Psalm 49: The Song of the Riddle

“[1] Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world…” (Psalm 49:1)

The Psalms are teachers pointing us toward the way of wisdom. The psalmists intend for you to learn not simply about God and spiritual things but also about humanity and some of the biggest questions concerning the human condition. We get to sit at their feet and study their words, listening and learning how to be counted among the wise. 

The Woven Psalms is a reflective, unhurried, and practical podcast about praying every psalm in the Bible. This podcast is a ministry of Rock Hill Community Church in Duluth, MN. You can learn more about our work at www.wovenpsalms.com.

Mike Solis is our writer and host. Ethan Gibbs is our editor, producer, and composer of the theme music. Beau Walsh designed our logo. This episode features the song “Psalm 49” by Poor Bishop Hooper, and we want to thank them for allowing us to use the music from their EveryPsalm project. You can learn more about their music at www.poorbishophooper.com.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Transcript

The Psalms are teachers pointing us toward the way of wisdom. The psalmists intend for you to learn not simply about God and spiritual things but also about humanity and some of the biggest questions concerning the human condition. We get to sit at their feet and study their words, listening and learning how to be counted among the wise. 

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.

Psalm 49 concludes the first collection of songs from the sons of Korah (42-49), and it strikes a very different tone than the previous psalms. The prelude in verses 1-4 uses many of the same terms that open the book of Proverbs as the psalmists call for everyone to pay attention: “Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together! My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.” The language of wisdom tells us that this psalm is focused on instruction and teaching, and indeed, the only voice in this poem is the musing poet (and God is only mentioned twice!). Yet wisdom in the Bible is inherently tied to God’s covenant with his people, which is why the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. We can think of wisdom as “accurate spiritual perception” or skill in the art of approaching life according to God’s perspective. The opening lines address all people across the entire world, from the wealthiest billionaire to the unhoused poor, from the most respected and celebrated to the forgotten and marginalized. All are invited to learn. Verse 4: “I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.” The psalmists promise that over the course of this psalm, they will solve or answer a riddle, which doesn’t mean a playful intellectual exercise but a profound question about the human condition. What is the riddle? Verses 5-6 tell us: “Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?” In other words, why do the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer? Why do unfaithful people seem to do so well in the world while God’s people experience trouble and hardship? It’s a theme we’ve seen already in Psalm 37 (and we’ll see it again in Psalm 73) because it’s an exceedingly painful question for anyone who has experienced real suffering. We can muse on the problem of evil or the topic of suffering in theory, but where do we turn when our child gets sick and on death’s door or when a tyrant takes over our country by brutal force? Why do the rich and powerful always get away with it? Why does evil seem to win so very often? Why does goodness get crushed underfoot? This is the riddle we all face, and it will not be easily answered.

The psalmist’s approach to solving this riddle might surprise us, because he turns not to life but to death. Verses 7-9: “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit.” This is a blunt and somewhat comical answer: you can’t buy your way out of dying. The psalmist pictures a rich man haggling with God for his own life or someone else’s, and God is having none of it. The price is too steep, and even if the wealthy were able to bribe and swindle their way through life, they can’t do the same with the cruel fact of their mortality. All will fall into the pit of death, and as the saying goes, you can’t take it with you. The psalmist continues his black humor in the next verses: “For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names.” The grim parody of the wealthy is that they spent their life accumulating land and legacy, naming lands after themselves and buying up parcels of land, but in the end, the only real estate they will own will be a coffin six feet underground. Verse 12 is the stark truth: “Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.” True, humanity is made in God’s image and capable of great deeds both wonderful and terrible, yet we are also of dust and to dust we shall return. Yet even after death, there is a judgment for the wicked. Verses 13-14: “This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah 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.” This is one of the only times in the Bible in which death is personified, and he is like a twisted version of the shepherd from Psalm 23; instead of leading us through the valley of the shadow of death, he leads into Shoel, the poetic name in the Psalms for the grave. While the language of this middle section is evocative, it doesn’t directly answer the riddle. Sure, the wicked will get their just desserts after death, but the righteous will die too. How is death as the great equalizer supposed to comfort us now in the midst of suffering? The answer, finally, is that death is not the end for those whom God loves.

