#DailyDevotion Who Or What Will Ransom You On The Day Of Judgement?
Psalm 49 Hear this, all you people; listen, all you who live in the world, 2human beings, high and low, rich and poor. 3My mouth will speak wisely and my mind think with understanding. 4I will turn my ear to a wise saying, and with a lyre clarify my puzzling thoughts.
Well I guess we should pay attention here. Everyone, that means you, should listen to what the psalmist is going to say. It doesn’t matter your status in life, this applies to you. So he entices us to listen by saying how he will speak wisely and think with understanding. He himself will listen to a wise saying and let that wisdom govern what he is about to say.
5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, or of the evil of the treacherous enemies who surround me, 6who trust their wealth and brag about how very rich they are? 7No one can buy anyone’s freedom or pay God a ransom for him. 8The price to be paid for their soul is too costly, 9for a man to live forever and avoid the grave.
Why should we be afraid in times of trouble or the evil of treacherous enemies surrounding us? Who or what is our faith in? The wicked trust their wealth and brag about how rich they are. Their god is mammon (earthly wealth). Others trust in alcohol, sex, drugs, work, family, government, political parties, and the like for every good. They can provide some relief but ultimately these things will fail us and sometimes even turn around and bite us. Then we blame God in whom we did not trust.
If we fear God, there is no reason to fear man and what he may do to us. We should take our clue from the three young friends of Daniel who said to king Nebuchadnezzar, “We don’t need to answer your question. 17If our God Whom we serve can save us from the furnace with its flaming fire and from your hands, He will save us, O king. 18But if He doesn’t, you should know, O king, we won’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”(Dan. 3) If we fear God and put our trust in Him, nothing else can touch us ultimately.
The psalmist warns us, “No one can buy anyone’s freedom or pay God a ransom for him.” That is to say you can’t buy your freedom from the LORD’s judgment. No one and all their wealth can buy you out of His hand we He calls you into His court for judgment. The price is too costly to pay to buy your innocence and live forever. Jesus says in Matt. 16, “26What good will it do you to win the whole world and lose your soul? Or what would you give to buy back your soul? 27The Son of Man is going to come with His angels in His Father’s glory, and then He will give each one according to what he has done.” So what are you going to do? How are you going to escape the judgment of God? Your wealth already belongs to Him. Your life already belongs to Him. Any good work you have done is what God already expects from you. You cannot do more good works to make up for any evil you have done. Even if you have stolen and paid the person back, you are not at zero because the offense is still there. You only lessened the damage to the other person.
Thankfully Jesus tells us in Matt. 20, “28…the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.” Paul tells us 1 Tim. 2, “5There is one God, and One Who brings God and men together, the Man Christ Jesus, 6Who gave Himself as a ransom to free all people, and this was announced at the right times.” Jesus alone can ransom us. His blood only can buy our freedom because He is God and Man. His humanity makes it possible to die. His divinity gives the value to His death to ransom all people, especially you.
Heavenly Father, give us ears to listen to the psalmist here to not fear or be troubled, to not put our trust in wealth, but to put our faith in Your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ to be our ransom from judgment and death so we may live forever with You. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.