Psalm 49 comments

 

Psalm 49:1 ¶  «To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.» Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: 2  Both low and high, rich and poor, together. 3  My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. 4  I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp. 5  Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?

 

I thought this was interesting in that God is calling all people regardless of social class here. Notice what is said about the church later.

 

Galatians 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

 

For verse 3 I was reminded of;

 

Deuteronomy 32:2  My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3  Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

 

Job 33:3  My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly.

 

Also for this verse Christ is the wisdom of God;

 

1Corinthians 1:24  But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

 

Then verse 4 brought this to mind;

 

Psalm 78:2  I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old

We can think of the enigma of the gospel, the mystery of God coming to earth to be subjected to the same life and death as a human being.

 

Amazingly this passage easily can be made to speak of the fact, here in verse 5, that regardless of the sin we find ourselves grappling with, and from this verse ‘steppin’ in it,’ every day we have nothing to fear in eternity for Christ has forgiven all, once and for all, if we are truly His.

 

Romans 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

 

1John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

Psalm 49:6 ¶  They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves 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 soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:) 9  That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption. 10  For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. 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. 12  Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish. 13  This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah. 14  Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

 

The person of great wealth still has no power to make a deal with God to deliver someone he or she cares about. Your salvation is very personal and none but God can save you. Salvation is final, absolute, and cannot be rescinded nor is it something you can purchase for someone else.

 

Exodus 30:12  When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.

 

Matthew 20:28  Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

 

As you can see Christ paid the ransom to God for us all; Jew and Gentile who comprise the church. He paid it to the Father. Foolish preachers will say that Christ paid a ransom to Satan, which is nonsense.

 

This part of the Psalm reminds us that our material possessions will go to someone else when we die and all the preparations of inheritance or life insurance cannot be impacted by us after our demise. It is salvation or damnation that lasts forever not our earthly dynasty or heritable property. Remember how Solomon looked at death.

 

Ecclesiastes 3:21  Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?

 

Ecclesiastes 8:8  There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

 

Humans die just like an animal dies, their flesh perishing in the grave. But salvation is eternal, only possible through Christ.

 

John 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

 

Psalm 49:15 ¶  But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. 16  Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; 17  For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. 18  Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. 19  He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. 20  Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

 

And so, this great Psalm on eternal life concludes with a prophecy first of Christ, then of our resurrection in verse 15. This also points out that wealth and accomplishment in this life are meaningless if a person does not know God.

 

For verse 15 consider these;

 

Psalm 31:5  Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

 

Psalm 56:13  For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

 

Psalm 86:13  For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

 

Hosea 13:14  I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

 

Specifically for Christ see;

 

Psalm 16:10  For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

 

Quoted in Acts 2:27 and Acts 13:35.

 

This passage then follows from the last set of verses in saying very clearly that your accomplishments and wealth will not follow you nor do they justify you or speak for you. The rich man shall perish in the grave but the righteous shall have his or her soul redeemed by God. You can’t buy eternal life, salvation. An self-important person who does not know God is no better off than a beast when they die.