Psalm 49

In this Psalm, the sons of Korah are asking their readers, both high and low, rich and poor, to pay close attention to the wisdom that they would like to share through this musical Psalm which they received during their time of meditation, vs 1-4.

This is what they learnt: One should not be troubled when the deceitful deeds of sinful men threaten to overwhelm them, simply because their boldness does not come from God, but rather, from the fact that they own great wealth, vs 5,6.

What they fail to realise is that neither a penny of theirs, nor their large sums of wealth, can rescue either themselves or their brothers, so as to ransom their lives after they die, and enable them to continue living forever, vs 7-9.

On the contrary, whether they be wise or foolish and even if they have their lands named after themselves, they will eventually die and perish like animals, leaving all their inheritance to others! This will be their fate and the fate of all those who believe in their philosophy and so live futile lives, vs 10-13. Infact, after their death, when they enter Sheol, they will no longer have impressive houses, but will be ruled by the godly, who chose to serve God, and not mammon, as their Master, vs 14. However, since the Korahites chose to make God their Master, they are assured that God will certainly pull them to safety and rescue their lives from the power of Sheol, vs 15.

So, the Korahites refuse to be afraid or shaken when they see evil men prospering, and people praising and admiring them for the same, even though they don’t fear God or tremble at His Word, because the revelation they received leaves them convinced that after these men die they will never see the light of day because they refused to understand God or His ways, but continued to do what they felt best for the sake of some material or spiritual gain, as a result of which they will be like animals who will eventually perish, vs 16-20.

Each one of us needs to get this revelation for ourselves, for without it, we will keep pursuing mammon instead of seeking God’s Kingdom and righteousness first! The reason for all the confusion in our lives,( just like Martha experienced, Luke 10:40,) comes from doing what seems best to us, and living our lives in comparison with what others around us are doing, instead of seeking the face of God so as to find out what He would have us do, and doing so in total obedience to the laws laid down in His Word.

May each one of us stop to consider the great danger we place ourselves in when we do our own will, just to keep up with the ‘Joneses’ be it in ministry or otherwise, and sincerely repent before God, before it is too late, so as to have no regrets throughout eternity!

Rowena Thomas
Mumbai, India.