Psalm 49: 1 – 20
You can’t take it with you
To the Chief Musician. 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. 3 My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will disclose my dark saying on the harp. 5 Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity at my heels surrounds me? 6 Those who trust in their wealth and boast 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 souls is costly, and it shall cease forever— 9 That he should continue to live eternally, and not see the Pit. 10 For he sees wise men die; Likewise, the fool and the senseless person perish, and leave their wealth to others. 11 Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names. 12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the way of those who are foolish, and of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah 14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them; The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling. 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, Ffor He shall receive me. Selah 16 Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; 17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him. 18 Though while he lives he blesses himself (For men will praise you when you do well for yourself), 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see light. 20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that perish.
I think most of us are familiar with the saying, ‘You can’t take it with you’ , but in the life of Christianity we have a second part to this truth and that is, ‘You can send it on ahead.’
In the Gospel of Luke chapter 12 we read about a lesson from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ about greed.
“4 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” 16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Please notice that our Loving Lord Jesus turns to the crowd (to avoid personally indicting the man for something of which all can be guilty) and warns without ambiguity that greed must be guarded against. Greed is the insatiable desire for more. It is to want possessions inordinately, beyond what is reasonable or necessary.
Greed is often downplayed today; accumulation and the ostentatious display of wealth are often celebrated. Great rooms with cathedral ceilings, huge flat screen TVs (even private home theaters), and fancy cars are shamelessly flaunted.
Greed is at the root of a lot of evils and suffering. Scripture says in the Paul’s first letter to Timothy, ‘For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs.’
These are indeed very strong words. Greed causes us to be discontented and ungrateful, both of which are signs of unhappiness. It also leads us into temptations, into snares or traps that set loose harmful desires that seem to expand in ever increasing ways. And this desire for more too easily leads us to personal destruction, and to inflict great harm, insensitivity, and injustice upon others.
Because of greed we almost never say, ‘I have enough; I will give away the rest or use it for the benefit of others.’ Many also wander away from the faith because wealth is generally tied to this world and its demands, and they feel they have “too much to lose.” Hence the faith is set aside in favor of the world; greed overrules God and the demands of the Gospel.
The Lord does not simply condemn greed. He goes on to tell a parable that strives to provide a proper perspective on wealth. Wealth is not evil. But without the proper perspective, we too easily fall into greed. Hence the Lord provides five teachings on wealth to help us to keep it in perspective and to avoid greed.
Please take notice that it is the land, not the man, that yields the increased harvest. Whatever we have has come from God and what God has given. In the book of Deuteronomy 8:18 we read, ‘And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.’
Wealth is not bad or evil. But we must never forget that God is the true owner of all things while we are the stewards. God provides the increase and is the initiator of every blessing, but God remains the owner. As stewards, we are expected to use what belongs to God in accord with what He, the true owner, wills. Too easily we forget this and usher in many woes.
Remembering that the initiation of my wealth is God. I can help to avoid greed by using my wealth for the purposes God intends. It is not just for me; it is for all the people of this world.
The man is burdened by his wealth because he does not consider generosity an option. “What shall I do?” he asks anxiously. To be honest, great wealth does bring comfort, but it is also a source of inconvenience. Consider just a few things that usually go along with wealth: locks, alarms, storage facilities, insurance, worries, fears, repairs, maintenance, and upgrades. We live in an affluent age, but just think about the stress! Consider also the loss of other, more important values.
Ecclesiastes chapter 5 verse 12 teaches, “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.”
So wealth certainly has its comforts, but it also brings with it many inconveniences that make our lives more stressful and complicated. Better to be free of excessive wealth in accordance with God’s will than to be burdened by it. This is another perspective that helps us to avoid greed.
The parable goes on to say, and [the man] said, “This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, ‘Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry.”
Here we are taught that riches easily lead us to an illusion of self-sufficiency. We start to rely on self and on riches instead of on God. But as we shall see, the man’s wealth will utterly fail him before the night is out.
Riches can buy us out of temporary troubles, but it cannot help with the central problem we face. No amount of money can postpone our appointment with death and judgment. Riches can get us a first-class cabin on the ship, but on the “Titanic” of this world we are in no better shape than the people in steerage. In fact, because of the illusion it creates wealth will more likely hinder us in our final passage. For it is only in trusting in God that we can make it to the other shore. Too much wealth and self-reliance can hinder our capacity to call on the Lord and trust Him. Yes, wealth tends to create an illusion that cripples us from reaching our goal. Scripture says,
In today’s study of Psalm 49 verse 12 we understand, “12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish.”
