Are you good?

Today as we look at the next psalm, it is important to note that there is another psalm, 53, that is almost identical. So the message of this psalm is doubly important as the Bible has the same message in the same book twice! 

1  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” 

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; 

there is none who does good. 

Who can look at the world and all that is in it and not believe there is a God? Or look at the way all things work together, from the organs of the smallest beast to the structure of the most magnificent tree and not recognise that there must be a master creator, designer and sustainer of all things? Only a fool, says the psalmist, can see these things and not consider that there must be a God. The result of this foolish conclusion is living a life without God. As a person rejects God and refuses to even consider the reality of Him, they move away from the source of goodness and love (which is God) and so cannot do what is correct, right, loving, honest or honourable. This leads to the degradation and contortion of character, mindset and desires and develops into; debasement, abuse, degradation, manipulation, and revolting activities. People become corrupt when they turn away from God and do whatever they wish. They live as if they are the master and creator, designer and sustainer of their own existence which leads to distress and despair in the lives of many. It is not good. 

2  The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, 

to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 

3  They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; 

there is none who does good, not even one. 

As God beholds what happens on Earth, it does not take Him long to see evil. To see those who have gone away from Him and lead lives of corrupt abomination. In fact, it is difficult for Him to find people that are doing right and are looking for Him. When God looks around He concludes, ‘all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.’ Mankind is in a desperate state. When God looks, He sees no righteous or good people around. 

This may be hard to consider and you may think that you know some 'good' people, yet is any human truly good? Are anyone’s motives pure, innocent, honest? If you could look from God’s perspective, what would you see? You would probably conclude, as He does that every person on Earth has failed to do good but have done some terrible things. Even those that believe and trust in God go awry. They are not truly good either plus they are not whole-heartedly seeking God - they get worn out, selfish and distracted too. So, as God looks upon the Earth we should not be surprised that no-one is good. His standard of goodness is far above ours! All of mankind has failed. We have all gone our own way - you have, I have, others have, so we have all failed to be good and we have all failed to live God-filled lives. 

Therefore as we cannot achieve the level of goodness or godliness God is looking for, how can any of us understand Him or His designs and purposes? Yet, as God looks down upon His world He wishes to find those that are looking for Him -  that is what He is searching for. He is not looking for corruption, debasement and sin, trying to catch people out - God wants to find people who are good and who seeking Him, and He keeps searching. What kind of person will He find when He looks at you?

4  Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers 

who eat up my people as they eat bread 

and do not call upon the Lord? 

5  There they are in great terror, 

for God is with the generation of the righteous. 

Even as God looks on and sees the corruption, lack of people following Him and absence of good in the world, He has pity. How can people eat and drink the very things God has made and not recognise Him? God clearly feels sad and concerned about the way people are living - not for His own sake, but for theirs. Instead of appreciating the provision and life they have, the opportunities and delights, people take everyday blessings for granted and end up not just consuming food to live, but end up consuming the lives of others in order to have more themselves. People can think this is success, profit, achievement. Yet cannot see that depravity, distress and the debasement of life is never good or fulfilling. So the spiral into sin continues as mankind do not learn or seek to learn that life can be different. Instead they continue in selfish ignorance seeking after more at the expense of others. They are in great danger. For there is a God that looks upon the Earth. He sees the abuse of His world and His people and it grieves and angers Him. Those who are oblivious and unconcerned about His presence and power are living in great peril. For the Almighty God sees and will act. One day, anyone that has been living in ignorance or disobedience to God will feel the terror of their decisions. Will that be you?

6  You would shame the plans of the poor, 

but the Lord is his refuge. 

7  Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! 

When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, 

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad. 

Those that are overlooked or oppressed will be upheld by God Himself. Even if others shame them, treat them with derision and abuse them, God looks out for them. He will rescue them and be their strength - The Lord is on their side. If that is you - rejoice! If you know that you have treated others in such a manner - tremble! For God will, ‘restore the fortunes of His people’ - one day we will all get what we deserve. Are you living to receive the terror or salvation of God?

