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Psalm 49 Commentary

All Die, But The Saint Has Hope

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KEY THOUGHT: For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish [Psalm 49:10a NKJV]

Kindly read your Bible before going through the commentary!

Psalm 49 NKJV

The Confidence of the Foolish

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

49 Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
²Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
³My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my ^[a]dark saying on the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
⁶Those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
⁷None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—
⁸For the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
⁹That he should continue to live eternally,
And not ^[b]see the Pit.

¹⁰For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
¹¹^[c]Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.
¹²Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not ^[d]remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah
¹⁴Like 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 ^[e]the grave, far from their dwelling.
¹⁵But God will redeem my soul from the power of ^[f]the grave,
For He shall receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
¹⁷For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
¹⁸Though while he lives he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),
¹⁹He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see light.^[g]
²⁰A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
Is like the beasts that perish.

Footnotes

a. Psalm 49:4 riddle
b. Psalm 49:9 experience corruption
c. Psalm 49:11 LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg. Their graves shall be their houses forever
d. Psalm 49:12 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. understand (cf. v. 20)
e. Psalm 49:14 Or Sheol
f. Psalm 49:15 Or Sheol
g. Psalm 49:19 The light of life

New King James Version (NKJV)

Psalm 49 Commentary

Death is one of life’s most troubling riddles. We all experience it. Low or high; rich or poor; foolish or wise. The psalmist will use the harp to ponder this timeless puzzle. Let everyone pay attention.

Even the wise die, as well as the foolish and stupid. Verse 10. The psalmist underlines the point we find in the Book of Job and other scriptures.

So, what is the point of life?

Mortals react differently to this ageless question. Fear. Death is the most feared element of life. Many visibly tremble and are shameless about it. Others want to be smart and hide their fear. They do everything to improve life’s longevity.

Indeed, the fear of death has shaped the behavior of mortals. This fear determines the color, size, and shape of whatever we design. Of course, this mother fear has countless children!

Think of the following: safety, security, health, nutrition… They all have something to do with solving this fear!

The psalmist asks: “Why should I fear when evil days come?”

It is not a silly question. Why should you be scared of something you definitely know will happen to you, regardless of what you do? Why should someone come and scare you with the knowledge that you have a leg on your body? You already know it. You already have it.

We know this trick already. Satan showed up in the Garden and promised to make the first couple what they already were!

Evil comes with the threat of depriving us of something we feel we cannot do without! But life cannot be bought from the street! No mortal can be rich enough to buy it!

Many others won’t react like the psalmist. They seek to solve the death riddle by piling up wealth. Perhaps they can find meaning here and now. They even name lands after themselves, but it all comes to nothing. Like everyone else, their tombs will be their houses forever. But again, what is the point of life if it all ends this way for everyone?

Then the psalmist solves the puzzle with the insurance cover of the resurrection. “But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.” Verse 15. Therefore, death isn’t an end in itself. This is powerful! Let this be the starting point for the saint’s aspirations, ambitions, and hopes.

And yes, “no one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them.” But God can. In the form of the man Jesus Christ, He showed up and bought life for everyone. You too can have it. Trust Jesus for it.

What a psalm!

Loving Scripture….

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24 thoughts on “Home”

It has been exciting learning how God can make things happen to his choosen one, God workout something wonderful and fulfils the promises he made to the father of Joseph.

God’s words remains true so are his promises and indeed it has been God working out the salvation of man Kind by Grace through Faith alone.

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Quite thought provoking. Thank you for the passage of scripture.