mh_parser/vol_split/19 - Psalms/Chapter 49.xml

<div2 id="Ps.l" n="l" next="Ps.li" prev="Ps.xlix" progress="38.30%" title="Chapter XLIX">
<h2 id="Ps.l-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
<h3 id="Ps.l-p0.2">PSALM XLIX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ps.l-p1">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. The scope and design
of this discourse is to convince the men of this world of their sin
and folly in setting their hearts upon the things of this world,
and so to persuade them to seek the things of a better world; as
also to comfort the people of God, in reference to their own
troubles and the grief that arises from the prosperity of the
wicked. I. In the preface he proposes to awaken worldly people out
of their security (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.1-Ps.49.3" parsed="|Ps|49|1|49|3" passage="Ps 49:1-3">ver.
1-3</scripRef>) and to comfort himself and other godly people in a
day of distress, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.4-Ps.49.5" parsed="|Ps|49|4|49|5" passage="Ps 49:4,5">ver. 4,
5</scripRef>. II. In the rest of the psalm, 1. He endeavours to
convince sinners of their folly in doting upon the wealth of this
world, by showing them (1.) That they cannot, with all their
wealth, save their friends from death, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.6-Ps.49.9" parsed="|Ps|49|6|49|9" passage="Ps 49:6-9">ver. 6-9</scripRef>. (2.) They cannot save themselves
from death, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.10" parsed="|Ps|49|10|0|0" passage="Ps 49:10">ver. 10</scripRef>. (3.)
They cannot secure to themselves a happiness in this world,
<scripRef id="Ps.l-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.11-Ps.49.12" parsed="|Ps|49|11|49|12" passage="Ps 49:11,12">ver. 11, 12</scripRef>. Much less,
(4.) Can they secure to themselves a happiness in the other world,
<scripRef id="Ps.l-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.14" parsed="|Ps|49|14|0|0" passage="Ps 49:14">ver. 14</scripRef>. 2. He endeavours
to comfort himself and other good people, (1.) Against the fear of
death, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.15" parsed="|Ps|49|15|0|0" passage="Ps 49:15">ver. 15</scripRef>. (2.)
Against the fear of the prospering power of wicked people,
<scripRef id="Ps.l-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.16-Ps.49.20" parsed="|Ps|49|16|49|20" passage="Ps 49:16-20">ver. 16-20</scripRef>. In singing
this psalm let us receive these instructions, and be wise.</p>
<scripCom id="Ps.l-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49" parsed="|Ps|49|0|0|0" passage="Ps 49" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ps.l-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.1-Ps.49.5" parsed="|Ps|49|1|49|5" passage="Ps 49:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.49.1-Ps.49.5">
<h4 id="Ps.l-p1.11">A Call to Attention.</h4>
<div class="Center" id="Ps.l-p1.12">
<p id="Ps.l-p2">To the chief musician. A psalm for the sons of Korah.</p>
</div>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.l-p3">1 Hear this, all <i>ye</i> people; give ear, all
<i>ye</i> inhabitants of the world:   2 Both low and high,
rich and poor, together.   3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom;
and the meditation of my heart <i>shall be</i> of understanding.
  4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark
saying upon the harp.   5 Wherefore should I fear in the days
of evil, <i>when</i> the iniquity of my heels shall compass me
about?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p4">This is the psalmist's preface to his
discourse concerning the vanity of the world and its insufficiency
to make us happy; and we seldom meet with an introduction more
solemn than this is; for there is no truth of more undoubted
certainty, nor of greater weight and importance, and the
consideration of which will be of more advantage to us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p5">I. He demands the attention of others to
that which he was about to say (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.1-Ps.49.2" parsed="|Ps|49|1|49|2" passage="Ps 49:1,2"><i>v.</i> 1, 2</scripRef>): <i>Hear this, all you
people;</i> hear it and heed it, hear it and consider it; what is
spoken once, hear twice. <i>Hear and give ear,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.l-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.62.9 Bible:Ps.62.11" parsed="|Ps|62|9|0|0;|Ps|62|11|0|0" passage="Ps 62:9,11">Ps. lxii. 9, 11</scripRef>. Not only, "Hear,
all you Israelites, and give ear all the inhabitants of Canaan,"
but, <i>Hear, all you people, and give ear, all you inhabitants of
the world;</i> for this doctrine is not peculiar to those that are
blessed with divine revelation, but even the light of nature
witnesses to it. All men may know, and therefore let all men
consider, that their riches will not profit them in the day of
death. <i>Both low and high,</i> both <i>rich and poor,</i> must
come together, to hear the word of God; let both therefore hear
this with application. Let those that are high and rich in the
world hear of the vanity of their worldly possessions and not be
proud of them, nor secure in the enjoyment of them, but lay them
out in doing good, that with them they may make to themselves
