5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,
there is no price one can give to God for it.
8 For the ransom of life is costly,
and can never suffice,
9 that one should live on for ever
and never see the grave.
16 Do not be afraid when some become rich,
when the wealth of their houses increases.
17 For when they die they will carry nothing away;
their wealth will not go down after them.
18 Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy
There is so much powerful stuff in this Psalm. It tells that those who are rich may be happy in their life, but when we die we can take nothing with us. All the money in the world will not change this, we all will die, rich and poor alike. We cannot pay God off! So then we die and all wealth is wiped away and we come before God, what do we say?
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. (v15)
God has ransomed us through His Son Jesus, and through this ransom we will not perish but have eternal life. Wealth will not get us there but turning to Christ and repenting of the wrongs we have done will give us the gift of eternal life. Jesus tells us the same message when He says:
‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’ (Matt 6:19-21).
How do we store up treasure in heaven? We follow Jesus! And when we follow we also listen, we listen to what God is calling us to do. That might be specific to our lives, a call to a certain type of ministry or job or place. There is also that which God calls all of us to, to bring His Kingdom on earth and to spread the good news that Jesus is the way to eternal life!
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