TLIC Psalms. April 14. Receive Me.

Read Psalm 49:13-20. ¹³This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. ¹⁴Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell. ¹⁵But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. ¹⁶Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. ¹⁷For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. ¹⁸For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—¹⁹his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. ²⁰Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Yesterday we pondered the absurdity of chasing wealth. Money can’t buy happiness as they say, and so it sure can’t buy eternal life. It can’t ransom a soul from Sheol (the grave).

But God can.  And God will – God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol.

In Christ we are not like other mere mortals. We have crossed the great divide of human existence from death into eternal life. From mortality to immortality. From corruption to incorruption. From defeat to victory. From darkness to light. How? Because God has paid death’s ransom himself.

1 Corinthians 15:54-56. ⁵⁴When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” ⁵⁵“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And now to live is Christ means we can be sure of at least one thing – God will receive us. Like Enoch of old, we will be taken up to him. Joined forever to his unending love and care for us.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Prayer. Jesus, you have ransomed me from the grave by the power of your indestructible life. May I forever live from you and for you. Amen.

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