friends; let those that are poor and low hear this and be content
with their little, and not envy those that have abundance. Poor
people are as much in danger from an inordinate desire towards the
wealth of the world as rich people from an inordinate delight in
it. He gives a good reason why his discourse should be regarded
(<scripRef id="Ps.l-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.3" parsed="|Ps|49|3|0|0" passage="Ps 49:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): <i>My mouth
shall speak of wisdom;</i> what he had to say, 1. Was true and
good. It is wisdom and understanding; it will make those wise and
intelligent that receive it and submit to it. It is not doubtful
but certain, not trivial but weighty, not a matter of nice
speculation but of admirable use to guide us in the right way to
our great end. 2. It was what he had himself well digested. What
his mouth spoke was the <i>meditation of his heart</i> (as
<scripRef id="Ps.l-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.19.14 Bible:Ps.45.1" parsed="|Ps|19|14|0|0;|Ps|45|1|0|0" passage="Ps 19:14,45:1">Ps. xix. 14; xlv. 1</scripRef>);
it was what God put into his mind, what he had himself seriously
considered, and was fully apprized of the meaning of and convinced
of the truth of. That which ministers speak from their own hearts
is most likely to reach the hearts of their hearers.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p6">II. He engages his own attention (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.4" parsed="|Ps|49|4|0|0" passage="Ps 49:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>I will incline my ear
to a parable.</i> It is called a <i>parable,</i> not because it is
figurative and obscure, but because it is a wise discourse and very
instructive. It is the same word that is used concerning Solomon's
proverbs. The psalmist will himself incline his ear to it. This
intimates, 1. That he was taught it by the Spirit of God and did
not speak of himself. Those that undertake to teach others must
first learn themselves. 2. That he thought himself nearly concerned
in it, and was resolved not to venture his own soul upon that
bottom which he dissuaded others from venturing theirs upon. 3.
That he would not expect others should attend to that which he
himself did not attend to as a matter of the greatest importance.
Where God <i>gives the tongue of the learned</i> he first <i>wakens
the ear to hear as the learned,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.l-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.50.4" parsed="|Isa|50|4|0|0" passage="Isa 50:4">Isa. l. 4</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p7">III. He promises to make the matter as
plain and as affecting as he could: <i>I will open my dark saying
upon the harp.</i> What he learned for himself he would not conceal
or confine to himself, but would communicate, for the benefit of
others. 1. Some understood it not, it was a riddle to them; tell
them of the vanity of the things that are seen, and of the reality
and weight of invisible things, and they say, <i>Ah Lord God! doth
he not speak parables?</i> For the sake of such, he would open this
dark saying, and make it so plain that he that runs might read it.
2. Others understood it well enough, but they were not moved by it,
it never affected them, and for their sake he would open it upon
the harp, and try that expedient to work upon them, to win upon
them. <i>A verse may find him who a sermon flies.</i> Herbert.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p8">IV. He begins with the application of it to
himself, and that is the right method in which to treat of divine
things. We must first preach to ourselves before we undertake to
admonish or instruct others. Before he comes to set down the folly
of carnal security (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.6" parsed="|Ps|49|6|0|0" passage="Ps 49:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>), he here lays down, from his own experience, the
benefit and comfort of a holy gracious security, which those enjoy
who trust in God, and not in their worldly wealth: <i>Wherefore
should I fear?</i> he means, <i>Wherefore should I fear their
fear</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.8.12" parsed="|Isa|8|12|0|0" passage="Isa 8:12">Isa. viii. 12</scripRef>),
the fears of worldly people. 1. "Wherefore should I be afraid of
them? Wherefore should I fear in the days of trouble and
persecution, <i>when the iniquity of my heels,</i> or of my
supplanters that endeavour to trip up my heels, <i>shall compass me
about,</i> and they shall surround me with their mischievous
attempts? Why should I be afraid of those all whose power lies in
their wealth, which will not enable them to redeem their friends? I
will not fear their power, for it cannot enable them to ruin me."
The great men of the world will not appear at all formidable when
we consider what little stead their wealth will stand them in. We
need not fear their casting us down from our excellency who cannot
support themselves in their own excellency. 2. "Wherefore should I
be afraid like them?" The days of old age and death are the <i>days
of evil,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.l-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.12.1" parsed="|Eccl|12|1|0|0" passage="Ec 12:1">Eccl. xii. 1</scripRef>.
