Psalm 49

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1 Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

2 both low and high, rich and poor together!

The psalm begins with one of the most familiar words to Jewish culture: “Hear”, “Shema”. The word is shorthand for the great creedal statement of faith: “Hear O Israel, the LORD is your God, the LORD is one.” The command here, however, is not directed to Israel, but to every single human being on the planet -- all peoples and everyone who dwells in the world. In other words, this is universal, relating to the human condition. The second verse builds on this by adding the qualifiers, both high and low, rich and poor. Neither your race or your economic status is relevant to the truth that the psalmist is about to speak. And yes, he is speaking, not writing. This message would have been heard in its day, far more than it would have been read. The Hebrew of verse 2 is interesting. “Both low and high” is literally, “both sons of Adam and sons of man”. In the Old Testament, the word “adam” occurs 22 times, while “ish” occurs 1097. “Adam” is found exclusively in the poetic books of Job, Psalms, and Proverbs as well as twice in Ezekiel in reference to the Son of Man (incidentally, Jesus’ favorite way to refer to himself). It seems to me that the use of Adam may suggest a reference to the original Adam whose name means “ground, dirt, earth.” This reminds us that human beings are glorified dirt. We are made entirely of the stuff of this earth. 70% water and a few other elements, along with traces of dozens of others -- we are not that complex when it comes to the raw materials from which we are formed. It’s the arrangement of those few materials that is ingenious. In context, the poet is simply saying your position by virtue of your origin matters not. Whether you are a son of the soil or a son of a man (someone important), whether you are wealthy or needy -- death is one of the undeniable realities of life. Interesting that a psalm about death begins with a reference to the person that brought death into the world in the first place. How you align your life with the reality of death is at the heart of wisdom. Embracing your mortality has profound implications on how you conduct your life, how you spend your money, how you value children, how you value others -- literally everything extends from your understanding of your mortality. 

3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

The psalm represents an abrupt shift from the previous psalms of the Sons of Korah and is one of a handful of wisdom psalms in the psalter. It stands between previous songs which speak primarily of God’s presence with his people and the song of Asaph which follows, which is a call to repentance. In a way, this psalm sets up what follows. Wisdom demands repentance. Here the psalmist introduces his work with a series of parallel lines telling us what he is going to do. He will speak wisdom which flows from the murmuring of his heart. This understanding of reality will be stated in the form of a proverb and a riddle -- something that makes you stop and think. That’s what a riddle does. It is a mystery that you know to be true but its meaning is not readily apparent. It requires some turning around and over in your mind. This is all to be done to the music of the lyre, so not only is this wisdom but it is also beauty. It is artistry, layers of meaning to help this truth stick and come to life in the deepest of ways. This is one of the functions of art -- to slow us down a bit to look deeper and listen repeatedly. The universal language and power of music has long been attested in history, and it continues to be a powerful tool of influence. There is no question that God has used music and song to shape and direct my life. I have been discipled by the music of the church at least as much as I have been discipled by preaching and teaching. One of the roles of the musical artist is to set truth to music in a way that causes us to hear it over and over again, like the parallelism of Hebrew poetry, saturating the mind with its repetition, catching us off guard with a novel phrase that causes us to pause and reflect on its meaning. I’m ready to hear what the psalmist has to say. 

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?

The psalmist answers an unspoken question with a question. The unspoken question is, why do other people have more things than I do? Why do those who cheat me (lit. kick or trip me) seem to surround me? Why am I experiencing seasons of trouble? Why do those who trust in their wealth and boast of their riches seem to be living the good life? If we dwell on these things, it can cause us to fear. Do I have enough stuff to take care of myself and my family? What if disaster struck and it was all gone tomorrow? Flood, fire, war, theft and robbery -- all of these were real possibilities then and now. There are events beyond our control that can sweep away all of our security in a moment. I can’t help but think that there is a bit of envy and perhaps a little bit of doubt underneath this rhetorical question. Even as he asks the question, the answer comes almost immediately. Everyone dies. Death is the great equalizer, so there’s no point in boasting or envy -- we all get the same thing in the end and it’s 6 feet long and 6 feet deep. Fear and worry are options, but they don’t change anything. So be content with what you have. No, be grateful. Every day of life is a gift in itself. Tomorrow is promised to no one, so make the most of the time that you have. The truth is that believers have it better than anyone else because they have the security of a life beyond death, something that those outside the faith do not have. So with this rhetorical question the psalmist is reminding himself that there is no reason to fear the power of those who do not have power over death. Jesus will say something similar in Luke 12:4,5 where he says, “Don’t fear the one who can kill the body and after that do nothing else. I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear the one who has power to cast both body and soul into hell.”

7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life,

8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice,

9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit.

