1 Hear this, all peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor together. 3 My mouth will speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will be understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle on the harp. Psalm 49:1–4
This psalm of an anonymous poet, no doubt set to music, addresses the age old problem of the rich and powerful’s apparent control over common man. We see this today, with the filthy rich using their gaudy financial status to wield power and further consolidate their gains. There’s a sense that there is nothing at all that can stop them, that the vault in which they live is impenetrable, that they can flood any zone with their gold and silver and do as they want. After amassing billions, they are not content to enjoy them and sail the world, but they become transfixed on exercising dominion over the peasants of the valley. Here the psalmist points out the folly of such machinations. As believers armed with these words of wisdom, we can have the proper perspective of the oppression we might feel, and know with certainty who wins out in the end. We certainly don’t want to do the same with what puny assets we’ve accumulated and seek to create our own fiefdom!
5 Why should I fear in days of adversity, when the iniquity of my foes surrounds me, 6 even those who trust in their wealth and boast in the abundance of their riches? 7 No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him— 8 For the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever—9 that he should live on eternally, that he should not undergo decay. Psalm 49:5–9
The tendency is to fear these people, especially in times of adversity. Because we lack the means, we must suffer whatever comes our way like a fighter pinned in a corner, while the rich and famous can buy their way out. But this is not true in God’s economy, which is explained by the impossibility of any man redeeming the soul of another. The oligarchs would have you believe that there is no such restraint on them, that they can and will “save the world.” Only one man could do this and it cost him his life. Those who wish to do it again, to create a society in their own image, are on a fool’s run. They do not contemplate the certainty of their very certain death, and the reality of the pile of dust they will become.
10 For he sees that even wise men die; the stupid and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. 11Their inner thought is that their houses are forever and their dwelling places to all generations; they have called their lands after their own names. Psalm 49:10–11
But the time will come as they stare at a hospital ceiling, that they will realize with finality that their wealth will not cure them, despite access to the finest doctors and the most revered institutions. They’re forced into the long and winding line leading to the ultimate equity, that all men die, that even with a foundation or carefully drawn will and testament, they will finally lose control. Cruel reality will dispense with the notion that what they’ve built is eternal, and regardless of the nameplate they’ve affixed to all their assets, they will no longer be their own.
12 But man in his pomp will not endure; he is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the way of those who are foolish, and of those after them who approve their words. Psalm 49:12–13
Sadly, the foolish masses whom they persuade to follow them will meet the same fate. Those nodding in approval will be abandoned by their mentors to lick their wounds and likewise die alone, having squandered precious time in the land of the living. Such pomp carries circumstances that cannot be avoided. Certain death awaits all.
14 As sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd; and the upright shall rule over them in the morning, and their form shall be for Sheol to consume so that they have no habitation. 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for He will receive me. Psalm 49:14–15
How is it possible to avoid being shepherded unwilling into the black void? Walk righteously! Then the tables are turned. As strange as it may seem, the upright will rule these former tyrants “in the morning.” Whereas they will spiral downward to Sheol, those who believe in the one true God will be redeemed from the power of death and receive eternal life.
16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; 17 for when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not descend after him. 18 Though while he lives he congratulates himself— and though men praise you when you do well for yourself—19 he shall go to the generation of his fathers; they will never see the light. 20 Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 49:16–20
As if the point had not been made clear enough, the poet summarizes with more of the same. Same song, different verse. This refrain is personalized though. “And though men praise you when you do well for yourself.” We all can fall victim to this wrongful thinking. We can surmise that we’re ahead of many in a line to oblivion. Before we congratulate ourselves on having almost arrived, before we bathe in self-adulation, we may be in fact on a road with no exits, actually not to nowhere, but to somewhere no one would ever want to be.
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
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