Psalm 49

Psalm 49

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

1 Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,

2 both low and high,
rich and poor alike:

3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the utterance from my heart will give understanding.

4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:

5 Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me-

6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?

7 No man can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for him-

8 the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough-

9 that he should live on forever
and not see decay.

10 For all can see that wise men die;
the foolish and the senseless alike perish
and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their tombs will remain their houses ^[a] forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had ^[b] named lands after themselves.

12 But man, despite his riches, does not endure;
he is ^[c] like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
Selah

14 Like sheep they are destined for the grave, ^[d]
and death will feed on them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning;
their forms will decay in the grave, ^[e]
far from their princely mansions.

15 But God will redeem my life ^[f] from the grave;
he will surely take me to himself.
Selah

16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich,
when the splendor of his house increases;

17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies,
his splendor will not descend with him.

18 Though while he lived he counted himself blessed—
and men praise you when you prosper-

19 he will join the generation of his fathers,
who will never see the light of life .

20 A man who has riches without understanding
is like the beasts that perish.

Jacq: God I pray that my heart will not turn cold.. that when I am rich, I am rich in you, ith understanding. God I thank you for reminding me that my salvation is what matters most, and I should treasure it, not take it for granted. God, I seek you, no one else, or nothing else. Amen!

Chin Ling: I was telling Crow, at cell yesterday, I felt myself being very overwhelmed by the many things I want to do, the fears I have for the kids and even them not finding God in the midst of it all. I feel being not good enough..and a whole lot of overwhelming emotions... But, reading today's psalm, esp V7 and V 9, all I pray is that I don't take over God's work. I just learn and God will be the one to redeem all our lives. Yesterday's service really stirred my heart to just look to him. As v 15 says, he will take me to him.

Pam: This is realli an re-assuring passage esp the verses 17-19... oh.. i think I din give thanks yet... i got $100 pay increment n a lump sum for performance in '07.... heee! I realli give thanks.... n as I reflect.. the Lord has always been gd to me.... i was nv in lack (.ie. my bag n shoe shelves are EXPLODING).... it was myself who thinks otherwise... how foolish! n I do not want to join in the generation w/o light! Cya on wed!

Dellia: Ah.....verse 5!! I have no need to fear when trouble come! Lord, thank you! Marriage encounter was a wonderful experience for me & woah..been a long time since i last felt good attending a session! But the fear I had was in coming back to the "world"..haaa...to face all the things again! But the Lord reminds me to "NOT FEAR"!! AMEN!

Crow: Well for me it's quite the same as chin! to remember that it is only the Lord who can redeem lives, not me.. that sometimes i may feel discouraged or lose focus, Lord help me to always remember it is all You and you alone...

Aileen: yesterday's message really spoke to me and i was just sharing with the cell about how sometimes we also feel that the bad tend to do better than us but we christians were not called to be meek and just dissappear in one corner. I tink reading this reminded me that having riches without understanding really means nothing. to remember to giver and not the gifts