The illusion of riches is well illustrated in the modern age. Our wealth has tended to make us less religious, less dependent on God. But really, can all our wealth, power, technology, and science ultimately save us? We know that it cannot.
Yet strangely we entertain the illusion of wealth anyway. Like the man in the parable, we think, “Now I’ve got it; now I’m all set.” This is an illusion, a set up. Coming to see it for the illusion that it is will help us to avoid greed.
Wealth is insufficient – But God said to him, “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?”
And thus, we see the illusion give way to the reality of insufficiency. Verse 5 clarifies for us, “5 Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?”
There are men who trust in their wealth and boast of the vastness of their riches. But no man can buy his own ransom or pay a price to God for his life. The ransom of his soul is beyond him. He cannot buy life without end nor avoid coming to the grave. He knows that wise men and fools must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes for ever, their dwelling place from age to age though their names spread wide through the land. In his riches man lacks wisdom, he is like the beast that perishes.
.At the end of the day, this world and all its riches cannot save us; only God can do this. This is another perspective on wealth that helps us to avoid greed.
So, the lesson we come away with is that wealth is not intrinsically evil. It is our greed that is sinful and gets us into trouble. Greed clings to wealth unreasonably and excessively. With greed, we “store up treasure for ourselves and are not rich in what matters to God.”
So what matters to God? What matters is that we be rich in justice, mercy, love, holiness, and truth; that we be generous sharers of the bounty He bestows. And thus, the Lord teaches us to share what we have generously, above what we do not need.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
The Psalm is addressed to both rich and poor and is a meditation on wealth. It is in very close parallel with the Book of Proverbs. It could be called a ‘wisdom’ Psalm and gives warning that while wealth may appear desirable in this life, it offers nothing for the next. Then the only question that will count will be as to whether we were right with God.
The Psalmist commences by making an appeal to all men, both high and low, rich and poor, to listen to his wisdom. This would confirm that he expects them to see in what he is saying something more than the usual truism . For he is in fact indicating that for those who trust God this life is not the end. There is hope beyond the grave.
1 Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, 2 Both low and high, rich and poor together. 3 My mouth shall speak wisdom, and the meditation of my heart shall give understanding. 4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will disclose my dark saying on the harp. 5 Why should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
His appeal is to all people of all classes. He wants it known that what he has to say applies to everyone.
He speaks to ‘both low and high’. Thus, it is to the common man and to the distinguished man. It is also to rich and poor. To the rich lest they trust in their riches. To the poor lest they become discontented with their lot. All need to heed his words. None must see themselves as outside their scope.
He explains that his aim is to give ‘wisdoms and understandings’. The plural indicates the length and breadth of that wisdom and understanding. In other words, he is speaking of the deeper things in life.
I like his description of ‘I will incline my ear --.’ He leans forward, as it were, to hear what God has to say, for what he has to say is coming from God.
The word parable indicates a comparison, a proverb, a metaphorical saying, or a poem (Isaiah 14.4). It is illustrative rather than literal. The words ‘dark saying’ indicates an enigma or riddle (Judges 14.12), a simile or parable (Ezekiel 17.2.
Certainly, one of the great mysteries of life to many was the prosperity of the unrighteous. Why should God allow the unrighteous to prosper, and the truly righteous to go in need? Men often saw only the outward trimmings and not the importance of the inner heart which riches could destroy.
He intends to set it to music by stating, ‘On the harp.’ Men will often listen to the wisdom of a song where they would reject the same words if plainly put.
The question that he raises is as to why he should fear when evil abounds, and when he is dogged by injustice and sin which threaten to trip him up.
He now points out that the rich are helpless in the face of death. None can redeem his brother, because the price of such redemption is too high. None can give to his brother eternal life and incorruptibility. The implication is that such a redemption might be possible. But not at a cost that the rich can pay, however rich they are.
6 Those who trust in their wealth and boast 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 souls is costly, and it shall cease forever— 9 That he should continue to live eternally, and not see the Pit.
He sees men strutting around in their riches and splendor, confident that nothing can drag them down. And then they are suddenly faced with the death of a loved one, and there is nothing that they can do about it. Suddenly all their wealth has become useless. All their money cannot enable them to buy that person back from death. They cannot make anyone live forever.
The Psalmist’s point is that when it comes to a man or woman themselves dying, there is no price payable by man that can prevent them from dying and their body corrupting. In this case no ransom is enough. The redemption of such a life is too costly. Any attempt to achieve it must fail forever. Again, however, there is the implication that there is such a redemption. It is simply one that is not achievable by man.
10 For he sees wise men die; Likewise, the fool and the senseless person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
The one who dies will see corruption whatever men do to prevent it. It will be just as true for the wise man as for the fool and senseless. Alike perish and alike leave their wealth to others.
