Reading: Psalms 44 - 49
My Verse: "Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish" (Psalm 49:20).
These Psalms speak to the futility of life without You, LORD God. Man in his pride or pomp will go to the grave as all living do and cannot take anything with him!
"For he sees that even the wise die;
the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and leave their wealth to others.
Their graves are their homes forever
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they called lands by their own names.
Man in his pomp will not remain;
he is like the beasts that perish" (Psalm 49:10-12).
I am often amazed when I see characters that have great wealth and fame, squander themselves as if there is no tomorrow. It is truly sad.
Blaise Pascal spoke to this: "We are fools to depend upon the society of our fellow-men. Wretched as we are, powerless as we are, they will not aid us. We shall die alone."
This thought is echoed even in the ancient story of Beowulf as Tolkien explains the main theme of the story being that Beowulf the hero is after all just a man:
"And that for him and many is sufficient tragedy. . . 'life is transitory; light and life together hasten away.' So deadly and ineluctable is the underlying thought, that those who are in the circle of light . . . do not look to the battlements, either do not regard it or recoil. Death comes to the feast" (Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics).
And so . . .
"Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him" (49:16,17).
And because of this Pascal pleads with man to wager for life! His argument is that because we are in this life - we are fools to not search out the truth! "We should seek the truth without hesitation; and, if we refuse it, we show that we value the esteem of men more than the search for truth." He goes on to argue that one should admit his inability to believe and basically take small steps toward faith by acting out those steps as outlined in Your Word, LORD God. I truly like how he responds to his character, that admitted being transported and charmed by his argument.
"If this discourse pleases you and seems impressive, know that it is made by a man who has knelt, both before and after it, in prayer to that being, infinite and without parts, before whom he lays all he has, for you also to lay before Him all you have for your own good and for His glory" (Pascal's Pensees)
I echo Pascal's prayer for loved ones still avoiding to seek out Your truth. For those that continue to look to pomp rather than understanding!
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
My Verse: "Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish" (Psalm 49:20).
These Psalms speak to the futility of life without You, LORD God. Man in his pride or pomp will go to the grave as all living do and cannot take anything with him!
"For he sees that even the wise die;
the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and leave their wealth to others.
Their graves are their homes forever
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they called lands by their own names.
Man in his pomp will not remain;
he is like the beasts that perish" (Psalm 49:10-12).
I am often amazed when I see characters that have great wealth and fame, squander themselves as if there is no tomorrow. It is truly sad.
Blaise Pascal spoke to this: "We are fools to depend upon the society of our fellow-men. Wretched as we are, powerless as we are, they will not aid us. We shall die alone."
This thought is echoed even in the ancient story of Beowulf as Tolkien explains the main theme of the story being that Beowulf the hero is after all just a man:
"And that for him and many is sufficient tragedy. . . 'life is transitory; light and life together hasten away.' So deadly and ineluctable is the underlying thought, that those who are in the circle of light . . . do not look to the battlements, either do not regard it or recoil. Death comes to the feast" (Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics).
And so . . .
"Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him" (49:16,17).
And because of this Pascal pleads with man to wager for life! His argument is that because we are in this life - we are fools to not search out the truth! "We should seek the truth without hesitation; and, if we refuse it, we show that we value the esteem of men more than the search for truth." He goes on to argue that one should admit his inability to believe and basically take small steps toward faith by acting out those steps as outlined in Your Word, LORD God. I truly like how he responds to his character, that admitted being transported and charmed by his argument.
"If this discourse pleases you and seems impressive, know that it is made by a man who has knelt, both before and after it, in prayer to that being, infinite and without parts, before whom he lays all he has, for you also to lay before Him all you have for your own good and for His glory" (Pascal's Pensees)
I echo Pascal's prayer for loved ones still avoiding to seek out Your truth. For those that continue to look to pomp rather than understanding!
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
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