I like what the great Bible commentator
Matthew Henry said about this Psalm in his introduction to it. “This psalm is a
sermon, and so is the next. In most of the psalms we have the penman praying or
praising; in these we have him preaching; and it is our duty, in singing
psalms, to teach and admonish ourselves and one another.”
This psalm is about poor rich people. People
who have money, but that is all they have. Instead of family, fortune, friends,
and their future, nothing matters to them but money. These people are the
orphans of eternity. All we know about this psalm is that it was "for the
sons of Korah." It is one of ten such psalms. The sons of Korah descended
from a father who perished under the wrath and curse of God because of his
arrogance and pride.
Psalm 49 does not make being rich a sin.
The sin lies in trusting in riches. It is not money that is the root of all
evil, but the love of it. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 is a companion to this Psalm: “But
those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many
foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from
the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows.”
In the first two verses we notice that the
psalmist had a message for everybody in the world, the important people and the
nobodies, the rich and the poor. “Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all
inhabitants of the world, Both low and high, Rich and poor together”. The
word "world" is the translation of an unusual Hebrew word that means
"the total human scene, the whole sphere of passing life," not unlike
"world" in 1 John 2:15-17.
From verse 3 we can see that the writer is
speaking from his heart. “And the meditation of my heart shall give
understanding”. He is also writing
from the wisdom and understanding that the Lord gave him, and he dealt with a mystery
that only the Lord could explain (v. 4). The mystery was life itself and its
puzzling relationship to the distribution of wealth and the power that wealth
brings. How should believers respond when they see the rich get richer? Should
they be afraid that the wealthy will abuse the poor? Should they be impressed
by the wealth that others possess and seek to imitate them?
I’ll never forget my college professor,
Dr. Elmer Towns, telling us in class one day that money is life. Money is
earned when we exchange our time, our intellect, our skills for a paycheck at
the end of the week. James 4:14 reminds us that our life is a span of time that
we have on planet earth and at best it is very brief. The money we earn buys us
the necessities of life, food, clothing and shelter, to sustain and protect us.
He said, “the way we spend our money is the way we spend our lives”.
The problem is some people think that
life is all about money and they live for it, and the things it can buy for them,
or the prestige or pleasure it brings them. And it becomes their master! Jesus
taught us that you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and
money at the same time. But if you seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness and all these things, (food, clothing, shelter), will be added to
you (Matthew 6:19-34).
Yes, my friend this is a great message
from a preaching psalmist to warn us of the uncertainty of riches and we should
definitely take heed to it and what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:17-19, “Command
those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in
uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to
enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give,
willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to
come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
God bless!
