Sermon Tone Analysis

Context

Our current theme: Summer in the Psalms.

The Psalter is a collection of songs, prayers, and poems that God’s people have long treasured for how they help us to express ourselves to God.

The psalms help us to praise, to lament, to give thanks, to trust, to self-dedicate, and to repent.

Probably, we know many portions of the psalms by heart.

At the same time, the psalms can sometimes be mystifying.

We struggle to find what we are looking for or we are surprised by what we find.

This summer, we are focusing on the psalms through a helpful lens: Jesus.

After his resurrection, our Lord taught his disciples how the law, the prophets, and the psalms had to be fulfilled by himself.

(Luke 24:44) So, as we read and preach the psalms this summer we pair them with Jesus’ ministry.

The big idea is that the psalms point us to Jesus and Jesus illuminates the psalms.

Our goal will be to experience how the psalms deepen our connection with Jesus, thus making them a more familiar and accessible resource for our spiritual life.

This week, Psalm 49:1-15 paired with a parable told by Jesus in Luke 12:13-21.

Gospel Reading

Psalm Reading

Now a reading from Psalm 49. ” I invite you to look at the psalm in your (pew) Bible while I preach so that you can get familiar with it and return to it during the week.

Superscription:

To the leader.

Dedicated to the choir master.

Of the Korathites.

A division of singers among the Levites descended from Korah, who led in temple worship; there are 11 psalms dedicated to them.

A Psalm.

A sacred song.

Prayer

The psalmist calls all people to listen to his words.

May we listen to his words as Your word, Lord.

INTRODUCTION

The best things in life are free - you can give them to the birds and the bees: I want money.

That’s what I want.

The love of money is the root of all evil.

EXEGESIS

The psalmist has before him a riddle (Ps.

49:4).

A life problem that requires deep reflection and evaluation of experience to solve.

The riddle: How shall the righteous endure wrong doers, when they have money on their side?

The Psalmist is in a time of trouble (Ps.

49:5) and the iniquity of his persecutors surrounds him.

What is particularly distressful is that his persecutors are wealthy.

(Ps.

49:6) They have an abundance of riches, and he does not.

The psalmist feels vulnerable.

They trust in wealth, their estates are growing (Ps.

49:16) , they feel happy (Ps.

49:18), other people praise them, they have land,…and all this the psalmist, speaking on behalf of the poor, is oppressed.

In the ancient world, the wealthy could often abuse the poor with little consequence.

There was no Fair Labor Act, to prevent them from firing them from livelihood; no social security or welfare systems.

The poor were profoundly vulnerable.

The poor could seek justice through the court system, but all too often, one had to have money to get a judge hear a case.

And that was exactly the hurdle to poor could not surmount.

Ancient point of view: the wealthy are untouchable, above the law, while the poor are touchable and beneath the law.

So there is a riddle before the psalmist: How to live in this world, where justice can be so perverted by wealth.

Shall he live in fear?

(Ps.

49:5)

To find an answer, the psalmist reaches down deep.

Ps. 49:3-4.

My mouth will speak wisdom, meditation of my heart understanding// incline to proverbs, solve through music.

Going into a spiritual place.

Seeking a perspective that rises above immediate experience.

The Psalmist is opening to God.

The solution the psalmist uncovers: Ps. 49:7-9.

No one is so rich that they are beyond the reach of death.

Psalm 49:7.

No one can ransom his own life from death//No one has enough money to buy off God.

Psalm 49:8-9.

A dollar figure can’t be assigned to life// (So even if you are rich) you can’t live forever.

The psalmist appeals to the observations of all the singers (Ps.

49:10) "When We look around” Do we see any exception?

The wise, the fool, the dolt.

They ALL die, and their wealth goes to others.

They may have named lands (Ps.

49:11); they may have had houses (Ps.

49:6), they may have had pomp (Ps.

49:12, 20).

But they cannot take it with them.

The psalmist is not finding comfort merely in the fact that the rich will one day die and lose all their stuff…the same fate awaits him too, after all.

No, the wisdom that the psalmist uncovers is deeper: it is that at the moment of death, all people — rich and poor alike — will stand before God and God will render justice that cannot be bribed or bought off or softened by privilege.

A markedly different situation than in this world.

God will judge and will judge fairly.

The psalmist perceives that the wicked, though wealthy and seemingly above the law in this world, are headed for an eternal grave.

(Psalm 49:11) They are like sheep being led to Sheol.

Death is their shepherd.

(Psalm 49:14)

Jesus’ parable (Luke 12:13-21).

The land of a rich man produced abundantly.

He thought to himself: I have all I need and more.

What should I do?

Did he pray to God for guidance?

Did he give to the poor?

No. Self aggrandizement, self-comfort.

Build and store more, while others go hungry.

God says, Thou fool, tonight you life is required of you.

And what will happen to all that wealth?

Well, it won’t spare you from facing divine judgment.

Judgment — you have been a fool.

“So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:21)

BUT Psalm 49:15.

A different fate for the godly, even if in this world they have no money or power.

God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol//will receive me.

What a contrast to the fate of the wicked.

Consider Psalm 23.

The Lord is the shepherd and the destination is the House of Lord.

Jesus said, Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of Heaven.