PSALMS 49

     We will begin by giving Psalm chapter 49 in metre.


                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                             Chapter 49

Verse 1  "Hear this, all ye people hear, Earth's inhabitants give ear,
          All of high and low estate, Rich and poor together met."
Verse 2  "For my mouth shall wisdom speak, Knowledge in my heart I'll
          seek. Lend to parables my ear, On the harp make dark things
          clear."
Verse 3  "Why should I to fear give way When I see the evil day: When
          my wicked artful foes---- Vile supplanters round me close.
Verse 4  "They that trust in treasured gold, They that boast of wealth
          untold, None can bid his brother live, None to God a ransom
          give."
Verse 5  "Soul-redemption precious is, And the hope must ever cease
          That forever live shall He, And corruption never see.
Verse 6  "For he sees that wise men die, Brutish fools in death must
          lie; They in their riches' hoarded heap, Other hands in turn
          shall keep.
Verse 7  "Secret hopes engage their heart, That their house shall
          ne'er depart; That their lordly dwelling-place Shall remain
          from race to race."
Verse 8  "To their lands they give their name, In the hope of lasting
          fame; But man's pomp shall not abide; He shall die as beasts
          have died."
Verse 9  "Folly thus marks out their way, Yet their seed laud what
          they say In the grave like sheep they're laid, Death shall
          there upon them feed."
Verse 10 "O'er them soon shall rule the just, And their strength shall
          turn to dust; But my soul shall God redeem From the grave to
          dwell with him.
Verse 11 "Fear not when one's wealth is great, When his house gains
          high estate; Death shall all his glory end, Nought shall
          after him descend."
Verse 12 "Though in life his soul be blessed As of all he
          wished,[possessed (And the world thy praise will tell, When
          to self thou hast done well);"
Verse 13 "With his fathers he shall lie, Where no light shall meet his
          eye. Man in honor when not wise, Like the beast both lives
          and dies."

     We will now begin the verse by verse study of chapter 49 of
Psalms. Psalms 49:1 "{To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of
Korah.} Hear this, all [ye] people; give ear, all [ye] inhabitants of
the world:"  Psalms 49:2 "Both low and high, rich and poor, together."

     God is not impressed by great riches or fame of a person. This
message is not to one class of people, it is to all the people of the
earth. When it says give ear, it means to listen carefully.
     Psalms 49:3 "My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation
of my heart [shall be] of understanding."

     The penman, here, is not bragging on himself, he is saying that
the thoughts of his heart will be spoken by his mouth. We have
discussed before that wisdom is a gift of God. Then, he is saying that
the Spirit of God is speaking through him. Jesus promised all who
believe to be taught of the Holy Spirit of God. This Spirit dwells
within.

     Psalms 49:4 "I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my
dark saying upon the harp."

     Here, again, we have discussed that the entire Bible is really a
parable. Just as Jesus took the disciples of old aside and taught them
the meaning of the parables, the Holy Spirit reveals to believers the
meaning of the parables. The penman, here, is saying that he sang the
secrets of the parable.

     Psalms 49:5 "Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, [when]
the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?"

     This seems, to me, that there are habits that some people have
that bother them, even after they are saved. The enemy knows very well
what our weaknesses are, and that is what he chases us with. An
overweight person would be offered all types of delicate food that
they thought they had stopped desiring. A person who had just stopped
smoking would be constantly in the presence of someone blowing smoke
in their face.

     Psalms 49:6 "They that trust in their wealth, and boast
themselves in the multitude of their riches;"

     Notice, what this really says. It is not those that are wealthy,
but those who trust in their wealth. To trust in your wealth would
mean that you had put it ahead of God. Riches are soon past. To boast
of riches would be a quick way to lose them. A person is wealthy,
because God has given the wealth to you. There is, then, no reasonable
reason to boast of wealth.

     Psalms 49:7 "None [of them] can by any means redeem his brother,
nor give to God a ransom for him:"

     Just as Simon the sorcerer found out, the things of God are not
for sale. You can not buy your way into heaven. The spotless blood of
the Lamb of God is the only thing that can ransom any of us from
death. The things of God are a free gift. They are not bought or sold.

     Psalms 49:8 "(For the redemption of their soul [is] precious, and
it ceaseth for ever:)"

     The body of the first born son of the Hebrew was redeemed with a
shekel of silver. This was just to excuse him from work in the
sanctuary, not to save his soul. It is the precious spotless blood of
the Lamb of God that purchases our soul.

     Psalms 49:9 "That he should still live for ever, [and] not see
corruption."