In the day of judgment <i>the iniquity of our heels</i> (or of our
steps, our past sins) will compass us about, will be set in order
before us. <i>Every work will be brought into judgment, with every
secret thing;</i> and <i>every one of us must give account of
himself.</i> In these days worldly wicked people will be afraid;
nothing more dreadful to those that have set their hearts upon the
world than to think of leaving it; death to them is the king of
terrors, because, after death, comes the judgment, when their sins
will surround them as so many furies; but wherefore should a good
man fear death, who has God with him? <scripRef id="Ps.l-p8.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.23.4" parsed="|Ps|23|4|0|0" passage="Ps 23:4">Ps. 23:4</scripRef>. When his iniquities compass him
about, he sees them all pardoned, his conscience is purified and
pacified, and then even in the judgment-day, when the hearts of
others fail them for fear, he can lift up his head with joy,
<scripRef id="Ps.l-p8.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.21.26 Bible:Luke.21.28" parsed="|Luke|21|26|0|0;|Luke|21|28|0|0" passage="Lu 21:26,28">Luke xxi. 26, 28</scripRef>. Note,
The children of God, though ever so poor, are in this truly happy,
above the most prosperous of the children of this world, that they
are well guarded against the terrors of death and the judgment to
come.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.l-p8.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.6-Ps.49.14" parsed="|Ps|49|6|49|14" passage="Ps 49:6-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.49.6-Ps.49.14">
<h4 id="Ps.l-p8.7">The Vanity of Worldly Riches; The End of the
Wicked.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.l-p9">6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast
themselves in the multitude of their riches;   7 None <i>of
them</i> can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a
ransom for him:   8 (For the redemption of their soul
<i>is</i> precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)   9 That he
should still live for ever, <i>and</i> not see corruption.  
10 For he seeth <i>that</i> wise men die, likewise the fool and the
brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.   11
Their inward thought <i>is, that</i> their houses <i>shall
continue</i> for ever, <i>and</i> their dwelling places to all
generations; they call <i>their</i> lands after their own names.
  12 Nevertheless man <i>being</i> in honour abideth not: he
is like the beasts <i>that</i> perish.   13 This their way
<i>is</i> their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings.
Selah.   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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p10">In these verses we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p11">I. A description of the spirit and way of
worldly people, whose portion is in this life, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.17.14" parsed="|Ps|17|14|0|0" passage="Ps 17:14">Ps. xvii. 14</scripRef>. It is taken for granted that
they have wealth, and a multitude of riches (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.6" parsed="|Ps|49|6|0|0" passage="Ps 49:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), houses and lands of inheritance,
which they call their own, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.11" parsed="|Ps|49|11|0|0" passage="Ps 49:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>. God often gives abundance of the good things of this
world to bad men who live in contempt of him and rebellion against
him, by which it appears that they are not the best things in
themselves (for then God would give most of them to his best
friends), and that they are not the best things for us, for then
those would not have so much of them who, being marked for ruin,
are to be ripened for it by their prosperity, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Prov.1.32" parsed="|Prov|1|32|0|0" passage="Pr 1:32">Prov. i. 32</scripRef>. A man may have abundance of the
wealth of this world and be made better by it, may thereby have his
heart enlarged in love, and thankfulness, and obedience, and may do
that good with it which will be fruit abounding to his account; and
therefore it is not men's having riches that denominates them
worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best
things; and so these worldly people are here described. 1. They
repose a confidence in their riches: <i>They trust in their
wealth</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.6" parsed="|Ps|49|6|0|0" passage="Ps 49:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>);
they depend upon it as their portion and happiness, and expect that
it will secure them from all evil and supply them with all good,
and that they need nothing else, no, not God himself. Their gold is
their hope (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Job.31.24" parsed="|Job|31|24|0|0" passage="Job 31:24">Job xxxi. 24</scripRef>),
and so it becomes their God. Thus our Saviour explains the
difficulty of the salvation of rich people (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p11.7" osisRef="Bible:Mark.10.24" parsed="|Mark|10|24|0|0" passage="Mk 10:24">Mark x. 24</scripRef>): <i>How hard is it for those that
trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!</i> See <scripRef id="Ps.l-p11.8" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.6.17" parsed="|1Tim|6|17|0|0" passage="1Ti 6:17">1 Tim. vi. 17</scripRef>. 2. They take a pride
in their riches: <i>They boast themselves in the multitude of
them,</i> as if they were sure tokens of God's favour and certain
proofs of their own ingenuity and industry (<i>my might, and the
power of my hand, have gotten me this wealth</i>), as if they made
them truly great and happy, and more really excellent than their
neighbours. They boast that they have all they would have
(<scripRef id="Ps.l-p11.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.10.3" parsed="|Ps|10|3|0|0" passage="Ps 10:3">Ps. x. 3</scripRef>) and can set all
the world at defiance (<i>I sit as a queen, and shall be a lady for
