Psalm 49 Sermon- Worm Food

Psalm 49

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Worm Food

September 17, 2017

Lynchburg, Virginia

EXHORDIUM

         This morning I want to talk to you about a very important Biblical subject. It has to do with your immortal soul. The important topic is your own mortality. You are going to die. Before long, you will all be worm food. This topic is so important that I want to strongly exhort you all to listen. Hear what I am about to see. Give me both of you ears. Sit up. Pay attention.

         Husbands, listen, you are going to die. Ladies, did you hear what I said, you are going to die and rot in the ground. Children, death may seem farther away for you but it is no less certain. You, too, will die.

         We just had two major hurricanes in Texas and Florida. These storms swept across the Caribbean and people died. Whenever there is a storm, the news reports the loss of life. We tend to think that the storm adds to the number of the dead but that is not true. We cannot add to the number of the dead. The number of the dead is 100%. It is not a matter of if we will die, it is only when. Storms just bring into focus the reality that faces all of us. We will die.

         An untimely death seems tragic to us. We expect a long life but we should not mistake a hoped for long life with no death. Death is a very present reality for all of us.

EXEGESIS

To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.

Psa. 49:1 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:

Take heed to this people, not just you people gathered here but all the people in the world. This message is not just for the saints gathered here but for all men everywhere.

Hear this! Give ear everyone! He is about to discourse on something that he thinks is very important. Of course, whenever we turn to the Scriptures, we should pay attention. All of the Bible is important. But there are some parts of the Bible that are more important. We should pay attention to the overall message. We should read with a mind toward Jesus. We should be able to discern the gospel.

This Psalm is pointing to a very important truth that all men everywhere should heed. It is central to the fact that we are creatures made in God’s image. We have immortal souls. And yet, we are given one life to live in this life. And on the basis of that life hangs all eternity. Fail to give proper heed to temporal life and eternal life will be a living hell. Give proper heed to mortality and immortality is certain.

² Both low and high, rich and poor, together. ³ My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. ⁴ I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp. ⁵ Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

         The lowly, the uneducated, children, you ditch diggers and back hoe operators, those of low degree or low birth. Listen. But you highbrow college professors, you doctors and lawyers and engineers, you must give ear also. If you are poor, this message is for you. If you are rich, do not think you can buy your way out what I am about to say.

         I am going to speak wisdom. It will be obvious. The lowly and the poor are more likely to heed the warning, so I give a double warning to all of you gathered here.

         Why should you fear in the day of evil? The righteous man, the wise man should not fear. But if you have not rightly considered your latter end, then you do have reason to fear.

All men go to be with their maker. Is that not a fearful thought? We often talk about how great it will be to depart and be with Jesus. But it will not be great if you are an enemy of His. All men face death and the reality of standing before God. The Psalmist seems to say that he should not fear when men press on his heels, whether fools or the rich. The end of the Psalm ends with a similar admonition. Do not fear when one is made rich. Why? Because the rich will also have to face God. Better to face God now so you do not have to fear Him then.

         Some men humor themselves that they are good and that God will not find fault with them. They will have a rude awakening at the day of judgment. God can easily find fault. He sees all and knows all. Is there nothing you have done or said or thought that gives you fear to stand before God? Would you stand before God naked? Is that frightening? What if your every thought was revealed? Does that not frighten you?

         What about if your thoughts were revealed to the person you think is the most godly? Would that bother you? Are their things, thoughts, words, actions you would want to keep hidden? What if your every thought and deed was revealed to your grandmother or your grandfather? Would that scare you? But they are not even holy like our holy God?

         Our God not only knows your thoughts and actions, He also holds us accountable to them. If there is nothing for you to worry about, no matter what, then why do we need a Savior? The thoughts and intentions of the heart will be revealed on the last day. And on that day, if your refuge is not in Jesus Christ, then you will have nowhere to hide. God will find you out and the meeting will be a disaster for you.