Even though God has looked down and seen the awful state of humanity and the evil and lack of good in each person, He still cares about His creation. He still loves and wants the best for those He has made this is why there is the hope of salvation. When this psalm was written, there was the hope and looking forward to a time when people could be truly restored, forgiven and made good. Now those things are attainable. Salvation has come from Zion (v7)! Through Jesus, the son of God, salvation has arrived. No longer do you have to worry yourself about being good enough because Jesus was - he lived the perfect life of goodness that no-one else could achieve. He did that, then he traded that life for a gruesome death in order to put to death all your ungodliness, corruption and vileness. Now you can be free from all sin and wickedness and considered by God as good. This happens when you trust and believe in Jesus and all that he did, and accept that he sacrificed his life as the pure and final atonement for sin. Then, like Jesus, you can live a new life. One where the old has been put to death. You can be forgiven, restored and made good because Jesus goodness can become your goodness. If you decide to live a life seeking God and trusting in Jesus for freedom from sin, then when God looks upon the Earth he will see you and see you as good. As, when he looks at you he no longer will see all the bad stuff, he will just see how you represent His perfect son! Are you trusting in Jesus for your salvation - for freedom from the spiral of sin and the desire to be good?

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

Psalm 49

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 

*1* Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 
*2* both low and high, rich and poor together! 
*3* My mouth shall speak wisdom; he meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 
*4* I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. 
*5* Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 
*6* those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? 
*7* Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 
*8* for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, 
*9* that he should live on forever and never see the pit. 
*10*For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. 
*11*Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. 
*12*Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. 
*13*This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. /Selah/ 
*14*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. 
*15*But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. /Selah/ 
*16*Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. 
*17*For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. 
*18*For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— 
*19*his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. 
*20*Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. 

Who is this message for? 

‘*1* Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 

*2* both low and high, rich and poor together!’

Everyone! All people can learn and appreciate what the sons of Korah have learned, all people can benefit from their understanding and observations - are you going to as we read this psalm?

‘*3* My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. 

*4* I will incline my ear to a proverb; ‘

V3-4 The writers of this psalm, the sons of Korah, are confident in what they are bringing. They have experienced life, and have observed and learnt enough to become wise about what they are sharing with us.  I like the fact that this psalm is written by ‘the sons of Korah’. This implies that it is a group effort, a combined understanding. They must have reflected and considered together the composition. The result is the combined wisdom of a group of men of God. They have become men of understanding anf wisdom because they listen to one another and are still willing to learn as they declare ‘I will incline my ear…’. They are practicing what they preach, willing to learn, obey and understand more. Are you willing to take onboard their knowledge?

Here is the crux of the matter these sons of Korah have identified and want to speak about in this psalm ;

‘*5* Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, 

*6* those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? ‘

These men have realised that rich people can be scary. It gives people who have wealth a power that they would not usually have, and others are afraid of it. Those that are sinful and dishonest are also scary, but what good does running scared do? If people who are cheats, rich or wrongdoers come against us, why does that rock us? Can you not see what they are trusting in - money?! what good will that do them long-term?

‘*7* Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 

*8* for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, 

*9* that he should live on forever and never see the pit. ‘

The reality is, that no other human being can own your life, no matter what schemes or tricks they try to use to make it seem like it. No man's wealth can own you or your soul. It is your life, and God is in ultimate command and in control. The length of your days is determined by Him, no-one else - no matter how much or little money you have. You cannot pay a thing to extend or shorten your days. In the same vane, you cannot buy your salvation, or that of anyone else either, ‘the ransom of their life is costly’. This is not in terms of money, but a far greater cost. We know that it was immensely costly to God as he sacrificed His only son Jesus, so that we all can have the ransom for our souls paid. Only the death of the perfect son of God was enough to cover the debt of our sin, and it is paid. Through Jesus is the only way that we can escape ‘the pit’. Have you accepted the price paid for your life? For your soul? 

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

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

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

If you take a look around and observe the community/world you live in, you will notice that the wise and the foolish both die. The kind and the horrid, the rich and the poor - all have the same destination and that is death. They take nothing with them, all the things that were important in their life are now insignificant. the things they owned cease to be theirs no matter the importance, wealth, or renown of the individual when they were alive. It does not matter what stuff you had in Earthly life once you are dead. The reality is - just like the animals, we too die and are forgotten. 