ever</i>); therefore <i>they call their lands after their own
names,</i> hoping thereby to perpetuate their memory; and, if their
lands do retain the names by which they called them, it is but a
poor honour; but they often change their names when they change
their owners. 3. They flatter themselves with an expectation of the
perpetuity of their worldly possessions (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p11.10" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.11" parsed="|Ps|49|11|0|0" passage="Ps 49:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>): <i>Their inward thought is
that their houses shall continue for ever,</i> and with this
thought they please themselves. Are not all thoughts inward? Yes;
but it intimates, (1.) That this thought is deeply rooted in their
minds, is rolled and revolved there, and carefully lodged in the
innermost recesses of their hearts. A godly man has thoughts of the
world, but they are his outward thoughts; his inward thought is
reserved for God and heavenly things: but a worldly man has only
some floating foreign thoughts of the things of God, while his
fixed thought, his inward thought, is about the world; that lies
nearest his heart, and is upon the throne there. (2.) There it is
industriously concealed. They cannot, for shame, say that they
expect their houses to continue for ever, but inwardly they think
so. If they cannot persuade themselves that they shall continue for
ever, yet they are so foolish as to think <i>their houses</i>
shall, and their dwelling-places; and suppose they should, what
good will that do them when they shall be no longer theirs? But
they will not; for the world passes away, and the fashion of it.
All things are devoured by the teeth of time.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p12">II. A demonstration of their folly herein.
In general (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.13" parsed="|Ps|49|13|0|0" passage="Ps 49:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>),
<i>This their way is their folly.</i> Note, The way of worldliness
is a very foolish way: those that lay up their treasure on earth,
and set their affections on things below, act contrary both to
right reason and to their true interest. God himself pronounced him
<i>a fool</i> who thought his goods were laid up for many years,
and that they would be a portion for his soul, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.12.19-Luke.12.20" parsed="|Luke|12|19|12|20" passage="Lu 12:19,20">Luke xii. 19, 20</scripRef>. And yet their posterity
approve their sayings, agree with them in the same sentiments, say
as they say and do as they do, and tread in the steps of their
worldliness. Note, The love of the world is a disease that runs in
the blood; men have it by kind, till the grace of God cures it. To
prove the folly of carnal worldlings he shows,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p13">1. That with all their wealth they cannot
save the life of the dearest friend they have in the world, nor
purchase a reprieve for him when he is under the arrest of death
(<scripRef id="Ps.l-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.7-Ps.49.9" parsed="|Ps|49|7|49|9" passage="Ps 49:7-9"><i>v.</i> 7-9</scripRef>): <i>None
of them can by any means redeem his brother,</i> his brother
worldling, who would give counter-security out of his own estate,
if he would but be bail for him: and gladly he would, in hopes that
he might do the same kindness for him another time. But their words
will not be taken one for another, nor will one man's estate be the
ransom of another man's life. God does not value it; it is of no
account with him; and the true value of things is as they stand in
his books. His justice will not accept it by way of commutation or
equivalent. The Lord of our brother's life is the Lord of our
estate, and may take both if he please, without either difficulty
to himself or wrong to us; and therefore one cannot be ransom for
another. We cannot bribe death, that our brother should still live,
much less that he should live for ever, in this world, nor bribe
the grave, that he should not see corruption; for we must needs
die, and return to the dust, and there is no discharge from that
war. What folly is it to trust to that, and boast of that, which
will not enable us so much as for one hour to respite the execution
of the sentence of death upon a parent, a child, or friend that is
to us as our own soul! It is certainly true that <i>the redemption
of the soul is precious and ceaseth for ever;</i> that is, life,
when it is going, cannot be arrested, and when it is gone it cannot
be recalled, by any human art, or worldly price. But this looks
further, to the eternal redemption which was to be wrought out by
the Messiah, whom the Old-testament saints had an eye to as the
Redeemer. Everlasting life is a jewel of too great a value to be
purchased by the wealth of this world. We are <i>not redeemed with
corruptible things, such as silver and gold,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.l-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.1.18-1Pet.1.19" parsed="|1Pet|1|18|1|19" passage="1Pe 1:18,19">1 Pet. i. 18, 19</scripRef>. The learned Dr. Hammond
applies the <scripRef id="Ps.l-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.8-Ps.49.9" parsed="|Ps|49|8|49|9" passage="Ps 49:8,9">8th and 9th
verses</scripRef> expressly to Christ: "<i>The redemption of the
soul shall be precious,</i> shall be high-prized, it shall cost
very dear; but, being once wrought, it shall cease for ever, it
shall never need to be repeated, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Heb.9.25-Heb.9.26 Bible:Heb.10.12" parsed="|Heb|9|25|9|26;|Heb|10|12|0|0" passage="Heb 9:25,26,10:12">Heb. ix. 25, 26; x. 12</scripRef>. And he (that
is, the Redeemer) <i>shall yet live for ever, and shall not see
corruption;</i> he shall rise again before he sees corruption, and
then shall live for evermore," <scripRef id="Ps.l-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.18" parsed="|Rev|1|18|0|0" passage="Re 1:18">Rev. i.