     There is no money great enough to cause him to live forever.
I Peter 1:18 "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with
corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation
[received] by tradition from your fathers;" I Peter 1:19 "But with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot:"

     Psalms 49:10 "For he seeth [that] wise men die, likewise the fool
and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others."

     The flesh of all men die. They are made from the dust of the
earth, and to dust their body returns. When you die to this world, you
can not take anything with you. The great wealth that you have
accumulated is passed on to your next of kin to spend as he sees fit.

     Psalms 49:11 "Their inward thought [is, that] their houses [shall
continue] for ever, [and] their dwelling places to all generations;
they call [their] lands after their own names."

     This describes a man who believes he will live in the flesh
forever. He names buildings and all his property after himself, as if
that will help him last forever. All of this is vanity. One of the
worst false religions going around is the religion of self. Secular
humanism is one name it is called. Since Eve in the garden, worldly
people have wanted to be as God. The truth is we will never be as God.
WE are His servants. At the best, we are His adopted children, but we
are never equal with God.

     Psalms 49:12 "Nevertheless man [being] in honour abideth not: he
is like the beasts [that] perish."

     The flesh of man is not made for eternity. You may be the
president of the United States, but the day will come when the flesh
will die. Psalms 90:10 "The days of our years [are] threescore years
and ten; and if by reason of strength [they be] fourscore years, yet
[is] their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we
fly away."  The only way we are like the beast is that we do not
determine our life span, God does. We live and die at the command of
God.

     Psalms 49:13 "This their way [is] their folly: yet their
posterity approve their sayings. Selah."

     We see in this, like father like son. The son comes right along
behind the father and makes the same mistakes. They both die in their
folly. Selah means think on these things.

     Psalms 49:14 "Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall
feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the
morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their
dwelling."

     Sheep are animals who have no awareness of death, until it comes.
These men, in this verse, are like that. They make no preparation for
the life after death. Their fate in the grave is the decay of their
body. The believers, on the other hand, are promised that they will
reign with Jesus as kings and rulers over the unsaved.

     Psalms 49:15 "But God will redeem my soul from the power of the
grave: for he shall receive me. Selah."

     Believers in Christ have the promise of the resurrection. Because
Jesus lives, His followers will, also, live. Believers in Christ are
the redeemed. Selah means pause and think on these things.

     Psalms 49:16 "Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the
glory of his house is increased;" Psalms 49:17 "For when he dieth he
shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him."

     Wealth and power do not follow to the grave. You came in to this
world with nothing, and you will go out of this world the same way.
The riches of the world-oriented individual is just for a little
while, and Puff, it is gone.

     Psalms 49:18 "Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and
[men] will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself." Psalms 49:19
"He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see
light."

     The rich and powerful seem to have many friends in this world,
but most of them are fair weather friends. They are friends who try to
get something the rich possess. The sad thing, here, is that he does
not go to heaven. In heaven there is Light all the time. He goes where
there is no light.

     Psalms 49:20 "Man [that is] in honour, and understandeth not, is
like the beasts [that] perish."

     Beasts do not have the power to choose heaven and hell.
They are not made in the image of God. The beasts never prepares for
eternal life in heaven. The man that the world honors here, that does
not understand and prepare for life eternal is like the beast. He has
no eternal life waiting for him.










                             Questions 49

1.  In verse 1 and 2 of this lesson, who were to listen?
2.  Is God impressed with riches and fame?
3.  What is meant by {give ear}?
4.  Wisdom is a gift from ___.
5.  What is he really saying in verse 3?
6.  I will incline mine ear to a ___________.
7.  Who reveals to the Christian what parables mean?
8.  What did the penman here, sing?
9.  What are the iniquities of my heel?
10. Give 2 examples of iniquities of the heel.
11. Verse 6 is not speaking of wealthy people, but what?
12. Why is one person wealthy and another poor?
13. Who found out that the things of God could not be bought?
14. What is the only thing that can ransom any of us from death?
15. The body of the first born son of the Hebrews were redeemed with
    what?
16. What was this redemption from?
17. Quote 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 18.
18. Quote 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 19.
19. What happens to the wealth of the man when he dies?
20. Why does the man in verse 11 call the lands after his own name?
21. Since Eve in the garden, worldly people have wanted to be __ ___.
22. What is the teaching of secular humanism?
23. In what way is man like the beast?
24. Quote Psalms chapter 90 verse 10.
25. What is verse 13 of this lesson really saying?
26. Sheep have no __________ of death, until it comes.
27. In what way is worldly man like the sheep?
28. What promise do believers in Christ have?
29. Selah, in verse 15, probably means what?
30. You come into this world with _________, and you will go out with
    ________.
31. Who seem to have many friends in the earth?
32. Why will they not see Light?
33. In verse 20, what causes the man to be like the beast?