Psalm 49

The writer reflected on the problem that the prosperity of the wicked poses in this wisdom psalm (cf. Ps. 73). He observed that there are many ungodly people who enjoy many physical blessings. Still he concluded that the righteous are better off because they have a sure hope for the future.

 1. Invitation to hear wisdom 49:1-4

49:1-2 The psalmist urged all people to listen to what he had to say in this poem. All kinds of people need to be aware of the insight he revealed here. This fact applies to the wicked as well as the righteous.

49:3-4 What follows is wisdom, but a person must have insight to appreciate it. It is a riddle or dark saying in this respect. Spiritual illumination helps us perceive the truth.

"The language of the prelude, the call to mankind, uses many of the terms which open the book of Proverbs, and proclaims this a wisdom psalm, offering instruction to men rather than worship to God."¹⁰⁹

 2. Observation of the prosperity of the wicked 49:5-12

49:5-6 This rhetorical question sets forth the folly of fearing when wicked people oppose the righteous. It introduces the revelation that the prosperous ungodly enjoy a false security (vv. 7-12).

49:7-9 Material wealth cannot prevent death. No one has enough money to buy life back when God claims it in death. The point here is that we cannot buy our way, or anyone else's way, out of dying. The psalmist was not speaking of purchasing eternal salvation here. This comes later in verse 15 (cf. Matt. 20:28).

49:10-12 Everyone dies eventually even though some live with the illusion of immortality. The fact that people try to perpetuate their reputations on the earth forever shows they want to live forever. However, man, like the animals, will eventually go into the grave. Of course, the psalmist did not mean that man's fate is identical to that of animals in all respects. He only meant both die. Later revelation that saints living at the Rapture will experience translation without dying does not negate the psalmist's point.

 3. Encouragement to trust in God 49:13-20

49:13-14 The writer marvelled at the folly of the proud wicked. How silly it is to live only for the present. Death will end it all. The wicked may dominate the upright in this life, but a new day is coming in which God will turn the tables.

49:15 "The great But God. . . (15) is one of the mountain-tops of Old Testament hope."¹¹⁰

God will free the righteous from the power of the grave. He will receive them the other side of the grave. This is one of the Old Testament passages that reveals that believers living when the psalmist did had hope of life after death (cf. Job 19:25; Heb. 11:10; et al.). Revelation of the bodily resurrection, however, was obscure until Jesus Christ's resurrection and His apostles' instructions on that subject (1 Thess. 4; 1 Cor. 15).

"It is possible that the psalmist is looking at ultimate eschatological realities, anticipating his own resurrection and a time when the righteous, not the rich, will rule on earth. However, it is more likely that the ascendancy of the righteous refers to their vindication in this life, a well-attested theme in the Psalter, especially in the wisdom psalms (see, e.g., Pss. 1, 34, 37, and 112, as well as the discussion above). In this case verse 15 refers to God's preserving the psalmist through evil days' (cf. v. 5) by keeping him from premature, violent death at the hands of the oppressive rich and from the calamity that overtakes them. Morning' (v. 14), which brings to mind the dawning of a new day after a night of darkness, aptly symbolizes the cessation of these evil days.'"¹¹¹

49:16-19 It is foolish to be jealous of wicked unbelievers. Their prosperity is only temporary. The wise person should not allow the wealth of the ungodly to intimidate him or her.

49:20 The psalmist repeated his concluding statement in the previous section (v. 12), but here he changed it slightly. Here he stressed the wicked person's lack of understanding. There he stressed his lack of endurance.

Believers should not envy the ungodly who prosper in this life. We should not feel inferior to them either. All that they are living for will perish with them. Those who fear God, however, can expect a glorious future with the Lord beyond the grave.