There’s a little line in verse 14 that sets us up for hope: “the upright shall rule over them in the morning.” In the middle of all this discussion about death and Sheol, the morning sounds at least like a ray of hope and at most the hope of resurrection, of life after death. It’s similar to the end of Psalm 17: “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.” Yet we are given more clarity in verse 15, which Derek Kidner calls “one of the mountaintops of Old Testament hope.” “But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.” We cannot pay the ransom price for our own life, but God can pay it. He can purchase our life and take care of even death itself. The phrase “he will receive me” echoes the language of Enoch being taken by God in Genesis 5, which was a mysterious allusion to some sort of life after death. What all this means is that all human beings will die, but not all human beings are doomed. There are some who will die helpless in the hands of death, but there are some whom God will graciously save. After a meditative selah, the last stanza of the psalm ties these themes together and brings us back to the central idea: “Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.” That last verse repeats verse 12 almost exactly, with one important change: the one who perishes like a beast, who will not remain or abide, is the man without understanding. It’s a play on words in Hebrew (the word for abide is yalin, and the word for understanding is yabin). It’s important for us to recognize that this psalm does not promise that the wicked will not succeed in this life. In a fallen world, it will often be the case that the rich and powerful will have the upper hand at the expense of the vulnerable, but their glory is temporary. It cannot last. So then, do not give in to fear, despair, or doubt. Hear and listen to this wise lesson: God will bring justice in the end, and you will live forever to see it if you put your faith in him alone.

The themes of biblical wisdom literature run all throughout Psalm 49: the problem of mortality, the longing for eternal permanence, the desire for justice, the question of how we ought to live well. And all of these questions find their ultimate answer in Jesus, the wisdom of God made flesh. He spoke to the lowly and to the powerful, to the high politicians and the smallest child. Jesus alleviated suffering by healing the sick and casting out demons, but he also pointed to the eternal life that would be the only answer for all of our troubles. Almost more than any other ethical topic, Jesus taught about the dangers of wealth, particularly how it captivated the heart and gave the illusion of security. Yet Jesus did not come simply as a wise teacher but as a Savior, and this is how he summarized his mission in Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Because death came into the world because of our rebellion against the holy God, we cannot pay the price for our own lives. The cost is too great, and we are too weak. But God himself can ransom our souls, and he will receive us with grace, mercy, and unfailing love. Jesus is the good shepherd who pursues his sheep even to the grave, and he gave his life on the cross at the hands of boastful, sinful men. But morning dawned on the third day, and death itself was defeated. Those who put their trust not in wealth, status, or power but in the ransom of Jesus will live forever not in Sheol but in glory. Why should we fear, then? We know the end of the story. As the apostle Paul wrote, “We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”

How can the riddle of Psalm 49 become the prayer of our hearts? Here are some ideas to get you started on this path.

When you are rich, having much in the world yet feeling the ultimate emptiness of wealth.

When you are poor, having little in the world and experiencing trouble after trouble, suffering after suffering.

When you love to think about big questions and ponder mysteries.

When the powerful gain yet more glory and you wonder, “When will it end?”

When you are cheated and swindled by unscrupulous people.

When you hear someone boast either out loud or more subtly about how much they earn and how easy their life is.

When you need to be reminded of death and mortality.

When a wealthy person dies and questions arise about the will, estate, and legacy.

When you buy a house and yet consider that all earthly homes are temporary.

When you notice that your confidence has been in your bank account or some other source of security that is not eternal.

When you fear the unknown of death, what Shakespeare called “the undiscovere'd country.”

When the sun rises, a sign pointing to the eternal glory of life after death in the resurrection.

When you are afraid of how someone with more money or influence can make your life miserable. 

When you seek wisdom and understanding like the Scriptures instruct us to do.

When you put your life into the hands of God, the only one who can ransom your soul from death.

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.

Thank you for listening to the Woven Psalms. This podcast is a ministry of Rock Hill Community Church in Duluth, MN.

I’m Mike Solis. I’m a pastor at Rock Hill and the writer of this podcast. Ethan Gibbs is our producer, editor, and composer of the theme music. Our logo was designed by Beau Walsh. This podcast uses the English Standard Version, published by Crossway.

We want to give a special thanks to Poor Bishop Hooper for allowing us to use the music from their EveryPsalm project.

If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, please share it with others. You can learn more about our work at wovenpsalms.com.