In all of human history, no man has ever been able to buy his way out of death. When I was young, the wealthiest man in the world was Howard Hughes at 4 billion dollars, the first to reach that mark. I remember being surprised to learn that he had died alone, his OCD pushing him into a final unhappy and unhealthy existence. If anyone could have purchased eternal life, surely 4 billion dollars would have been enough. There are currently over 2,800 billionaires in the world, and I will guarantee that none of them can buy their way out of death either. There is an illusion that wealth is the secret to a long and happy life. It won’t even get you that, so it sure can’t stop you from dying. Tevia sings, “If I were a rich man…” as if it would be the solution to all his problems. And while we all want more money, we all know that there’s not enough money in the world to prevent us from dying. Some of the richest people in the world are pouring their resources into some means to live beyond their bodies, preserving their consciousness in a computer, becoming a human cyborg. You call that living? No, the only way to live forever is to have someone ransom themselves for you, to take your place when death comes knocking at your door. We need someone who is infinitely rich and powerful to purchase eternal life for us. This is both bad news and good news. The bad news of course is that no one can buy themselves out of death. The good news is that someone has paid the price for you. This is not the point that the psalmist is making, but looking at this text from this side of the empty tomb, it’s clear that someone has paid the price so that we don’t have to see the pit. Our bodies will see the pit, but our lives have been ransomed by the One who owns the entire universe. Yet the price for our ransom wasn’t his wealth. It was his own life. The writer didn’t know he was speaking prophetically here. He is just stating the facts to make his point that we shouldn’t envy the rich. They are no different from anyone else when it comes to the end of life. This text is the gospel. God himself paid the price, gave himself as ransom so that we could live forever with him. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s still true. 

10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their graves are their homes forever,[Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever] their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names.

Death is the great equalizer. The wise and foolish, the rich and poor -- they all die and leave their wealth to others. There’s the old joke that was made when a rich man died: “How much did he leave behind?!”  Answer: “Everything”. When someone dies they move to a new permanent address -- their tombs are their homes forever. Their bodies will rest there for eternity. The wealthy may even have lands named after them -- their kingdoms, their estates, their find houses, but this changes nothing. They thought they were going to live in fine houses forever, but when their time on earth is up they move to a new residence. It is a morbid thing to say so plainly, but it is at the heart of wisdom. Moses wrote, “Teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). The wealthy person must face the fact every day that someday their wealth will go to someone else and they lose all control of it. Better to understand that now and make good use of it while you can. Make investments in people rather than property. The home of the dead is in sharp contrast to the future of the believer. David said that he would dwell in the house of the LORD forever (Psalm 23:6) and that his soul would rest secure in the presence of God (Psalm 16:11). “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalm 116:15). These and other promises offer hope to those who believe in a God of goodness and grace. I cannot comprehend death to the atheist. There is absolutely no hope as the body returns to the earth from which it evolved. No meaning, no purpose, no comfort in the separation from those you love. We cannot buy our way out of death. No one can ransom himself from the grave. Your current address will change one day and your permanent one will be at the cemetery. These are sobering thoughts, but a wise person will consider them and live accordingly. 

12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts.[and of those after them who approve of their boasts] Selah

The psalmist uses the poetic name “Adam” again here as in the second verse, in this little refrain in the psalm (also in verse 20). Adam is representative of mankind in so many ways -- both in reflecting the glory of God but also the pride of man. It was his pride that led him to rebel, and all of us with him. But Adam was made of dust and according to the curse, to dust he would return. He was made immortal, for relationship with his Creator, but he chose to make himself God instead. Pride is here expressed as “pomp” which makes one think of a king or a wealthy person who lacks nothing his heart desires, particularly in the extreme. The psalmist tells us that the very best among us, the wealthiest and most powerful, the most pompous are just like the beasts that perish. In other words: animal-like. The verse begins with Adam and ends with an animal. Animal-like is what we become when we deny our nature as bearers of the image of God. Unfortunately, this has become one of the popular ways to view humanity -- merely highly evolved animals with no inherent meaning, purpose, or destiny. As a result, we treat one another like animals. Sexual promiscuity, violence, tribalism -- these are all animal-like behaviors that are actually elevated in many aspects of culture. One’s understanding of creation is the bedrock of self-identity. But mankind has foolish confidence in himself and there are plenty of people who will serve as an echo chamber to ideas that appear to elevate but actually degrade. The common view that mankind’s destiny is in our hands, that we can stop the rising seas, reduce the severity of hurricanes and eliminate forest fires is an example of this type of hubris. The phrase “approve of their boasts” makes me think of the common practice in social media of “liking” things to confirm your tribal identity. Like animals we are at one another’s throats politically, striving for power to implement our ideas which in all of our wisdom we believe will make this world a better place. The only “world” that you can most definitely make a better place is the small one in which you live -- your family, your circle of friends, your co-workers, the people whose lives you touch every day. There is a place for politics as our civic duty, but do not let it become an idol. Man, for all of his pomp is like the beasts that perish. 

14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd,

and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.

