Riddle me this, to music?

Psalm 49

1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 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.

Thoughts:

Who is this psalm for:

The Who

- all people

- all the inhabitants of the world

- the lowly and the powerful 

- the rich and the poor

The Why

A Proverb and Riddle:

- Why fear in evil days

- When evil people have you surrounded 

- the affluent and powerful who consider others beneath them as worthless and of no value.

Jesus knows your true value . Luke 12:7 — Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

- Verse seven, Who can pay GOD (meaning GOD holds the title) the price of someone else's life?

- Verse eight and nine, can a person pay the ransom for thier own life and live forever?

Nope, there's only two people in all of history that got out alive and they were Enoch and Elijah. GOD was the one who made thier exit possible. See Genesis 5:19-24 Enoch and 2 Kings 2:11 Elijah The statement in Hebrews 9:27 ESV — And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,. Their appointment is coming see Revelation 11:3-12 and just like Jesus they will be killed by the rebel forces, but GOD will resurrect thier dead bodies in open display of the world. Proving once and for all those who are dead to this world are alive to GOD and those demeemed worthless according to this world are priceless in his eyes.

 Jesus paid the price for everyone from the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4 — even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

The living and the dead

Do you remember what Jesus told the Sadducces about the dead? 

Mark 12:27 ESV — GOD is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

GOD is the God of the living not the dead, but in Jesus he takes both titles and removes the Devil from his foothold of authority over the dead which is also represented by the keys in Revelation 1:18, hence the Devil is no longer in the drivers seat in regards to the dead. That's why Paul says in Romans 14:9 — For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. The old Lord of the dead is now dead to us and Jesus has set the captives free.

Verse ten the wise, the fool, and the stupid will all die and any money earned over a lifetime will belong to others. Even if they manage to name lands, buildings, etc. after themselves their "name" in a new heavens and a new earth and into eternity, will be forgotten. Only things done for Christ and the kingdom will continue to endure. Jesus explains the only things that can be carried over — but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:20

Verses 11 to 13 — their only hope, even though thier home becomes the grave, is that they will be remembered for thier acquisitions and hopefully thier name will live on. The truth however is just like animals we all die and eventually be forgotten. Even though thier legacy may be shared and carried out by those left behind, it will not guarantee our eternal remembrance. Jesus will be the only reason that you will remembered or be here 10,000 years from now. 

I find it interesting and have no insights into what the Psalmist writes about in regards to Sheol, but consider what he shares in verse 14 — "Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell." All we know for sure is that the "eternal fire" was created for the Devil and his angels, Matthew 25:41 — “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. They are referred to as Minister's of flame and fire in Hebrews 1:7 — Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.” Will GOD then return them to thier element? This however was never meant to be our final destination. They are of fire we are of earth. Genesis 2:7 — then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Did GOD create the angels (the spirits) in a similar fashion? The breath of life, wind and using fire, just not the fire we're familiar with. These are very much my own thoughts and musings, please don't take it as anything more than that. In the grand scheme of things my musings pail in comparison to knowing and following Jesus.

The Psalmist in verse fifteen had confidence that GOD would ransom his soul from the power of Sheol. GOD in Jesus did that very thing on the cross, he paid the ransom, he took the keys, freed the captives and gave the Holy Spirit who gave gifts to men. The Psalmist also believed GOD would receive him. The Apostle Paul also shared in that confidence - 2 Corinthians 5:8 ESV — Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Paul knew exactly where he would be when his time on earth was done. 

How about you?

- verse sixteen, don't be afraid of the rich and powerful.

- verse seventeen we leave this world the same way we came in with nothing, but if we have Christ and leave with Jesus, we leave with eternal riches beyond our wildest imagination.

- blessing and praise for ourselves will only benefit us in the here and now, definitely not in eternity. 1 Corinthians 1:28-29 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

- verse nineteen, "never again see light."

 Those who reject GOD the Father and Jesus Christ the Son and will not stand for correction from the Holy Spirit will join thier kindred in the outter darkness. Matthew 8:12 — while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

- verse twenty, a person in all thier splendor and precious worth that has no understanding is exactly like a wild animal that dies, it passes away clawing, biting, kicking, and screaming. It's only focus is self preservation.

My prayer is that we come to know the one who put our salvation above self preservation on the cross and willingly was tortured, bled and died for you and me. Unlike a wild animal that goes kicking and screaming Jesus you were silent before your accusers. Help us to see our own worth and others (our neighbors) as you see all of us.

Thank you GOD in Jesus name, amen.