What does "live and never see death" reveal about human mortality and eternity? Key Verse Psalm 89:48: “What man can live and never see death, or deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.” Our Mortal Reality - Every human life faces the same endpoint: physical death. - Genesis 3:19 confirms this sentence on Adam’s race: “for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” - Hebrews 9:27 reinforces the certainty: “it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment.” - The psalm’s rhetorical question underscores that no amount of power, wealth, or self-effort can alter this appointment. Eternity Set in the Heart - Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God “has set eternity in their hearts,” hinting that we instinctively know there is more than the grave. - The psalm contrasts our helplessness (“deliver his soul”) with the latent longing for deliverance. - By stating what man cannot do, the verse implicitly points to what only God can do. God’s Answer to the Dilemma - John 11:25-26: Jesus declares, “I am the resurrection and the life… everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” - John 8:51: “If anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.” Here the Lord reclaims the psalm’s phrase and reverses its hopelessness. - 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 celebrates victory over death because of Christ’s resurrection. What “Live and Never See Death” Reveals - Human mortality is universal and unavoidable in our own strength. - Eternal life is real, but it is not self-generated; it is granted by God through faith in His Son. - Physical death remains, yet for the believer its sting is removed; the soul “never sees death” in the sense of eternal separation from God (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23). - The verse exposes the poverty of earthly solutions and drives us to seek the only effective Redeemer (Psalm 49:7-9, 15). Living in Light of This Truth - Treasure your days as finite gifts—Psalm 90:12 urges, “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” - Anchor your hope in the finished work of Christ, not in human achievement. - Proclaim the promise of eternal life to others, knowing that apart from the gospel all stand under the same inescapable sentence. Selah—Pause and Reflect - The psalmist closes with “Selah,” inviting reflection. Let the weight of mortality press you toward the only One who can say, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). |
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