R.H. blog

“F or the redemption of their souls is costly, and it shall cease forever—that he should continue to live eternally, and not see the Pit,”—Ps. 49:8-9, NKJV “A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that perish,”—Ps. 49:20, NKJV In Psalm 49, the psalmist reminds man of their mortality and the fact that, though they may amass great wealth and become prosperous on earth, they will eventually die and their prosperity will be left to others. The psalmist encourages us to consider our eternity and to remember that, though we may live our lives in honor and prosperity, neither our morality nor our wealth will save us from “the Pit.” “For the redemption of their souls is costly”—too costly for us to purchase. “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me,”—Ps. 49:15. Only God is able to redeem our souls, through Christ crucified. Men may attempt to redeem their own souls, through their own morality or by other ungodly means, o

“T he LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments were before me, and I did not put away His statutes from me. I was also blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.”—Psalm 18:20-24, NKJV In the above verses, the psalmist seems to be boasting of his own righteousness, and “the cleanness of his hands,” saying, essentially, that God delivered him because of his purity. But before we denounce this as pride, let’s take a look at Psalm 16:2, where David says: “O my soul, you have said to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You.’” This verse provides an extremely direct answer to the puzzlement over Ps. 18:20-24. If we combine all these verses, we are able to