Study

a Bible passage

Click a verse to see commentary

Select a resource above

49. Psalm 49

¹ Hear this, all you peoples;
   listen, all who live in this world,
² both low and high,
   rich and poor alike:
³ My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
   the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
⁴ I will turn my ear to a proverb;
   with the harp I will expound my riddle:

    ⁵ Why should I fear when evil days come,
   when wicked deceivers surround me—
⁶ those who trust in their wealth
   and boast of their great riches?
⁷ No one can redeem the life of another
   or give to God a ransom for them—
⁸ the ransom for a life is costly,
   no payment is ever enough—
⁹ so that they should live on forever
   and not see decay.
¹⁰ For all can see that the wise die,
   that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
   leaving their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their tombs will remain their houses Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew In their thoughts their houses will remain forever,
   their dwellings for endless generations,
   though they had Or generations, / for they have named lands after themselves.

¹² People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.

    ¹³ This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
   and of their followers, who approve their sayings. The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 15.
¹⁴ They are like sheep and are destined to die;
   death will be their shepherd
   (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
   far from their princely mansions.
¹⁵ But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
   he will surely take me to himself.
¹⁶ Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
   when the splendor of their houses increases;
¹⁷ for they will take nothing with them when they die,
   their splendor will not descend with them.
¹⁸ Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
   and people praise you when you prosper—
¹⁹ they will join those who have gone before them,
   who will never again see the light of life.

²⁰ People who have wealth but lack understanding
are like the beasts that perish.

19 He shall come to the age of his fathers He proceeds to show how false are the flatteries by which the wicked deceive themselves, and are deceived by others. Be they ever so intoxicated with the praises of the world, or with their own vain imaginations, yet they cannot live beyond the age of their fathers; and, granting their life to be extended to the longest term, it can never stretch into eternity. Others understand the expression as synonymous with their being gathered to the tomb along with their fathers who have gone before them; as in Scripture death is usually called “The way of all the earth.” The Psalmist, a little above, had spoken of their being gathered together in the grave as sheep in a fold. According to this view, the meaning of the passage is, that having never aspired after heaven, but having been sunk in the low grovelling pursuits of this world, they would come at last to the same fate with their fathers. When it is added, They shall not see the light even for ever, we are to understand their consignment to everlasting darkness. ²³⁵²³⁵ Horsley reads, “To all eternity they shall not see light;” “that light,” says he, “which emphatically deserves the name — that light, of which created light is but a faint image; the light of God’s glory. He shall have no share in the beatific vision.” In my opinion, both clauses of the verse combine to express the same truth, That however they may flatter and deceive themselves, they cannot prolong their life beyond the common term of mortality. As either interpretation, however, agrees with the general scope of the psalm, the reader may choose for himself. Should the latter be adopted, the words in the close of the verse are to be considered as asserting that the ungodly can only enjoy the light of life for a short period, as they have no hope of another existence beyond the grave. We are taught by the Psalmist, in the words which have been under our consideration, to beware of flattering ourselves in the possessions of this world, and to be principally anxious for the attainment of that happiness which is reserved for us in heaven. We are also warned not to allow ourselves to be carried away by the erring influence of worldly applause. Even heathen authors have taught us the same lesson. Thus the poet Persius says, —

“Non si quid turbida Roma
Elevet, accedas, examenve improbum in illa
Castiges trutina: nec te quaesiveris extra,” —

“If Rome, a city full of commotions, exalt or despise any thing, beware of being satisfied with its weight or balance; that is to say, of stopping at its judgment; and do not look to what others say of you, but enter into thyself, and examine what thou art.” ²³⁶²³⁶ This is the translation which is given of these lines in the French version. But the disposition to be deceived by flattery is one so strongly marked in our nature, as to require that we should attend to the weightier admonition of one who was inspired.