Psalm 49 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 49 Short Summary:

Psalm 49 is a meditation on the vanity of riches. The Psalmist didn’t want his listeners to stress over corrupt rich men, because their lives were short, and they would die like all other men. Their wealth couldn’t save their souls, and in the resurrection the righteous would rule over them.

Psalm 49 Summary

AUTHOR:

• The Sons of Korah (a family of the Tribe of Levi).

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• No Know New Testament References.

THEMES:

• Riches are fleeting and no treasury of riches is sufficient to redeem a person’s soul.

• Righteous men will rule over corrupt rich men in the resurrection.

DEFINITIONS:

• Sheol (49:14) – “The idea which was conveyed by the word Sheol, or Hades, was not properly a grave or sepulcher, but that dark, unknown state, including the grave, which constituted the dominions of the dead” (Barnes).

• Pit (49:9) – “The pit” in the Book of Psalms sometimes refers to a literal pit (hole in the ground), but it is also used to refer to death. Going down “to the pit” can be interpreted as going down into death or into the grave.

OUTLINE:

• THE RICH WILL NOT LIVE FOREVER (49:1-20):

  • Psalm 49 begins with the psalmist beckoning people to come hear a word of wisdom.

  • The psalmist had been meditating on something he wanted to share.

  • He wanted people to know there was no reason to fear the corruption of rich men because their power would be short-lived.   

  • They would eventually die, and they wouldn’t be taking their wealth with them.

  • No matter how rich these people were, they didn’t have enough money to buy their way out of death.

  • The author writes, “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” (49:7-9).

  • It didn’t matter if a person was a rich wise man or a poor fool, everyone met the same end.

  • Men are like sheep, led by a shepherd into a grave, they all follow one after the other.

  • The psalmist wrote that in death, things were going to be different, the script was going to be flipped. The righteous will rule over the wicked men, and God will ransom their souls.

  • Comparing verses 7 and 15, we see that money can’t ransom a soul, but God can. Those who trust in money have no hope after death, but those who trust in God have every reason to be hopeful.

  • With this truth in mind, the author once again reminded his listeners not to stress over evil rich men.

  • While on earth, these evil men name cities and lands after themselves, live in luxury, and receive men’s admiration, but in death they lose everything and must face a Judge who is impartial to their previous wealth.
    

APPLICATION:

• There are some who teach that the people who lived during the Old Testament times had no concept of the resurrection, and that the resurrection was an invention of later history.

• I don’t necessarily agree with this teaching, as there seem to be several verses in the Psalms that point to an existence after death.

• One is found in this chapter. Psalm 49:14-15 talks about the upright ruling over the wicked after death, and God ransoming the souls of the righteous.

• This language makes no sense if the psalmist believed dead men lay in a dirt grave forever without any consciousness.

• Another verse, Psalm 16:10, prophetically describes the resurrection of Jesus (Acts 2:27).

• As we read through the psalms, keep your eye out for other texts that point to life after death.