Psummer of Psalms: Psalm 49

Main Idea: Rule in the Land in Light of Eternity

Text: Psalm 49

Outline:

A) Unconditional Declaration (vv. 1–4)

B) Unpayable Debt (vv. 5-12)

C) Unavoidable Destiny (vv. 13-20)

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!

[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.

[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?

[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.

[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,

their dwelling places to all generations,

though they called lands by their own names.

[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. Selah

[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

[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.

[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. (ESV)