Listen Up People

“Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: Both low and high, rich and poor, together.”  Psalm 49:1-2

One of my Bibles gives a brief overview of Psalm 49 which explains that the psalmist is calling on all the people to hear him musing on the things of life and death.  The term “musing” means to “deeply meditate” on a given subject.  To meditate is not to wonder what you will prepare for dinner, but meditation is to take a thought, a verse, or a subject and think deeply about it, analyze it, and try to understand what it means.  Scripture is meant to be thought through carefully and with the purpose of leading one to discover what it is that God is trying to teach the one who mediates on His word.  Meditation and prayer are the most important essences of Bible study.  Reading a quick devotional is good, but delving into God’s word is much more beneficial for the one who diligently seeks to know God.

This was not one of King David’s psalms.  The psalms have several different writers and many of them are written as praises or prayers in the form of a song, but this one was written as a sermon.  Have you ever heard a preacher sing his sermon?  I have heard preachers sing a song during their sermons which relate to the message of their sermon, but not one who sang the entire sermon.  I am afraid that they would have a more difficult time getting their message across particularly if they couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.  (I have noticed that usually when the preacher sings during his sermon, he sings one of the old hymns or southern gospel songs which we hardly ever hear anymore.  There’s nothing wrong with the more contemporary praise songs, but some of us miss the old songs.  Young folks today do not know these old songs, but there is a lot of truth in their lyrics.)  There are some preachers who should just stick to preaching and leave the singing to others, but there are some who are really good singers.  As my former pastor said, “You don’t have to be a singer to sing, you just have to have a song to sing.”  Besides, God doesn’t care whether we sing well or not, He just likes for us to sing our praises to Him.  I suppose the Holy Spirit can take the most off tune voice that is sincerely singing God’s praises and turn it into the most melodious sound to God’s ears.  After all, the Holy Spirit can intercede for us when we pray when we don’t know what or how to pray (Romans 8:26).

If we were to try and tell others about this psalm in our everyday speech, it might go something like this:

Everyone listen up, the rich and poor alike.  What is going to be said is extremely important.  Matter of fact, it will be put to music.  Why should we be afraid even though we are surrounded by evil?  Those who trust in their wealth can never buy forgiveness and redemption for their brothers.  A soul is worth far more than all the wealth of the world, for this wealth can never buy eternal life and keep a soul out of hell.  Rich men die and leave their possessions to others.  They think they will live in their present state forever.  They name their estates after themselves as if they will possess them forever.  But a rich man like any other man will die just like an animal.  They really aren’t very wise, but people will think they were.  All is lost for them in the grave.  But as for those who love God, they will be redeemed and received by Him.  Think about it.  Have no fear of the rich for they will come to nothing.

We have many in our world who are millionaires and billionaires, and people look up to them as if they are somehow more important than the rest of us regular folks.  Their money might be an advantage to them on earth, but not in eternity.  Jesus asked in Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”  This was basically what the psalmist was asking probably 1,000 years before the birth of Christ.  Some might use wealth to measure the worth of a person, but wealth can never truly make a person more worthy than others.  No one is worthy of the price that Christ paid on the cross to redeem men and women.  Folks say that the ground is level at the cross, meaning that no one is seen as more important to the Lord than any other.  God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34)  When Christ gave His life on the cross, He gave it for everyone, but only those who repent and believe on Him will be accepted by God into His family.  All the wealth in the world could never buy the peace, contentment, and joy that comes from a relationship with the King of kings and Lord of lords.  It is free to us, but it necessitated an enormous cost to God.