6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; ⁷ None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: ⁸ (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) ⁹ That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

We who are in Christ know how foolish it is to trust in riches. Riches come and go and they do not make one happy. How much more the fool who thinks he can cheat death? Death comes to the rich and the poor alike. Riches will not prevent death. This is true of sudden death, a car wreck, a heart attack but it is also true of unforeseen illnesses, cancer, a random act of violence. And if you escape sudden death or a car wreck, you still face old age and the certainty of death. Since Adam was born the death rate has consistently stayed at 100%. The only exceptions are Enoch and Elijah. And we don’t know if there bodies died up in the heavens somewhere.

No man can give a ransom for another man. Only the Lord Jesus can do this. Men, you cannot count on the godliness of your wives. Ladies, your husband cannot save you. Children, your parents cannot redeem you from death. Each one of you will stand before the Lord on your own merits. Merits, there are none forthcoming.

No man will live forever and not see corruption. The grave is no respecter of persons. When death comes, the rich and the poor, the mighty and the lowly, look similarly alike in a few short weeks. They are just worm food.

Some rich men still try to cheat death beyond the grave. They have their bodies frozen in hopes of finding a cure to what killed them. But even if they are brought back to life, they will just have to die again.

It is good to think upon one’s death. It is the very thing to make us live right.

¹⁰ For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

Wise men die as do fools. A brutish person may gain great wealth but then he dies and does not take any of that wealth with him. What is the benefit of all of this accumulation?

¹¹ Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. ¹² Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

The Bible tells us that a foolish man thinks his fortune and earthly blessing will always continue. He thinks his honored place will continue throughout this life and somehow beyond. If I can but leave a legacy in my name? To some extent, we even teach this, right? It is good to leave an inheritance to your children’s children. The legacy that you leave is a good name. But we are not banking on these things as universal truths. Our hope is not in our wealth or even in our personal family legacy, but rather, in God Himself. We are measuring our days because they have been given to us by God and He is the One who numbers them. We have no guarantee of tomorrow. This fact is what makes today so important.

¹³ This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah. ¹⁴ Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

Their way is their folly. They think that through riches and might they can cheat death. Their children fall into this same poor thinking. We are blessed and therefore we will always be blessed. This is a foolish way to think and it is double folly to raise your children in this way of thinking. It is better to make your children aware of their mortality.

15   But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

Everyone will die. This is sure. This is wisdom. But not everyone will be redeemed from the grave. The psalmist is confident that he will be redeemed from the grave? Where is his confidence? It is not in his might or his riches. He knows that these things will not prevent him from dying. He has learned wisdom that death comes for everyone.

If you belong to God, then He will receive you after death. Your hope is not in your wealth but in your Heavenly Father who is pleased with you through His Son. If your trust is in Him, then you need not fear death. But if you give no thought to death you will be greatly mistaken.

You are going to be dead a lot longer than you are going to live. Best get ready for it. And its never too soon to start.

¹⁶ Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; ¹⁷ For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.

         We are not to be afraid when one is made rich. One who? An enemy perhaps? Or an acquaintance. Someone who now has some power over you because he is rich and controls power, has influence with the police or the courts. Should we fear such men? Perhaps in one sense. They can harm our bodies. They can cause us trouble. But they will also have to answer to God. One of the foolish things that the rich and powerful do is fail to realize that they must also give an answer for their actions. Just because they do not have to give an immediate answer does not mean  they have to give no answer. God will require accountability to all men. And those men who have been unjust will pay double.

EXHORTATION

¹⁸ Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. ¹⁹ He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. ²⁰ Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

What is the accountability? Those who comfort themselves in foolishness will be uncomfortable hereafter. But those who consider well the discipline of the Lord will be greatly comforted in Christ.

Furthermore, men praise a successful man, often in the form of flattery. We think he must be something because he is rich, or educated or powerful. But is he godly? Does he consider justice and mercy? Does he consider what matters to God and what account he must give to God for his behavior?

He should consider this as should you. If he was granted light in this life, he may face darkness in the next. But a poor man who considers well his soul may see a great deal of suffering and pain in this life, darkness if you will. But having considered God’s way, God’s law, God’s Son, he will dwell in the light of Christ forever more.

To fail to understand these truths is to be no better than a beast. This is a harsh saying but we see it lived out before our eyes. Many men and women are living like animals. They seek pleasure without any sense of the eternal cost. They degrade themselves, thinking themselves invincible. But the unthinking animal also thinks this way immediately before he is devoured.