is purposeful.
Living a life for God and not for our own pleasures helps us view life’s good and bad through a more eternal perspective. What that means is we set our sights on knowing that one day we will be spending eternity with God and that all that we accomplished in this life, if not for God's Glory will be meaningless and pass away.
Our hope ought to be set on looking forward to the day when we can leave all of this behind and spend our lives loving and worshipping God. Echoing the wisdom found in Ecclesiastes, the Psalmist highlights that fact that those who seek their identity in money or worldly things all have the same fate as the poor and even animals.
The Psalmist also says that no amount of money can ransom a life from the Lord. We will never be able to escape the fate and the will of the Lord, no matter how much power and clout one gains here on the earth. We are all still human and we will all one day meet our maker.
May we always try to live a life that will build up the kingdom of God and not the Kingdom of Self. We should not be impressed with the riches of men. When you set God's currency next to the rich man's millions, you know that only God can buy your soul from the clutches of eternal death.
This psalm produces in us a confident rejoicing in God and the certainty of the resurrection. We should also enjoy our freedom from the clutches of the idolatry of materialism. This psalm is an ideal exhortation for our modern world, where most people live in the lap of luxury.
With his vast wisdom and almost endless resources Solomon searched for the meaning of life. After exploring all that he could imagine to be the reason for our existence on earth he reached at least two conclusions. Without God our life is meaningless, like chasing the wind because no matter what we accomplish, we die and leave it behind. We are soon forgotten and our works destroyed.
When God is entered into the equation of our lives, we find purpose and meaning for why we are here. We live because we will die and leave this earth. Our life is not about here or now, it is about what happens when death comes. Yet it is intended for every person who has ever lived in this world rich and poor alike. For it establishes what is really of value in this world.
In a world of millions of books and billions of opinions, only the Bible gives us the truth, the nuggets of gold hidden in the dark corners of caves. These nuggets are well worth the effort of excavating the Word of God. Riches won't buy you heaven, but Jesus did!!!
Father, thank You for this day and Your amazing grace. Lord, let Your abundant blessings flow like a river over my friend and family today. Lord, have mercy on us, take our minds and think through them, take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire. Lord, we thank You for these Words of life. They remind us our earthly wealth is only for this earth. It isn’t eternal and we can't take it with us. Neither can we redeem our souls with our riches. Thank You Jesus for paying the ransom for our souls. Lord, help us to get the right perspective on life and build our lives more on things that are eternal. Lord, use my friend to be the touch of Your love to all today.
Father, we love You. Amen !
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