Men do in their own ineffective way seek to perpetuate themselves. They think that they will live forever in their children and their children. They set up establishments and foundations in their own name. And they vainly imagine that they will be perpetuated forever. But it will always fail. Families die out, foundations fail, and any idea of the people themselves disappears into oblivion.
11 Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names. 12 Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish. 13 This is the way of those who are foolish, and of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah
Man’s vanity and hopeless search for continued remembrance is well brought out here. They vainly hope that they will live on in their children’s children, that their houses will continue forever. They vainly hope that their family residence will abide forever. They even call their lands after their own name. Surely that will last forever. But it does not. Sooner or later it will vanish from the combined memories of man.
For no man’s honor is permanently abiding. Even those whose memories abide are at the mercy of historians and wits. They are not remembered as they would wish to have been. The truth is that in the end men are like the beasts that perish, with the result that all their attempts to perpetuate themselves turn out to be but folly. And yet after them other foolish men approve of their attempts to perpetuate themselves. Such is the folly of mankind.
In the next two verses stand out on their own. In them the fate of the unrighteous is contrasted with the of the upright. Once again, we see in a Davidic Psalm his certainty that somehow God will not let him or the upright perish forever. This is especially confirmed using the term ‘redeem’. Here there is a redemption. It is wrought by God Who alone can pay the price that is required
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; Death shall feed on them; The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling. 15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, Ffor He shall receive me. Selah
The truth is that just as sheep follow one another without thought wherever the shepherd leads, so all these men described are appointed as a flock for the world of the grave, entering it by following their shepherd Death, with no way of escape. And all their wealth and beauty will be for the grave to consume. In Sheol there is nowhere for their wealth and beauty to be stored.
This is in contrast with the upright for whom there is to be a morning. ‘And the upright will trample over them (rule over them, triumph over them) in the morning’, Had it not been for what follows we might simply have seen this as signifying that they would live on and enjoy fullness of life, but the mention of redemption from Sheol argues strongly that such a redemption is indicated for the upright. For them there will be a resurrection morning when at last they receive their reward and triumph over those who have spurned them. We can compare how on our behalf Christ Jesus our God rose again from the dead and triumphed over those who assailed Him (Colossians 2.15)
This thought is confirmed by the certainty of the Psalmist himself that his soul will be redeemed from the power (literally ‘the hand’) of Sheol, so that God will receive him. In the light of the previous mention of a redemption so costly that no wealthy man can finance it, the thought must surely be that God Himself can pay that price. The Psalmist is therefore confident that he will be received into the presence of God.
The Psalmist possibly has in mind how Enoch walked with God, and ‘God took him’ (Genesis 5.22-24). A similar idea is in mind when Elijah was taken up into Heaven (2 Kings 2.11, 16-18). Both these examples indicated the possibility of the upright not finally dying. In view of the sacrifices that redeemed men from death it is not a great step from them to the possibility of a greater sacrifice that will redeem men from eternal death, but that is of course not mentioned here. It is, however, made plainer in Isaiah 53.10.
For the Christian the significance is even clearer. Through the offering of Christ once and for all, the greatest price that was ever paid (1 Peter 1.18-19), the truly believing Christian has been redeemed from the grave and has been guaranteed eternal life through the resurrection.
The Psalm ends with the assurance that there is no need to fear, or be puzzled, when the rich flourish and increase in wealth and glory, and lord it over men, because when those who lack true understanding die they will take nothing with them. They will no longer be rich. Their glory will not follow them. Rather they will go into everlasting darkness and will be like the beasts which perish. It is very much a warning to the rich that they ensure that they walk in the ways of the Lord in all their doings.
16 Do not be afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; 17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away; His glory shall not descend after him. 18 Though while he lives he blesses himself (For men will praise you when you do well for yourself), 19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They shall never see light. 20 A man who is in honor, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that perish.
Our Master and King Jesus may well have had this Psalm in mind when He told the story of the rich fool (Luke 12.13-20). The picture is of men who appear to be blessed because their prosperity grows and their glory and fame increases. But the Psalmist assures us that they are not to be envied. For when they die they will leave it all behind. And then they will receive the due reward of their behavior. While they are alive they preen themselves, and ‘bless their souls’, and others praise them because they do well for themselves, but eventually they must go to those who have died before them, and once there they will be in perpetual darkness. ‘They will never see the light.’
And the Psalmist ends the Psalm with the assurance that men who are held in honor on earth, but do not have true understanding (they do not walk in God’s ways), will simply be like the beasts that perish. For that is what by their behavior they will have revealed themselves to be, mere brute beasts.
