Psalms 49

A wisdom psalm for everyone, rich and poor. The psalmist asks why he should fear those who trust in wealth, since no money can buy off death. The wealthy and foolish end in the grave like animals, but God will redeem the psalmist from Sheol and take him to Himself.

Psalms 49:1-2

The psalmist calls every people and every class to listen. This is not a message for one nation or rank. Rich and poor, high and low, all face the same question about death, so all need to hear the answer.

BSA: alike (“together, as one”): Rich and poor are gathered in one audience, since death treats them the same.

Psalms 49:3

He promises wisdom, not mere opinion. What he says has come out of deep reflection in his heart. Good teaching is first thought through and prayed over before it is spoken.

BSA: meditation (“thoughts and reflections”): His words come from long, quiet thinking, not quick talk.

See also: Proverbs 4:5-7.

Psalms 49:4

The psalmist listens before he teaches. He calls his message a proverb and a riddle, a deep truth about life and death that is not obvious at first. He sets it to music, so that the truth might sink in.

BSA: riddle (“dark saying, mysterious truth”): The puzzle of why the wicked prosper and all die is a hard saying he now unfolds.

Hebrew: חִידָתִי (chidati, H2420) — “my riddle, puzzle.” The Hebrew word means a knotty problem or hidden saying. Here the puzzle is the mystery of death and wealth, and the psalm gives its answer.

Psalms 49:5

He asks a bold question: why fear when evil days come and enemies close in? The wicked seem powerful, yet he will show they have nothing lasting. Fear loses its grip when we see how limited human power really is.

BSA: surround (“compass, encircle”): He feels hemmed in on every side, yet still refuses to be afraid.

See also: Psalm 27:1; Psalm 23:4.

Psalms 49:6

Here is the root of the trouble. These people lean on their money for safety and take pride in it. Wealth has become their god, their security and their boast in place of the Lord.

BSA: trust (“rely, have confidence”): They put their full weight on riches, the way a believer should lean on God.

See also: 1 Timothy 6:17; Psalm 52:7.

Psalms 49:7-8

No person can pay God to spare a brother from death. A life is worth more than any sum. Money buys many things, but it cannot buy a soul out of the grave. The price is too high for any human to pay.

BSA: redeem (“pay the price to rescue, buy back”): The picture is of buying a captive out of slavery, something no man can do for another’s life. costly (“precious, of great value”): A soul is so valuable that no human payment can match it.

Hebrew: יִפְדֶּה (yifdeh, H6299) — “he will ransom, buy back.” This is the language of paying a price to free someone, used for rescuing a firstborn or a slave. The psalm says no human can pay it for another’s life.

See also: Mark 10:45; 1 Peter 1:18-19.

Psalms 49:9

Even the highest price could not keep a person alive forever or keep him from the pit. Death comes for everyone, whatever he has saved up. Only God can deal with that, as the psalm will go on to say.

BSA: decay (“corruption, the grave”): The word points to the grave itself, where the body breaks down.

Psalms 49:10

Anyone can see that death takes the wise as well as the foolish. Whether a person was clever or dull, he dies. His hard-earned wealth is left for someone else, who may or may not use it well.

BSA: leave (“their inheritors, the next generation”): Everything he gathered passes to others, and he keeps none of it.

See also: Ecclesiastes 2:18-19; Luke 12:20.

Psalms 49:11

The rich name their lands after themselves, hoping to be remembered. But their only lasting home turns out to be the grave. The estate carries their name, while they themselves lie in a small plot of earth.

BSA: namesakes (“called after their own names, named in their honor”): They tried to make a lasting name, yet the grave is the one dwelling that truly lasts for them.

Psalms 49:12

Human beings with all their honor do not last. A person who does not understand his own mortality or look to God ends like the animals, who die and are gone. The refrain returns in verse 20.

BSA: endure (“last, remain forever”): Even wealth and status cannot make a person stay on earth permanently.

See also: Ecclesiastes 3:19-20.

Psalms 49:13

This is where self-reliance leads, both for the confident and for the people who follow them and applaud their words. Common approval does not make a path safe. The pause, Selah, invites us to stop and think.

BSA: endorse (“approve, delight in”): Followers admire and repeat the boastful sayings of the rich, and share their end.

Psalms 49:14

The proud are pictured as a flock being led by Death itself as shepherd, headed for Sheol, the realm of the dead. The reversal comes with morning, when the upright are vindicated. Their former grand homes will mean nothing to them then.

BSA: shepherd (“the one who leads them to their fate”): A grim twist on the Lord as Shepherd: these people are led by Death instead. morning (“at the time of judgment”): Morning points to the dawn of God’s justice, when wrongs are set right.

Hebrew: שְׁאוֹל (sheol, H7585) — “the realm of the dead, the grave.” Sheol is the Old Testament name for the place of the dead, pictured as dark and silent. The psalm sets it against God’s power to take His own out of it.

See also: Psalm 23:1.

Psalms 49:15

Here is the great turn. Where money fails, God succeeds. The psalmist is confident that God will rescue him from the power of the grave and receive him. This is the hope that answers the fear of verse 5.

BSA: redeem (“rescue, deliver from the power of”): What no man could do in verse 7, God does. take (“receive me, gather me to Himself”): God welcomes him into His own presence and care.

Hebrew: יִקָּחֵנִי (yiqqachēni, H3947) — “He will take me.” The same verb is used when God took Enoch and Elijah. It suggests God Himself receiving His servant out of death.

See also: Psalm 73:24; Genesis 5:24; Hosea 13:14.

Psalms 49:16

The psalmist now speaks directly to us. Do not be overawed or envious when someone gets rich and his house grows grander. Show and prosperity can look impressive, but they are not the measure of a life.

BSA: splendor (“glory, honor”): The glory of a rich home dazzles, but it is borrowed and short-lived.

See also: Psalm 37:1-2; Psalm 73:3.

Psalms 49:17

At death, the rich man takes nothing with him. His wealth stays behind. We arrive with empty hands and leave the same way, so treasure on earth cannot be our real security.

BSA: carry (“not a single thing, no possessions”): Not one item of his fortune goes into the grave with him.

See also: 1 Timothy 6:7; Job 1:21.

Psalms 49:18-19

He congratulates himself while alive, and others praise him for his success. But he will still join his ancestors in the dark, where no daylight comes. Praise from people does not change where he is going.

BSA: blesses (“praises and congratulates”): He is his own best admirer, pleased with himself. light (“daylight, spiritual illumination”): Light stands for life, which the grave seems to end for those without God.

See also: Luke 12:19-21; Luke 6:26.

Psalms 49:20

The psalm closes with its refrain. A person with riches but no understanding of his mortality, and no trust in God, ends like the animals that die. Real wisdom is to know that only God can redeem us.

BSA: understanding (“insight, discernment”): What lifts a person above the beasts is seeing life and death in the light of God.

See also: Mark 8:36; Psalm 90:12.