15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah

These verses provide a dramatic contrast between two ways of life. Without God there is no hope beyond the grave. Death is a monster that devours body and soul. Humans are compared to sheep, animals that are destined for slaughter. I assume there are few sheep that live to a ripe old age. They are used for wool during their lives and while they are still edible they are killed and consumed without regret. It is an appropriate metaphor for those that believe that human beings are only highly evolved animals, just a little above an ape. Farm animals in particular are destined for slaughter -- the same is true for human beings. Death is inevitable. However, for the upright, the LORD is our shepherd, not death. Yes, we will die, just like the psalmist, but we will not be alone. God will ransom our soul from the hand of Death. He will take us. It’s unclear exactly what the psalmist meant by that since there isn’t strong evidence of a belief in the afterlife during this time of Judaism. At a minimum it suggests God rescuing the psalmist miraculously, perhaps from an early, untimely death. Nevertheless, we can’t help but read this through the lens of the New Testament and see Jesus, the Good Shepherd, laying his life down for the sheep, ransoming them from the grave, ruling over death in the morning of his resurrection. This is an “easter egg” hidden in a despairing wisdom psalm. These are some of the most sobering words in the psalm -- “like sheep appointed for Sheol”, followed by some of the most hopeful -- “God will ransom my soul from the hand of Sheol.” In classic wisdom literature style, there are two choices, two ways to see and to live your life. It is not complex, even if we are uncertain about the “how” of God’s ransoming, it is declared as a certainty. And unlike the psalmist, for the Christian this is not a blind hope, mere wishful thinking. There is the historically verifiable resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This changes everything. It confirms all that is said in the scripture about the nature of man, that we are made in the image of God, immortal beings created for relationship with the Creator, inherently valuable, a little lower than God (Psalm 8:4) rather than a little higher than an ape. And it is a picture of what is to come when each of us breaths our last. Rather than death shepherding us to a place of corruption and destruction, Jesus himself will be the first face that we see, shepherding us through the valley and into his house forever. 

16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases.

17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.

This may be the heart of this psalm, the prime morsel of wisdom that the writer wants us to take away. Returning to what was posed as a question in verse 5, the teacher instructs us to not be afraid when a man becomes rich or the glory of his house increases. Don’t worry over the impact on your life and others. Don’t be anxious about your own economic status by comparing it to others. Don’t fall into the envy trap, instead be content with what you have. How is it that someone else’s wealth (or good fortune) causes us to feel worse about our situation? It is because we compare ourselves to them, and there is no value in this. The one thing that we all have in common is that we are going to die, rich and poor alike. And when we do, we will carry nothing down into the grave with us. The clothes on our back, yes, but these will rot along with our flesh. The psalm speaks of the glory of his house, referring to not only the physical dwelling he occupied, but all of the trappings that went with it -- the fine art, the servants, the extended family, the galas, the lands and fields -- all of it. All of this glory, the weight of it all will not sink into the grave with him. It will remain above him, enduring beyond his life, for they are just memories or things that others will now enjoy. Tevia sings, “If I were a rich man…” and we can all identify with his words. If we only had a little bit more, then we would be secure, then we would have enough, but it is never enough. There is always more we could buy, more we could do, if we had just a little more money. But don’t you worry. Jesus said that if we desire the kingdom first, all the things that we need will be added to our supply. While our body will go down leaving its glory behind, for the kingdom seeker, death is the doorway into the presence of God, into fullness of glory

18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed  —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light.

20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

This psalm is about the sorry state of the rich man, so it might be themed “looks are deceiving.” While he is alive, he considers himself blessed above all people, and others agree, telling him that he has done well for himself. It’s true that we both admire and envy the rich. If we had their money we’d spend it more wisely of course. And we also question how they acquired their wealth -- certainly they must have done something immoral or illegal. And while we admire and envy the rich, we must also acknowledge that we are rich. By the standards of the world today, I am wealthy even though I’m somewhat average by US standards. Since God sees people first before nationality and race, my position relative to the majority of the world is what matters. I am rich. I have a steady job, a nice home, two cars, a retirement account, access to the best health care in the world -- the list goes on. I am rich, and so the psalmist speaks directly to me. I consider myself rich and some will look at my stuff and say that I’ve done well for myself. (If I’m honest, I enjoy it when they do that.) But when I die, that’s it. I can’t enjoy my wealth. I can’t pride myself on my new car or my nicer house. My retirement account can do nothing for me. What I can leave behind is the influence I have on others -- my family, my friends, my students, and strangers. While I do have the hope of eternal life, this psalm is sobering because it’s focus is on what I am doing with my wealth now. This is Jesus’ focus as well in his account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16). At death their positions in life are reversed, and how the rich man wishes that he had some comfort, the very comfort he neglected to give when he had the opportunity. Death is one of the things that we share with the animals. Eventually, each of us will surrender to it. Knowing its inevitability should focus our living on the things that really matter. An animal is focused on survival. But as children of Adam and Eve, we were made for more -- for life. Live each day as if it were your last. Do the things that matter most. Invest in people not stuff. Make something of your life.