Psalms 49:11

Their inward thought [is, that] their houses [shall continue] for ever,.... This is the thought of their hearts, what they secretly imagine, and conclude within themselves; either that their

For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. -The universality of death might show the ungodly rich man that God may call him away at any moment.

Their inward thought is; though they are ashamed to express it, yet it is their secret opinion, and hope, and wish. Their houses; either, 1. Their posterity, oft called men’ s houses , &c.; 115:12. Or, 2. Their mansion houses, as it is explained in the next clause, which also serve for this purpose, to preserve a man name for ever. Shall continue for ever; not to them in their own persons, but to them and theirs in succeeding generations, as it follows. They call their lands after their own names; fondly dreaming by this means to immortalize their names and memories.

Psalms 49:11 Their inward thought [is, that] their houses [shall continue] for ever, [and] their dwelling places to all generations; they call [their] lands after their own names.Ver. 11. Their inward thought is, that their houses, &c.] Some join this verse to the former, and read the words thus: Whereas each of them seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool, &c., yet their inward thought is, &c., they have a secret fond conceit of their own immortality, they would fain believe that they shall dwell here for ever. The Hebrew runneth thus, Their inwards are their houses for ever; as if their houses were got within them, as the Pharisee’ s goods were, Luke 11:14, ταενοντα. So here, Internum vel interiora; not the thoughts only, but the very inmost of the thoughts of wicked worldlings, the most retired thoughts and recesses of their souls, are about these earthly things; these lie nearest to their hearts; as Queen Mary said when she died, Open me, and you shall find Calais at my heart. It was a pitiful case, that a rotten town lay where Christ should, and yet it is ordinary. They call their lands after their own names] So to make them famous, and to immortalize them at once. Thus Cain called his newly built city Enoch, after the name of his son, whom he would thereby have to be called Lord Enoch of Enoch. This is the ambition still of many, that take little care to know that their names are written in heaven; but strive to propagate them, as they are able, upon earth, Nimrod by his tower, Absalom by his pillar, Alexander by his Alexandria, Adrian by his Adrianople, &c. But the name of the wicked shall rot, Proverbs 10:7, and those that depart from God shall be written in the earth, Jeremiah 17:13, &c.

(11) Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever.—These eleven words represent three in the Hebrew, and, as the text stands, give its sense, which is intelligible and consistent: “They believe their houses will last for ever, Their dwelling places from generation to generation; They call the lands by their own names.” The reading followed by the LXX., Chaldee, and Syriac, kibram for kirbam gives a different thought— “Their graves are their homes, Their dwelling places for ever.” (Comp. “his long home,” Ecclesiastes 12:5.) The last clause, which literally runs, they call in their names upon lands, is by some explained (see Isaiah 44:5) to mean, “they are celebrated in their lands,” which suits the text followed by the LXX.

Verse 11. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever] Thus, by interpolation, we have endeavoured to patch up a sense to this clause. Instead of קרבם kirbam, their inward part, the Septuagint appear to have used a copy in which the second and third letters have been transposed קברם kibram, their sepulchres; for they translate: Καιοἱταφοιαυτωνοικιαιαυτωνειςτοναιωνα· "For their graves are their dwellings for ever." So six or seven feet long, and two or three wide, is sufficient to hold the greatest conqueror in the universe! What a small house for the quondam possessor of numerous palaces and potent kingdoms! They call their lands after their own names.] There would have been no evil in this if it had not been done on an infidel principle. They expected no state but the present; and if they could not continue themselves, yet they took as much pains as possible to perpetuate their memorial.

11. Their inward thought is &c.] If they do reflect that they must die, they comfort themselves with the delusion that their houses will last for ever, and their names be perpetuated in the names of their estates, which like builders of cities or conquerors (2 Samuel 12:28) they have named after themselves. But the rendering their inward thought is questionable; and the LXX, Vulg., Syr., and Targ., all point to a different reading, involving simply a transposition of letters (qbrm for qrbm), which gives the sense: Graves are their houses for ever; The dwelling-places for all generations Of those who called lands after their own names. This reading suits the context best. They must surrender their wealth, and a narrow grave will be the only possession left to the man who called a vast estate by his own name. The first line recalls the name ‘eternal house’ applied to the grave in Ecclesiastes 12:5, and in inscriptions: cp. ‘eternal place,’ Tob 3:6 : and Isaiah calls Shebna’s pretentious sepulchre a ‘dwelling-place’ (Isaiah 22:16). Is there an ironical allusion in the last line to the vast estates of Isaiah’s day (Isaiah 5:8)?

Their inward thought is - Their secret expectation and feeling is that they have secured permanency for their wealth in their own families, though they themselves may pass away.

11. Unable to redeem themselves from death, (Psalms 49:6-8,) these worldlings bend their thoughts to schemes whereby they vainly hope to perpetuate an ideal immortality, as if they could secure a