18</scripRef>. Christ did that for us which all the riches of the
world could not do; well therefore may he be dearer to us than any
worldly things. Christ did that for us which a brother, a friend,
could not do for us, no, not one of the best estate or interest;
and therefore those that <i>love father or brother more than him
are not worthy of him.</i> This likewise shows the folly of worldly
people, who sell their souls for that which would never buy
them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p14">2. That with all their wealth they cannot
secure themselves from the stroke of death. The worldling sees, and
it vexes him to see it, that <i>wise men die, likewise the fool and
the brutish person perish,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.l-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.10" parsed="|Ps|49|10|0|0" passage="Ps 49:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. Therefore he cannot but expect
that it will, at length, come to his own turn; he cannot find any
encouragement to hope that he himself shall continue for ever, and
therefore foolishly comforts himself with this, that, though he
shall not, his house shall. Some rich people are wise, they are
politicians, but they cannot out-wit death, nor evade his stroke,
with all their art and management; others are fools and brutish
(<i>Fortuna favet fatuis—Fools are Fortune's favourites</i>);
these, though they do no good, yet perhaps do no great hurt in the
world: but that shall not excuse them; they shall perish, and be
taken away by death, as well as the wise that did mischief with
their craft. Or by the wise and the foolish we may understand the
godly and the wicked; the godly die, and their death is their
deliverance; the wicked perish, and their death is their
destruction; but, however, they leave their wealth to others. (1.)
They cannot continue with it, nor will it serve to procure them a
reprieve. That is a frivolous plea, though once it served a turn
(<scripRef id="Ps.l-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.41.8" parsed="|Jer|41|8|0|0" passage="Jer 41:8">Jer. xli. 8</scripRef>), <i>Slay us
not, for we have treasures in the field.</i> (2.) They cannot carry
it away with them, but must leave it behind them. (3.) They cannot
foresee who will enjoy it when they have left it; they must leave
it to others, but to whom they know not, perhaps to a fool
(<scripRef id="Ps.l-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.2.19" parsed="|Eccl|2|19|0|0" passage="Ec 2:19">Eccl. ii. 19</scripRef>), perhaps to
an enemy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p15">3. That, as their wealth will stand them in
no stead in a dying hour, so neither will their honour (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.12" parsed="|Ps|49|12|0|0" passage="Ps 49:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>): <i>Man, being in
honour, abides not.</i> We will suppose a man advanced to the
highest pinnacle of preferment, as great and happy as the world can
make him, man in splendour, man at his best estate, surrounded and
supported with all the advantages he can desire; yet then he abides
not. His honour does not continue; that is a fleeting shadow. He
himself does not, he tarries not all night; this world is an inn,
in which his stay is so short that he can scarcely be said to get a
night's lodging in it; so little rest is there in these things; he
has but a baiting time. <i>He is like the beasts that perish;</i>
that is, he must as certainly die as the beasts, and his death will
be as final a period to his state in this world as theirs is; his
dead body likewise will putrefy as theirs does; and (as Dr. Hammond
observes) frequently the greatest honours and wealth, unjustly
gotten by the parent, descend not to any one of his posterity (as
the beasts, when they die, leave nothing behind them to their young
ones, but the wide world to feed in), but fall into other hands
immediately, for which he never designed to gather them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p16">4. That their condition on the other side
of death will be very miserable. The world they dote upon will not
only not save them from death, but will sink them so much the lower
into hell (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.14" parsed="|Ps|49|14|0|0" passage="Ps 49:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>):
<i>Like sheep they are laid in the grave.</i> Their prosperity did
but feed them like sheep for the slaughter (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Hos.4.16" parsed="|Hos|4|16|0|0" passage="Ho 4:16">Hos. iv. 16</scripRef>), and then death comes, and shuts
them up in the grave like fat sheep in a fold, <i>to be brought
forth to the day of wrath,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.l-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:Job.21.30" parsed="|Job|21|30|0|0" passage="Job 21:30">Job
xxi. 30</scripRef>. Multitudes of them, like flocks of sheep dead
of some disease, are thrown into the grave, and there death shall
feed on them, the second death, <i>the worm that dies not,</i>
<scripRef id="Ps.l-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Job.24.20" parsed="|Job|24|20|0|0" passage="Job 24:20">Job xxiv. 20</scripRef>. Their own
guilty consciences, like so many vultures, shall be continually
preying upon them, with, <i>Son, remember,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.l-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.25" parsed="|Luke|16|25|0|0" passage="Lu 16:25">Luke xvi. 25</scripRef>. Death insults and triumphs over
them, as it is represented in the fall of the king of Babylon, at
which <i>hell from beneath is moved,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.l-p16.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.14.9-Isa.14.23" parsed="|Isa|14|9|14|23" passage="Isa 14:9-23">Isa. xiv. 9</scripRef>, &amp;c. While a saint can ask
proud Death, <i>Where is thy sting?</i> Death will ask the proud
sinner, <i>Where is thy wealth, thy pomp?</i> and the more he was
fattened with prosperity the more sweetly will death feed on him.
