WTW 2021
9 September
Psalm 49
Wisdom Beyond Wisdom
“No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—so that they should live on forever and not see decay.” Psalm 49:7-9
Do not underestimate the value of life.
Do not underestimate it.
You cannot put a price tag on it.
No one can.
Life is not merely natural earthly life.
Natural earthly life is merely a breath.
True life is eternal.
And the Way, the Truth & the Life is beyond earthly valuation systems.
Try as mortal man may, he is confined to his own short years. And even those years are not his own. No man can choose his own years. He cannot choose the day or time of his arrival and he can do nothing about the day and time appointed for him to die.
However, just as Life itself, Life Himself is beyond earthly confines, so too is Wisdom herself.
There is Wisdom even beyond wisdom.
Wisdom understands far beyond the most arrogant atheist or wisest agnostic or noblest sage, humblest pundit or truly insightful guru, philosopher or guide. Few of these may understand the far surpassing value of Life and life eternal. (See Prov 30:1-4 & Job 19:25-26).
Psalm 49 is among the wisest and most profound of the psalms, indeed most insightful passages in all of scripture.
And still there is even much greater wisdom beyond it. We are still only scratching the surface.
Truly this psalm in focus here today is among the absolutely most profound insights of all time. Yet even the wisest psalmist, seer and prophet, wise beyond years though they may be, can even still fail to understand the grand fullness and all surpassing greatness of Wisdom beyond wisdom.
Though no man can redeem the life of another. There remains One with Wisdom beyond wisdom!
Wisdom in the WORD 
I still remember as clear as day that very early Friday morning some 20 years ago now. I remember exactly where I was sitting, awaiting that group gathering in the wee hours, diligently looking into the same pages simply dumbstruck by the incredible wisdom in this very passage, put so plainly. I was struck in ways I can not even adequately express regarding the morality of man expressed here.
“They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions.” Psalm 49:14
And look at the further revelation knowledge in the very next verse:
“But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.” Psalm 49:15
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This was a serious problem. Indeed it remains the most serious dilemma of all times. The problem of death. This was beyond the greatest math or science, technology or STEAM, logic or logistics, water or food source, climate or any global systems problem of our day. This problem of death was one which the ancients sought desperately and with the greatest care to solve. They grappled with it age after age because of its devastating finality.
This is the ultimate problem of all time–far greater than any fermat–and this greatest mother of all mysteries has been resolved!
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