Psalms 49:1-20
To the Chief Musician. 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,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my dark saying on the harp.
5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
6 Those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—
8 For the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
9 That he should continue to live eternally,
And not see the Pit.
10 For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings.
Selah
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling.
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave,
For He shall receive me.
Selah
16 Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see light.
20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
Is like the beasts that perish.
You cannot take it with you. Your wealth waves goodbye at death, and those going to the grave are not given any advantage with material goods accumulated in life. That is a fool’s confidence. The wise look for redemption and ransom from God’s hand alone, and not by their own powerless hands. This psalm calls to attention both rich and poor, high and low in society, to heed the words of God through the song they hear and which we read now. Through godly wisdom and understanding as we meditate on His word, we listen and learn what is hidden there to live by. Why should we fear the days and their evil around us in the world if God redeems us out of it (Ephesians 5:16)? The world and its fallen system of reasoning believes that riches and power are the answer, but they cannot redeem lives from the pit they run towards or attempt to buy their way out of as has been tried later with with religious indulgences. The redemption of our souls is costly, and no man can redeem or ransom another or himself from God’s hand. Only God Himself is able to do that. Only He can keep us living eternally out of the pit of suffering which we refer to as Hell and God’s word identifies as the lake of fire. The foolish see both wise and fellow fools trust in wealth, only to have others inherit it after their death. They believe that it will all last forever, passed through their descendants, and that they will leave things named after them when they depart as a legacy. But man’s honor does not last, for it is a foolish saying that forgets how such riches and renown simply rot as do animal carcasses left on the ground when they die (verse 12). These things are worth a long pause to consider and reflect on what matters eternally before our Lord. Then it is worth continuing to consider how the grave consumes our beauty if what we trust in is all left behind for others to rule over. As for the upright, the righteous in God, we have a certain hope that He will receive us as we receive Him, and that He will redeem us by the work of His hands to redeem us, to pay our debts and release us from the due punishment of justice we face beyond the grave. This is seen in the gospel speech now know clearly since Christ suffered and died to redeem us from death as proven by His resurrection as proof for our own in Him. Another good pause is needed here. In the end, we should never be concerned with those who get rich and seem to have so much, for they die and cannot take any of it with them (verse 17), not even their glory of position or accomplishments and blowing their own horns, apart from God-given fruits (Ephesians 2:10). If anyone has been given honor and fails to see this, he is like a wild animal that dies and decays without honor. We therefore know to look to understand that all we have is by God’s providence, and our redemption is by the work of Christ alone to do (John 6:29). Our confidence is in God’s ransom for us in His Son, not in our efforts or accomplishments. This is the grace and mercy found only in the ransom of the gospel for the redeemed (Psalm 107:2).
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