This is the reality, the big dilemma of our lives: we die. What are we to do with this? The Psalmist says it plainly in Psalm 49: God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. The only one who can save from death, from the debt we owe to sin, is God, for only he is big enough, only he is good enough. He has done this very thing through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He died for your sins. He died and rose again to give you life everlasting. Trust Him and not yourself for you salvation.
The Daily Psalms are given with the intention to encourage Christians to read and meditate on these scriptures in order to grow in their faith and relationship with God. They are released every Tuesday and Thursday for the following week on all major Podcast platforms. May the Lord bless you as you ponder His Word.
Presented by Michael Mullen
Psalm 49 is an unusual psalm in that it is a Wisdom Psalm. In the Old Testament , Wisdom Literature is is a group of writings that address important questions that are universal in nature. They are normally the big questions of life, and how to live it. Therefore they are widely applicable to all people and practical in nature. Often times they will consist of proverbs or statements. At other times they will be made up of monologues. In the scriptures, the Proverbs of Solomon and the Book of Job are good examples of this. In the psalms there are a handful of wisdom type songs which attempt to teach or answer one of these questions, Psalm 49 being one of them. This is easy to see because the Psalmist says as much as he begins: “My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb…”
So what is the big question that this Psalm seeks to answer? It is the question of the fear of others who are wealthy by their dishonest actions and have been corrupted. These people are a trial for anyone who is upright. They seek only their own gain, the downfall of the righteous. They are the main source of trial for the Psalmist.
The author of this Psalm wants us to see these people for what they are: though they work evil in the present, their time is short, and in the end they will not succeed or last. They make a fatal mistake, for they trust in what they have, and not in Him who is the source of everything. They are without hope, for they are left with nothing that can save them. They will die with the beasts, and mankind with them. They follow the path of their Fathers, and the grave will swallow them up. When a man is prideful and trust in himself, he is no better in the end than the animals. He will perish. That is what the scriptures say, and that has been our experience.
But if this is true for the wicked, isn’t it as true for us as well? The Psalmist says that the price for our life is high, so costly that we are unable to pay for it.
Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,
for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
that he should live on forever
and never see the pit. (vv.7-9)
This is the reality, the big dilemma of our lives. Where are we to go with this? The Psalmist says it plainly: God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. The only one who can save from death, from the debt we owe to sin, is God, for only he is big enough, only he is good enough. He has done this very thing through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He died for your sins. He died and rose again to give you life everlasting. Trust Him and not yourself for you salvation.
Listen, God is able to save and redeem those who are frail and weak. He is able to save the poor and oppressed, and he is able to save you. He will save you today if you trust him for this. And those who are saved have no reason to fear anything. We need not fear the powerful and corrupt, nor death itself, for He is faithful, and will be with us in the facing of both. We may experience the attacks of the wicked. We will face the trial of dying. Yet on the other side of these tests, we will see once and for all that God is faithful to those who are His. He will save you.
Let us pray.