Life's Riddle: Contentment & Godliness

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

Psalm 42:11 ESV

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Psalm 42

Sermon Scripture:

Psalm 49 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together! My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit. For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah Like 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. But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 49

Introduction:

The Title:

Why Should I Fear In Times of Trouble?

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF THE SONS OF KORAH.

Review of

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

In the LORD (that is Christ) is portrayed as the shepherd. As such:

There is no wanting

The sheep are made to lie down in green pastures

To rest in the Word of God

The sheep are lead beside still waters

The deep and lasting stregnth and presence of the holy spirit

Death is but a shadow to be passed through

There is no fear of evil

because the shepherd is present with his rod and staff

rod - sovereignty

staff - gracious care

There is rest and fufillment in the midst of enemies, healing and fullness to overflowing.

Goodness and merce follow after such sheep all days of their lives

Their final destination is to dwell in the house of the Lord.

Part 1 A

Psalm 49:1–2 ESV

Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together!

HEAR

ALL INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD

There is no man, residing in this earth that is outside of the proclamation of this Psalm. That is, everyone is concerned with this subject.

LOW & HIGH, RICH & POOR:

It makes no difference what your current state is, the message that is about to unfold must be heard by you for you are already involved in it and have thought upon it. Yet here is wisdom upon this subject.

Part 1 B

Psalm 49:3–4 ESV

My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

WISDOM - This is spiritual wisdom. Not the wisdom of the prophet, but the wisdom of the divine Spirit by which this has been spoken. Wisdom comes by the Spirit of truth.

UNDERSTANDING - is coming by the meditation upon that which the Spirit has spoken. The Holy Spirit does not make one absent minded but rather renews and transforms ones mind to think rightly or to have understanding.

PROVERB - There is not one out of the reach of this truth, even the one speaking it will first incline his ear to what is spoken. Thus emphasizing the Spirit of God as the source and not himself. Thus it is true for the preacher of the Word. One cannot preach the word without lending his own ear to it first, one cannot be about the ministry of the word without inclining his whole self to it.

RIDDLE - The Psalmist will not back down from the deep topics and though it came as a riddle, the Psalmist will seek to unravel it for all, and in order to draw the attention of all he does it in song.

Part 2A

Q: Why should I fear in times of trouble?

Times of trouble: being surrounded by the iniquity (maliciousness, unrighteousness, wickedness) of those who cheat you. Of those who surround you, you are of no concern but rather you are a stepping stone to be trampled upon.

Those who cheat me: They trust in their wealth and their riches.

The question is why should you fear being surrounded by such a people whose trust is in their own success and whose path to obtain it is one of iniquity, that is, it is sinful, unjust and without God. There is no fear of God in their dealings. The man who fears God is nothing but an obstacle to them to be removed. They are viewed as the wise and they surround you to take what you have and make you fearful of what you do not have.

Question explained: The question defines the riddle. The very next verses will demonstrate that the riddle is not purposed to give a cause to fear such men and their iniquity but rather just the opposite.

The question is defining the wrestling. How we respond to the world demonstrates who we worship, or should I say who we fear. The man who has God, who fears God and yet lives in this world is surrounded by a world led by the evil one who seeks to rob him of all that he has in God. Namely his life and all that is defined by life in God: Peace, mercy, grace, provision, goodness, protection, strength, and a seat at the masters table forever. These things are the posession of the man who fears God, yet the world puts before you an illusion of pleasure and security found in earthly wealth. It boast it before you as Satan did with Christ in the wilderness and it says come to me and leave this God.

Your surrounded. If you do not seek the things of this world, then it seems alomst certain that you shall be trampled or/ and miss out on life. Look at what they have, listen to their boasting. They have laid it out, they have defined the pathway by which you can obtain your dreams, you can find the life that you have always desired.

Friends this is where the riddle begins to unfold the wisdom:

A: A man cannot ransom another nor give God the price for his life.

Psalm 49:7–9 ESV

Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit.

The Lord has said it this way:

Matthew 16:26 ESV

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

I want you to observe this. This wisdom found in this Psalm is at the heart of the Lord Jesus for His sheep. It is at the very core of who we are as believers and it is a great encouragement and gives much boldness if we grasp this.

Jesus when praying the high priestly prayer, when praying for His sheep prayed this:

John 17:12–26 ESV

While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

The prayer of Christ is that we be protected from the ruler of iniquity and the world in which he spreds it upon. The world being spoken of is the cosmos. That is the inhabited earth. In living upon this earth you are surrounded by iniquity, by the patterns, philosiphies, strategies, lies and deciet of Satan himself. The inhabitents of this world patterns their lives after iniquity for they do not know God. They seek security in money and riches because they do not know the security of Christ. They place thier joy in fleeting pleasures becasuse they do not know the pleausres of God. The world opporates in the power of the evil one and not God.