And in the morning of the resurrection, when all that sleep in the
dust shall awake (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p16.7" osisRef="Bible:Dan.12.2" parsed="|Dan|12|2|0|0" passage="Da 12:2">Dan. xii.
2</scripRef>), <i>the upright shall have dominion over them,</i>
shall not only be advanced to the highest dignity and honour when
they are filled with everlasting shame and contempt, elevated to
the highest heavens when they are sunk to the lowest hell, but they
shall be assessors with Christ in passing judgment upon them, and
shall applaud the justice of God in their ruin. When the rich man
in hell begged that Lazarus might bring him a drop of water to cool
his tongue he owned that that upright man had dominion over him, as
the foolish virgins also owned the dominion of the wise, and that
they lay much at their mercy, when they begged, <i>Give us of your
oil.</i> Let this comfort us in reference to the oppressions which
the upright are now often groaning under, and the dominion which
the wicked have over them. The day is coming when the tables will
be turned (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p16.8" osisRef="Bible:Esth.9.1" parsed="|Esth|9|1|0|0" passage="Est 9:1">Esther ix. 1</scripRef>) and
the upright will have the dominion. Let us now judge of things as
they will appear at that day. But what will become of all the
beauty of the wicked? Alas! that shall all be <i>consumed in the
grave from their dwelling;</i> all that upon which they valued
themselves, and for which others caressed and admired them, was
adventitious and borrowed; it was paint and varnish, and they will
rise in their own native deformity. The beauty of holiness is that
which the grave, that consumes all other beauty, cannot touch, or
do any damage to. Their beauty shall consume, the grave (or hell)
being a habitation to every one of them; and what beauty can be
there where there is nothing but the blackness of darkness for
ever?</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.l-p16.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.15-Ps.49.20" parsed="|Ps|49|15|49|20" passage="Ps 49:15-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.49.15-Ps.49.20">
<h4 id="Ps.l-p16.10">Privilege of the Godly.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.l-p17">15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of
the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.   16 Be not thou
afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is
increased;   17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away:
his glory shall not descend after him.   18 Though while he
lived he blessed his soul: and <i>men</i> will praise thee, when
thou doest well to thyself.   19 He shall go to the generation
of his fathers; they shall never see light.   20 Man <i>that
is</i> in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts
<i>that</i> perish.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p18">Good reason is here given to good
people,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p19">I. Why they should not be afraid of death.
There is no cause for that fear if they have such a comfortable
prospect as David here has of a happy state on the other side
death, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.15" parsed="|Ps|49|15|0|0" passage="Ps 49:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. He had
shown (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.14" parsed="|Ps|49|14|0|0" passage="Ps 49:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>) how
miserable the dead are that die in their sins, where he shows how
blessed the dead are that die in the Lord. The distinction of men's
outward condition, how great a difference soever it makes in life,
makes none at death; rich and poor meet in the grave. But the
distinction of men's spiritual state, though, in this life, it
makes a small difference, where all things come alike to all, yet,
at and after death, it makes a very great one. <i>Now he is
comforted, and thou art tormented.</i> The righteous has hope in
his death, so has David here hope in God concerning his soul. Note,
The believing hopes of the soul's redemption from the grave, and
reception to glory, are the great support and joy of the children
of God in a dying hour. They hope,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p20">I. That God will redeem their souls from
the power of the grave, which includes, (1.) The preserving of the
soul from going to the grave with the body. The grave has a power
over the body, by virtue of the sentence (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.3.19" parsed="|Gen|3|19|0|0" passage="Ge 3:19">Gen. iii. 19</scripRef>), and it is cruel enough in
executing that power (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Song.8.6" parsed="|Song|8|6|0|0" passage="So 8:6">Cant. viii.