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

*14* 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. 

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

The foolish people do not listen, they go their own way and do not consider that death will one day come to them, or consider how that should impact their life. Instead they go, unprepared for eternity into the grave. 

This is not the same for everyone, “God will ransom my soul’- Some people can have confidence as their life on Earth draws to an end that God will save them. Those that have lived in such a way to be acceptable to God through Jesus; when their time on Earth ends, they know God has a plan for them. Those who endeavour to live a life of wisdom; following God, not money, stuff or others they can have confidence that God will receive them. Where do you think your eternal destination will be? Are you living to receive God’s ransom and reception?

*16* Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. 

*17* For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. 

*18* For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself— 

*19* his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. 

*20* Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. 

Another reminder that we need not be afraid of one another - of those who have much (or those who have little). When others do well for themselves, do not worry about it, but remember that all earthly things are temporal whether that be money, possessions or property - none of it is owned when the person’s life ends. The reality is, people will admire and commend those who have nice things (v18), but even that praise is short-lived. What is long-lasting is death. What will happen to the rich and poor, the wise and foolish and all those in between is that all will die. The praise of people will no longer be heard on that day, the honours and blessings of Earth will have disappeared - what will remain? 

What are you living for; th temporal comfort on Earth with people's praise? or are you living life focused on receiving the ransom and reception of God? 

What's you work ethic?

He who digs a pit will fall into it, 
and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall. 
*9* He who quarries stones is hurt by them, 
and he who splits logs is endangered by them. 
*10* If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, 
he must use more strength, 
but wisdom helps one to succeed. 
*11* If the serpent bites before it is charmed, 
there is no advantage to the charmer. 

Ecclesiastes 10:8–11.

This Chapter of Ecclesiastes reads like a set of proverbs, so I think it’s important not to whizz through them but to stop and consider what is each verse really saying. It’s easy to skim over and get the gist of the message, but when we slow down and consider we understand and appreciate more. So, lets look at each verse individually;

V8; ‘He who digs a pit will fall into it, 
and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.’
Why would you dig a pit? Usually because you’re laying a trap, trying to ensnare someone or something.
Why would you break through a wall? It could be because you're feeling destructive, annoyed or even as an act of vengeance, these are times when we usually like to break things!
So, what can we learn from this verse is that acting out of anger, plotting vengeance or revenge is only going to hurt ourselves in the end. Don’t try to trick people, trap them or hurt them because it will turn about that you will be exposed and punished. Trying to tear down others’ will lead to some kind of downfall for yourself.

V9; ‘He who quarries stones is hurt by them, 
and he who splits logs is endangered by them.‘
Basically, no matter what job you do, there’s danger! The reality is that there are risks all around us, living life can be a bit dangerous, but do you think the miner worries everyday if he’s cut by a stone? Or the lumberjack worries about the dangers of an axe? A policeman or fireman doesn’t go into work every shift consumed by their own mortality and fragility - they get on with it. Whatever job you do, whether it carries physical or relational risk, or even financial and temporal risk, life and work can be risky, but don’t spend your life worried about the ‘what ifs’. Keep on going, the more you practice the scary stuff, the less it’ll scare you.

V10; ‘If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, 
he must use more strength, 
but wisdom helps one to succeed.‘
I think this leads nicely on from the previous verse, considering splitting logs with an axe - if the blade is blunt, it is not going to be easy to use. A good lumberjack doesn't turn up to work with a blunt axe - he knows the work will be harder and it's just not sensible.
Therefore, when getting ready to work ensure the tools of your trade are ready for the work they need to do. Prepare, get ready, if you don't it’s going to take a lot more out of you than it needs to. The idle or foolish person is not ready, their equipment is inefficient so they can’t work properly. The wise prepare. There may be physical tools we need to look after, or it could be preparing the body and mind. If we purposefully do not look after our bodies, rest well, hydrate, then are you even ready? Is your mind sharpened or blunt? It takes a lot more effort to use a blunt tool than a sharpened one. So, whatever your hand finds to do, whatever your workload looks like, get prepared, be ready, be sharp!