1 John 5:19 ESV

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

However you have been called to a different pattern of opperation, a different source, a different ruler.

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

How does this calm our fear?

Can any man obtain riches enough to offer to God ransom for your eternal life?

No. A man can gain the world and yet never gain life. Only Christ can ransom a man and only Christ has.

Though the world can never give ransom for your life, it can cost you everything in your pursuits only never to suffice.

Notice:

Psalm 49:10 ESV

For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.

Psalm 45:10 ESV

Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father’s house,

Notice death. No matter who you are you will meet it. You don’t die because you are foolish, nor do you avoid death by being worldly wise. If your pursuits, if your pattern of living is all for this side of the grave then your life is only being sought to be lost and your pursuits will never be fully obtained, only passed on at your funeral.

Psalm 49:11 ESV

Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names.

Psalm 49:

Notice the contrast: you dream of a fancy home. Your aim is to retire with your dream home and you think that you will remain their for the remainder of your days. As such you neglect eternity and at the end of your days here no matter what the sight reads on your door or how much land you own, your forever home is a grave.

The point is this:

Psalm 49:12 ESV

Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.

Man in his pomp, in his most grand splender will not remain. Every summer the garden grows and produces and ever fall into winter it dies. Such it is with you. You can grow in the greatest splender but if such splendor is of this world and not the splendor of Christ then your destination is the same as the beasts that perishes.

This path of such beastly perishing is that of those with foolish confindence.

Psalm 49:13 ESV

This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah

You hear it all around you. Christian be not deceived. How often do we determine success by what our eyes see and the pleasures we see another obtain? How often does the christian himself approve the foolish confidence of the world. How often does a parent get so wrapped up in such fear of their children not obtaining such success that they send them off to become equipped in the very world that will feed them foolish confidence until they can eat no more and as such have no more purpose for the very God who alone gives confidence beyond the grave. I dare you not to prepare yourselves and prepare not your children for richly success and pleasures in this world. I call you to overcome the fear which grips you as a Christians and espessialy as a parent. That fear that says if I have less, if I do not offer such a path to my young then I have failed. That fear is false. As a Christian you have but one path and one aim and that is in Christ alone.

If you seek the riches of this world. If your aim is to establish confidence and security by what you through your hard work and wise scheming can obtain then accoriding to scripture you are:

Psalm 49:14 ESV

Like 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.

Psalm 49:

Do you hear what has happened? When our pursuits are so earthly that our confidence becomes in the obtaining of those earthly pursuits then we traided the right to say “The Lord is my shepherd” and in our vain confidence it can be said of us “Death is our shepherd”.

So then: if all of the splendor of this world, if all of the strategies of man cannot ransom us, if it cannot build a bridge to true success, if it cannot grant life to our children and it cannot put off the grave, then from where does our help come?

Psalm 49:15 ESV

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah

Two things that should happen hear:

1. Our fear for God should rise and fear of the world begin to subside. We should so greatly want the Lord to be our shepherd that we begin to see the follies of the world for that which they are.

2. We should rejoice in our lowly estate in this world knowing that in the morning we will have a place to dwell, while all of the lies which once tormented us, all of the vanities and wickedness which onces sought to rob us and rule over us, not has not place to dwell as in Christ we are fully established.

Now with God being our ransom, with our Lord, our creator being He who is our confidence, we have no need to fear no matter what our lot in this world is:

Psalm 49:16–20 ESV

Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 49:16

So what is the riddle my friends? Can I give it to you in one word?

CONTENTMENT. Contentment in godliness. Godliness is to be that which is fully of God. It is so easy for us to get distracted, to become overwhelmed by what the world boast as success. It is so easy for us to excuse away “godliness” and thus pass up on “contentment” by saying that we need such and such to “live”. We paint our current circumstance as the reason why we cannot more fully walk by faith and not by sight. The reason that we are not content and do not have the stregnth to live godly is because we fear the wrong thing. If you fear the world, then you will never be content in the world. But if you fear God, then you will find peace, contentment and rest no matter what storm this world brings across your path. This is the message of God from the begining and this is the gospel of Christ, that He has ransomed us and as such He is our shephered, our confidence, our peace, our life and our provision. As the Apostle states:

1 Timothy 6:3–16 ESV

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

Let our pursuits, our lives, our confidence, our love and our contentment echo these truths and set us aprart from the world by the grace and power of our Lord Jesus the Christ. I close with this scripture:

Deuteronomy 30:19 ESV

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

Deuteronomy

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