6</scripRef>); but is has no such power over the soul. It has power
to silence, and imprison, and consume the body; but the soul then
moves, and acts, and converses, more freely than ever (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.6.9-Rev.6.10" parsed="|Rev|6|9|6|10" passage="Re 6:9,10">Rev. vi. 9, 10</scripRef>); it is immaterial
and immortal. When death breaks the dark lantern, yet it does not
extinguish the candle that was pent up in it. (2.) The reuniting of
the soul and body at the resurrection. The soul is often put for
the life; that indeed falls under the power of the grave for a
time, but it shall, at length, be redeemed from it, when
<i>mortality shall be swallowed up of life.</i> The God of life,
that was its Creator at first, can and will be its Redeemer at
last. (3.) The salvation of the soul from eternal ruin: "<i>God
shall redeem my soul from the sheol of hell</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.15" parsed="|Ps|49|15|0|0" passage="Ps 49:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), the wrath to come, that pit of
destruction into which the wicked shall be cast," <scripRef id="Ps.l-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.14" parsed="|Ps|49|14|0|0" passage="Ps 49:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. It is a great comfort
to dying saints that they shall not be hurt of the second death
(<scripRef id="Ps.l-p20.6" osisRef="Bible:Rev.2.11" parsed="|Rev|2|11|0|0" passage="Re 2:11">Rev. ii. 11</scripRef>), and therefore
the first death has no sting and the grave no victory.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p21">2. That he will receive them to himself. He
redeems their souls, that he may receive them. <scripRef id="Ps.l-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.31.5" parsed="|Ps|31|5|0|0" passage="Ps 31:5">Ps. xxxi. 5</scripRef>, <i>Into thy hands I commit my
spirit, for thou has redeemed it.</i> He will receive them into his
favour, will admit them into his kingdom, into the mansions that he
prepared for them (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:John.14.2-John.14.3" parsed="|John|14|2|14|3" passage="Joh 14:2,3">John xiv. 2,
3</scripRef>), those everlasting habitations, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.16.9" parsed="|Luke|16|9|0|0" passage="Lu 16:9">Luke xvi. 9</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p22">II. Why they should not be afraid of the
prosperity and power of wicked people in this world, which, as it
is their pride and joy, has often been the envy, and grief, and
terror of the righteous, which yet, all things considered, there is
no reason for.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p23">1. He supposes the temptation very strong
to envy the prosperity of sinners, and to be afraid that they will
carry all before them with a high hand, that with their wealth and
interest they will run down religion and religious people, and that
they will be found the truly happy people; for he supposes, (1.)
That they are made rich, and so are enabled to give law to all
about them and have every thing at command. <i>Pecuniæ obediunt
omnes et omnia—Every person and every thing obey the commanding
influence of money.</i> (2.) That the glory of their house, from
very small beginnings, is increased greatly, which naturally makes
men haughty, insolent, and imperious, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.5.16" parsed="|Ps|5|16|0|0" passage="Ps 5:16">Ps. v. 16</scripRef>. Thus they seem to be the favourites
of heaven, and therefore formidable. (3.) That they are very easy
and secure in themselves and in their own minds (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.18" parsed="|Ps|49|18|0|0" passage="Ps 49:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): <i>In his life-time he blessed
his soul;</i> that is, he thought himself a very happy man, such a
one as he would be, and a very good man, such a one as he should
be, because he prospered in the world. He blessed his soul, as that
rich fool who said to his soul, "<i>Soul, take thy ease,</i> and be
not disturbed either with cares and fears about the world or with
the rebukes and admonitions of conscience. All is well, and will be
well for ever." Note, [1.] It is of great consequence to consider
what that is in which we bless our souls, upon the score of which
we think well of ourselves. Believers <i>bless themselves in the
God of truth</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.65.16" parsed="|Isa|65|16|0|0" passage="Isa 65:16">Isa. lxv.
