#729 Lyre Over Liars Psalm 49

Hear this, all peoples!

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

2 both low and high,

rich and poor together!

3 My mouth shall speak wisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,

when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

6 those who trust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?

7 Truly no man can ransom another,

or give to God the price of his life,

8 for the ransom of their life is costly

and can never suffice,

9 that he should live on forever

and never see the pit.

10 For he sees that even the wise die;

the fool and the stupid alike must perish

and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their graves are their homes forever,

their dwelling places to all generations,

though they called lands by their own names.

12 Man in his pomp will not remain;

he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;

yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah

14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

death shall be their shepherd,

and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.

Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.

15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will receive me. Selah

16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,

when the glory of his house increases.

17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away;

his glory will not go down after him.

18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed

—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,

who will never again see light.

20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 49 ESV

Give ear all inhabitants of the world - This is for everyone without exception. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All the world is under the curse, and everyone will meet not that which is their fancy or who they believe God to be, no matter the culture or geographical location, it is one God overall, not who we want but Who He is, forever and unchanging. 

Low and high - If you did not know yourself as part of the "all" in the verse before, maybe your station in life has confused you. God is not a respecter of persons, only men fall into that sort of thing, so much so that they did not recognize Him when He walked among them, nor can they hear His word now. 

2 Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and rue and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk across without even noticing.”… Luke 11: 42-44

Rich and poor - What does it profit anyone to gain all of this world's goods? I have watched the dying hand clench tighter, and we have seen the tombs of the Pharaoh's, their graves have been robbed of that which they can no longer defend, shiny things, covered in dust. The poor have cried unfair, wanting wanting what they would only lose, but listen to the poet, neither has any advantage towards eternity. Your life is a vapor, and everything in the universe will one day be shaken, rolled up like a scroll. What was your name? What was your title, your station? I hope it was "Christian, the friend of God."

Shall be of understanding - This is not just a song, it is a meditation. I read the word of God to know Him, I sing with the understanding so that I may speak with wisdom.

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church, I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. 20 Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.… 1 Corinthians 14: 18-20

Wherefore should I fear - In the world you will have tribulation, but He has overcome the world. Why am I anxious? Why do I spend so much time in worry if my God is the Creator of the universe? Who is worthy of my fear, but only God alone, and anyone else who would wish me to be afraid, him I should pity, him should I love. How sad for the soul that would lift itself up here, only to find  himself unknown in eternity, that he put his trust in the fear of men and being feared. Oh Lord, all I have left is this cross, this is the worse that men could do, but like the thief I am, I ask, remember me.

No man can ransom another - What would you pay for your soul? Are we so vain as those who sell indulgences, that we may reckon the value of eternity? Has not God already set the price too far above earthly things, or shall we pretend that we own that which He made and pay Him back in dust? The only hope is not in any man, not in myself, but in God Himself, the infinite must pay the ransom against eternal justice. Now surely you see it, we are all equal in our lack, both he who hopes in what he has, and he who thinks there is no hope because he has nothing. We are all bankrupt, and He would have perfect obedience, demand holiness, for He is holy and even so while we were yet sinners, He died for us. He hates sin, yet loved us, and since there is no delusion with God, no wavering in His character, He must satisfy the debt in order to set the captive free. Why it must be this way is not so hard for me to see anymore, but why You choose to love me so much, that is still a mystery.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it. 47 Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.…Matthew 13: 45-47

Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him. It will cost you everything, which is nothing, you exchange the life you cannot keep, for His life which cannot be lost. 

- They call their lands after their own names. Common enough is this practice. His grounds are made to bear the groundling's name, he might as well write it on the water. Men have even called countries by their own names, but what are they the better for the idle compliment, even if men perpetuate their nomenclature? - C. H. Spurgeon

Many people trace their ancestry thinking that this adds to them some value, yet our esteem is the same as every man's, that we are made in God's image, all from the same parents, Adam and Eve. The Bible will take you back to the most important stories of your heritage, that into sin, a fallen world we were conceived. Tell me this too, what good will it do me that men, who will all be dead, remember me, if Christ looks at me and says, "depart, I never knew you." 

I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” 39“Abraham is our father,” they replied. “If you were children of Abraham,” said Jesus, “you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.…John 8: 38-40

Foolish confidence - There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is judgment. We have seen men follow after folly and yet live, so we follow after them, not thinking that there is any consequence. I use to imagine that there was no life after this and to me that was blissful, that what I did here did not matter and if I died, no matter, because I thought there was no God, no spirit or soul. I followed men who were flawed, men who claimed special knowledge, forsaking the knowledge that comes from God alone.

Though you get praise - It is easy to find someone who agrees with me. If I watered all of this down and modeled my beliefs after the pop culture, if I turned my back to God, then I would feel the praise of men, but who are any of us. I am tired of a religion that is about me, and I do not care so much for the praise of men. My hope is not in what you think of me, but rather what God says, and whatever good comes out of me, it is Christ in me, and the glory belongs to Him. If I die before you, then say this about me, this will be the highest compliment, that Calvin was a sinner who belied in Christ for everything. Lord, be my all.