Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

Scroggie says of this psalm that we either make ‘a god of wealth…or find wealth in God.’ Here the wealthy are using their riches as a means of oppression. James, the brother of Jesus warns of such ac- tivity: “ Look here, you rich people, weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you…You have condemned and killed good people who had no power to defend themselves against you. (Jms. 5:1,6)

“Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God. Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough to live forever and never see the grave.” (7-9)

Wealth carries with it the illusion that everything can be bought but death is the great equalizer and no amount of riches can bargain with it. Eternal life is not something that can be paid for by any currency or efforts of mankind, it is the wonderful gift purchased by the precious blood of Jesus: “ For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ran- som he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sin- less, spotless Lamb of God.” (1 Pet. 1:18,19) “Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth be- hind. The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves, but they leave their wealth to others. They will not last long despite their riches–they will die like the animals. This is the fate of fools, though they will be remembered as being so wise. Interlude. (10-13) Jesus taught this powerful story concerning those who were not rich in their relationship with God: “ Beware! Don’t be greedy for what you don’t have. Real life is not measured by how much we own.’ And he gave an illustration: ‘A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. In fact, his barns were full to overflowing. So he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store everything. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get it all?’ Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” (Lk. 12:14-21) This man never accomplished anything of eternal value with all the wealth that he left behind. Though he was considered wise in his lifetime, God valued this as foolishness.

III. THE RESURRECTION AND THE REDEEMER - 14,15

“ Like sheep, they are led to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates.” (14)

The imagery is so clear, we will either have ‘death as our shepherd’ or Jesus, the great shepherd: “ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (Jn. 10:11) Delitzsch says of the reference to the ‘morning’ in verse 14: “the poet could not speak more clearly of the resurrec- tion…the riddle is–God will redeem man, and raise him up in the morning 1 …” God is presenting the judgment and resurrection in seed form as prophesied in Daniel: “ Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Dan. 12:2)

“ But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of death. Interlude.” (15)

All those who have been redeemed by Christ’s blood will experience the ‘snatching away from death’ mentioned here. This is the same word used in the Book of Genesis describing how God took Enoch to himself: “ Enoch lived 365 years in all. He enjoyed a close relationship with God throughout his life. Then suddenly, he disappeared because God took him.” (Gen. 5:23,24) God also ‘snatched away’ his servant Elijah from death in a whirlwind. There will be a great ‘snatching away from the power of death’ at the end of time where God will rescue all of those who have loved him.

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