V11; ‘If the serpent bites before it is charmed, 
there is no advantage to the charmer.’
Why would a snake do that? It seems to me that a snake would do that if it is not handled right. A charmers job is to ensure that the snake is restful and of no harm to anyone, the charmer has confidence in their capability but if they are not quick enough off the mark, they’ll get hurt.  It’s the same for us in whatever job we do. We shouldn’t be over-confident in our ability, we should take each day seriously, be alert, consistent and careful. Maybe the charmer turned up for late that day, maybe they were hungover or just could not be bothered to do what is necessary. Maybe they were lazy, despondent, annoyed or even a bit cocky about their abilities. This lax attitude clearly does not work out well, if you not working to your full potential it effects you and you could get bitten, don't be lazy or over-confident - you could get harmed.

It seems that these verses are really speaking about our work ethic. so, whatever job you do, take it seriously. Whether you think you get paid enough or not should not effect the effort you put into each day. There are no excuses to be lazy, unprepared, slow, inefficient or vengeful. In the end, the main person this will effect is yourself - you can get hurt. If you have slipped into bad habits, if your focus has not been on the job, if you’re frequently late, trying to trick others out, whose reputation is on the line? Who is responsible for the way they handle their workload, colleagues and clients? That’s right - you are! So, don’t let yourself down, don’t be caught out by unsharpened tools, or by the power of anger and resentment in your life.

Be wise
Be sharp
Be ready..

Forgotten Wisdom

'13*I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed great to me. *14*There was a little city with few men in it, and a great king came against it and besieged it, building great siegeworks against it. *15*But there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. *16*But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard. 
*17*The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. *18*Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.' 
Ecclesiastes 9:13–18.

The verses above show that times have not changed.
Those who are strong and virile are upheld, honoured and celebrated, yet the poor and wise are overlooked, forgotten and ignored. This was true in Solomon’s time, Jesus’ time and is still true in our time. The world and humanity have not changed; we still celebrate strength, might, power, renown and wealth - we even have competitions and wars to prove who are the strongest. The poor, intelligent, weak, unknown and wise are all too easily forgotten. The strongest and fastest are commemorated and given great honour, yet the minds involved in incredible ground-breaking discoveries are often forgotten.

We can all probably name the fastest or strongest men of our time, yet how about the name of the person who has made a significant scientific breakthrough or incredible discovery? Who is the world’s most inspiring engineer? The wisest man or woman on Earth? I’m not sure many of us could name any - No-one remembers the poor wise man.

Don’t get me wrong, we do acknowledge some levels of wisdom - we can all name some of the most famous scientists of all time; how about Einstein or Newton? But they are only really remembered because we still use their formulas and theories. We can now recognise the great value of the wisdom they had. At the time they lived, the impact of what they knew was limited. Einstein, even though he was a Nobel prize winner, an acclaimed scientist, had an audience with government officials - we could consider that he was not forgotten, after all most people have heard of him, we can believe that he is remembered and revered - but did you know he warned US government of the danger of developing nuclear weapons? Yet did the countries listen to this wise man’s advice? Even though the wisdom of Einstein was acclaimed, valued and respected, like in the story Solomon relays, the words of the wise man fall on deaf ears, ‘the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.’ No-one seems  to of listened to Einstein. For we all know the terror of the use of nuclear weapons - the effects are still felt, yet one wise  man’s advice could of saved a city, even a nation from the havoc, chaos and horror of nuclear weapons. However, the advice of the wise is not heeded.

Consider the difference listening to Einstein would have made to the lives of many. This one poor wise man had stood up and made a recommendation to the rulers of the time to warn and stay away from the fatal effects of this power, yet no one listened. It is sad, isn’t it?
We can look back and see the folly of nations, and of humanity because they have failed to heed the small voice of wisdom that with great foresight and bravery has been spoken, yet time and again people have failed to listen.

Don’t be someone who fails to listen.

Don’t be like the fools. Don’t detest wisdom. If someone speaks the small voice of wisdom into your life do not despise it, do not turn away from it, even if it is something you do not want to hear, but weigh the words of the poor wise man (or woman). Let the wise speak and be valued in your life, you never know what nuclear disasters you will avoid by taking the road of wisdom.