16</scripRef>) and think themselves happy if he be theirs; carnal
people bless themselves in the wealth of the world, and think
themselves happy if they have abundance of that. [2.] There are
many whose precious souls lie under God's curse, and yet they do
themselves bless them; they applaud that in themselves which God
condemns, and speak peace to themselves when God denounces war
against them. Yet this is not all. (4.) They are in good reputation
among their neighbours: "<i>Men will praise thee,</i> and cry thee
up, as having done well for thyself in raising such an estate and
family." This is the sentiment of all the children of this world,
that those do best for themselves that do most for their bodies, by
heaping up riches, though, at the same time, nothing is done for
the soul, nothing for eternity; and accordingly they <i>bless the
covetous, whom the Lord abhors,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.l-p23.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.10.3" parsed="|Ps|10|3|0|0" passage="Ps 10:3">Ps.
x. 3</scripRef>. If men were to be our judges, it were our wisdom
thus to recommend ourselves to their good opinion: but what will it
avail us to be approved of men if God condemn us? Dr. Hammond
understands this of the good man here spoken to, for it is the
second person, not of the wicked man spoken of: "<i>He, in his
life-time, blessed his soul, but thou shalt be praised for doing
well unto thyself.</i> The worldling magnified himself; but thou
that dost not, like him, speak well of thyself, but do well for
thyself, in securing thy eternal welfare, thou shalt be praised, if
not of men, yet of God, which will be thy everlasting honour."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p24">2. He suggests that which is sufficient to
take off the strength of the temptation, by directing us to look
forward to the end of prosperous sinners (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.73.17" parsed="|Ps|73|17|0|0" passage="Ps 73:17">Ps. lxxiii. 17</scripRef>): "Think what they will be in
the other world, and you will see no cause to envy them what they
are and have in this world."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p25">(1.) In the other world they will be never
the better for all the wealth and prosperity they are now so fond
of. It is a miserable portion, which will not last so long as they
must (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.17" parsed="|Ps|49|17|0|0" passage="Ps 49:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>):
<i>When he dies</i> it is taken for granted that he goes into
another world himself, but <i>he shall carry nothing away with
him</i> of all that which he has been so long heaping up. The
greatest and wealthiest cannot therefore be the happiest, because
they are never the better for their living in this world; as they
came naked into it, they shall go naked out of it. But those have
something to show in the other world for their living in this world
who can say, through grace, that though they came corrupt, and
sinful, and spiritually naked, into it, they go renewed, and
sanctified, and well clothed with the righteousness of Christ, out
of it. Those that are rich in the graces and comforts of the Spirit
have something which, when they die, they shall carry away with
them, something which death cannot strip them of, nay, which death
will be the improvement of; but, as for worldly possessions, as we
<i>brought nothing into the world</i> (what we have we had from
others), so it is certain that we shall carry nothing out, but
leave it to others, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.6.7" parsed="|1Tim|6|7|0|0" passage="1Ti 6:7">1 Tim. vi.
7</scripRef>. They shall descend, but <i>their glory,</i> that
which they called and counted their glory, and gloried in, <i>shall
not descend after them</i> to lessen the disgrace of death and the
grave, to bring them off in the judgment, or abate the torments of
hell. Grace is glory that will ascend with us, but no earthly glory
will descend after us.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.l-p26">(2.) In the other world they will be
infinitely the worse for all their abuses of the wealth and
prosperity they enjoyed in this world (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.19" parsed="|Ps|49|19|0|0" passage="Ps 49:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>): <i>The soul shall go to the
generation of his fathers,</i> his worldly wicked fathers, whose
sayings he approved and whose steps he trod in, his fathers who
would not hearken to the word of God, <scripRef id="Ps.l-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.1.4" parsed="|Zech|1|4|0|0" passage="Zec 1:4">Zech. i. 4</scripRef>. He shall go to be there where they
are that shall never see light, shall never have the least glimpse
of comfort and joy, being condemned to utter darkness. Be not
afraid then of the pomp and power of wicked people; for the end of
the man that is in honour, if he be not wise and good, will be
miserable; if he understand not, he is to be pitied rather than
envied. A fool, a wicked man, in honour, is really as despicable an
animal as any under the sun; he is <i>like the beasts that
perish</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.l-p26.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.20" parsed="|Ps|49|20|0|0" passage="Ps 49:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>);
nay, it is better to be a beast than to be a man that makes himself
like a beast. Men in honour that understand, that know and do their
duty and make conscience of it, are as gods, and children of the
Most High. But men in honour that understand not, that are proud,
and sensual, and oppressive, are as beasts, and they shall perish,
like the beasts, ingloriously as to this world, though not, like
the beasts, indemnified as to another world. Let prosperous sinners
therefore be afraid for themselves, but let not even suffering
saints be afraid of them.</p>
</div></div2>