A psalm for hard times

We often see people interviewed after a tornado, a hurricane, or a wildfire wipes out all of their earthly possessions. Their voices tremble; they are obviously shaken by the experience. But they all seem to say the same thing: "The most important thing is that I (and my family, my kids) am alive. The rest of the stuff is just stuff."

Sometimes we live through incredible lessons in what is really important. What really matters? What can we live without?

Whether it's a natural event or a recession, the world that we live in can change our lives and make unforgettable impressions on us. It can clarify our values. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I do believe that there certainly are "hard times" coming. We see the gaps in available food stuffs on the grocery store shelves. We see the small numbers of cars on the dealer lots, the paucity of inventory in many retail stores. We hear the talking heads on cable and satellite programs detailing the problems that are mounting skyward from our government's poor management -- of everything from our borders to our fiscal policy and everything in between. 

These hard times might be used by God to pry us loose from our love of "things." To pull our fingers away from the "stuff" that so easily tempts us. Maybe we will grow in our understanding of what it means to truly seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness. Maybe we will learn to be more faithful in laying up treasures in heaven. Maybe in light of the shortness of our lives, we will shift our focus from storing up treasures on earth and focus on being rich toward God.

Psalm 49 is a psalm for hard times. It's what the scholars call a "wisdom psalm," like a couple of others, namely Psalms 37 and 73. It talks about the foolishness of living for this world's possessions, and for status and fame, in light of the certainty of death. But it's not a total downer, don't worry! Psalm 49 gives us instructions that - if we heed them - will result on praise to God. It tells us that we need to live rightly in light of eternity . . . and one day we can present to God a heart of wisdom. 

So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

A couple of the commentaries that I read paired this psalm with a parable that Jesus taught: the parable of the rich fool. Remember that one? Let's look at what our Savior said:

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.  He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21)

Jesus began with a warning against greed, and then told the story of the successful farmer. After realizing his barns were full, he built bigger ones, and then congratulated himself, instead of thanking God! Jesus concluded with another warning for those who would not be "rich toward God."

As we study this psalm, we will see the psalmist call to everyone to listen, for he has something important to say. Then he will give his advice, and he will contrast the people who trust in their wealth with those who trust in God. Then he will come full circle and tell us we should not fear if the wealthy increase. We'll study these verses and we will end with "how to be rich toward God," as well.

Stay tuned!