[6] And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. [7] LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. [8] I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication. [9] What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? [10] Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper. [11] Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; [12] To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
Verse 6 shows what can happen when we are in a condition of prosperity. We can become self-sufficient and proud. Then verse 7 shows us that it's only by the Lord's favor that we stand strong. When He hides His face from us it all comes tumbling down and we find ourselves suddenly dependent on Him.
We must be careful in times of prosperity that we remain humbly dependent on God and not on our riches. Our pastor has been going through James and pointed out that being well-to-do is a trial as much as being poor. There comes certain trials and temptations with riches and those who are rich must pray for wisdom as much as those who are in trials because they are poor. This can be seen in this Psalm.
Sometimes when the rich become too self-sufficient, God has to take them down a notch or two to get their focus and priorities straight. On the other hand, the poor have their trials too. Here is a good prayer in regard to riches or poverty:
KJV: Proverbs Chapter 30
[8] Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: [9] Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
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