Then, when you do take the advice of the wise, do not forget where that wisdom came from. Do not be one that forgets, but be one that recommends, honours and upholds the wise. Give them the credit they deserve. Don’t allow the wise In your life be overlooked and forgotten, repay them with your gratitude and honour them.

Don’t be someone who ignores or forgets the wise.

‘But I say that wisdom is better than might, though the poor man’s wisdom is despised and his words are not heard.’

Don't be too much

16*Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? *17*Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time? *18*
Ecclesiastes 7:16–18.

‘Be not overly righteous’ - is that possible? Can we be TOO righteous? Can we be too justified?
‘Too wise’ how can anyone be too wise? does anyone know too much? Is anyone too clever?
How about ‘overly wicked’? We all probably agree that being wicked on any scale is not good, so why do we have here that we can be TOO wicked?
These verses can seem a bit odd, they seem to be saying that to be extreme in any quality, good or bad, is a bit over-the-top, and can 'destroy us', even the qualities think we should have.
I think Solomon is trying to warn us either not to become too focussed on these qualities or not to over-exaggerate them.

If we become too focussed on any one part of our life we lose focus on who we are, who God is and what we are built for, even if our focus seems to be something worthy and desirable like righteousness or wisdom. We can become absorbed in the pursuit and so become negligent of other areas of our lives. To be constantly striving after anything can be detrimental to our health and cause distance between us and others. It doesn’t do our mind, body or spirit any good to be striving after our passions whatever they may be, even if the intention is good.
I wonder if Solomon is showing through these verses that the passionate drive for wisdom and righteousness is just as destructive as the passionate drive for wickedness and foolishness. Maybe Solomon is trying to show us that the drive for even good things can, ‘destroy yourself’.
There is nothing wrong in wisdom or seeking righteousness, but are these things a constant pressure and worry on your mind? Do you feel good enough just as you are? You do not need to work hard to be made right with God nor to be acceptable to those around you. You are in enough in who you are. You don’t need to strive to be different or to be more than you are.

The other aspect of these verses concerns exaggeration. about not pretending to be more than you are. Just as we concluded the previous paragraph - you are enough in who you are, who you naturally are. Don’t exaggerate your personality or your experiences, don’t overdo who you portray yourself to be.
Why not? Because one day you will be found out. One day your wisdom will fail you, or you’ll err and you’ll be found to be not-so-righteous. Solomon also invites us not to be, 'overly wicked', we still sometimes do bad things, we can act in wicked ways, even as christians. Solomon has seen that this can end with 'destroying yourself'. We know the areas we each struggle in, and it is ok to make mistakes, but are you constantly getting yourself into the same trouble? If so then you need to exercise self-control and ask God for help to overcome the issue. Also, we dot need to play on our weaknesses. we don't have to pretend that we are worse than we are. we may think this helps others relate to us, but, if we confess to be christians, then we should be able to handle 'wickedness' differently. Then we come down to foolishness, the last of the qualities mentioned. How can we be foolish? Foolishness, being silly, not considering the effects of our actions, these things can be fools as well as just being a joker and playing about. Foolishness is not about having fun, of course life should be fun, but if your fun is at the expense of others then it is foolish.

Solomon tells us not to be 'overly' any of these things. Don’t play up or down your wickedness, foolishness, wisdom or righteousness. you don't need to show off who you are or even who God is. If you do, one day it will backfire. People see through the hype, the exaggeration and realise the truth. Don't be fake, be a person of integrity.
You don’t need to play up to the person people expect you to be or whom you think you should be. You don’t need to pretend or strive to be; more wise, foolish, righteous or wicked than you already are. Just live your life as it is. This will demonstrate the fruit of what God has done more than any hype or exaggeration can, you do not need to put on an act, it's hardwork.
If you are natural and accepting of your own levels of righteousness, wisdom, foolishness and wickedness then you have integrity and people will respect you for who you are and they will probably see you as a regular human being, just like themselves - what better way to demonstrate God's great love for them? If God loves and accepts you just as you are, then surely there's hope that He will love and accept them too?!