Psalms for Turbulent Times - Psalm 49: Stay alert for wisdom

Psalm 49[1]

¹    Hear this, all you 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 harp.
⁵    Why should I fear in times of trouble,       
       when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
⁶     those who trust in their wealth  and boast of the abundance of their riches?
⁷     Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,
           there is no price one can give to God for it.
⁸      For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice,
⁹      that one should live on for ever and never see the grave.
¹⁰   When we look at the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together        
        and leave their wealth to others.
¹¹   Their graves are their homes for ever, their dwelling-places to all generations,
        though they named lands their own.
¹²   Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.
¹³  Such is the fate of the foolhardy,       
       the end of those who are pleased with their lot.                          Selah
¹⁴   Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd;
       straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away;       
        Sheol shall be their home.
¹⁵   But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,        
        for he will receive me.                                                                                       Selah
¹⁶   Do not be afraid when some become rich,        
        when the wealth of their houses increases.
¹⁷   For when they die they will carry nothing away;        
        their wealth will not go down after them.
¹⁸   Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy        
         —for you are praised when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹    they will go to the company of their ancestors,        
         who will never again see the light.
²⁰    Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.

Stay alert! This is a psalm which does not mince its words. It is uncomfortable. It packs a punch and is worth attending to. As we get used to a new set of slogans from the Government we are encouraged to 'stay alert'. So here comes a psalm which demands alertness. It tackles issues of wealth and poverty, life and death head on. It comes to some stunning conclusions. Here are three of them: 

God is biased: this is the supreme claim of this psalm. God is biased towards those who have no self-sufficiency. God is biased against those who have striven for self-sufficiency, in particular through acquiring wealth or privilege or ease. Such riches or misplaced security are illusions in a God-centric universe, proclaims the psalmist.

Death is the great leveller: That is another claim of this psalm. Rich and poor face death alike. When it comes to the ‘shepherd’ of death (vs14), there is no escape. Riches do not insure anyone against death. ‘You cannot take it with you,’ is twice repeated observation of this of this psalm (vs10 and vs17). 

God alone is the one who will rescue us in and from death: This is the final great and evangelical claim of this psalm. While the rich put their trust in their wealth (vs6) and boast in their possessions, no amount of money can save a soul (vs7). Instead, the psalmist proclaims with boldness and certainty in vs 15:

                             But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol (death),
                             For he will receive me.

Walter Brueggemann, in his theological commentary The Message of the Psalms[2], sets the context of this psalm. He suggests it flows from a deep sense of disorientation. There is big problem before humanity. What do we do about a money-system which seems to favour the rich and place value on the powerful (often the same)?

This starts off as a ‘wisdom’ teaching, a riddle that needs singing out (vs4). Brueggemann suggests the psalm has a voice of ‘resentment and doubt’, which wonders ‘why the Torah keepers end up so poor while the schemers come out on top’. ‘The question is not speculative or theoretical. It is an experiential question of one who is resentful at being cheated by virtue unrewarded,’ he says[3].

The psalmist – as always – is unafraid to confront uncomfortable truths.

‘Everyone knows that the poor are vulnerable,’ says Brueggemann. ‘What everyone apparently does not know and now needs to learn is that the same is true of the wealthy. In the real issues they are as vulnerable and undefended as all the others. And that is the inscrutable riddle that the teacher promised to elucidate. It is against obvious common sense that imagines that somehow the wealthy are protected, immune and safe. Societal standards do not function effectively at the raw, holy, dangerous places of life, because the power of reality doe not respect artificial lines of distinction.[4] 

In other words, even the wealthy are like any other animal (creature) that dies.

So it all feels a bit bleak.

Except for verse 15. For here at the heart of the psalm, enters a new form of trust - a  trust in God alone. God alone can revive us in death. God alone redeems. The rich cannot buy life or redeem themselves (vs7). And neither can the poor, for sure. But God can and does redeem those who put their trust in him.

The psalmist is so clear about this. ‘God will receive me,’ is a four word slogan which shines out with hope which defies the bleakness. This is the wisdom which answers the riddle. God is partisan. God takes sides. And God does not side with the wealthy and powerful just because they rule the world (or may think they do). God sides with those who know their weakness and vulnerability and are willing to put their trust in God. God is there in the 4am doubt and sorrow and chaos; perhaps more so than in the 4pm time of ease, when my feet are up on the sofa, as I rest.

This psalm points us towards a different reimagined future beyond this Covid-19 crisis. It points us to a worldview that values those who are often  least valued – the carers, the binmen, the nurses and doctors, the shopworkers, the delivery drivers, the pastoral carers, the visitors, the people who shop for others, those who bear others’ sorrows and anxieties in hospices and funeral homes, those who step out of their own comfort zone with empathy for others, those whose gifts of planning and attention to detail provide the behind-the-scene logistics support, those who are testing and researching and working away at finding a vaccine.

Above all, this psalm could be read an attack on a virulent capitalist system which privileges possessions over trusting faith in God. This is not just a polemic against the greedy, it is a partisan argument against institutional and ideological trust in consumerism for its own sake. After this pandemic, can we reshape our political, social and economic structures so that we honour all – not just celebrities or wealth-creators or political movers and shakers? Perhaps, this psalm encourages us to ‘stay alert’ to another narrative, another wisdom, another way of living and dying.

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[1] New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Footnotes:
Psalm 49:7 Another reading is no one can ransom a brother
Psalm 49:9 Heb the pit
Psalm 49:11 Gk Syr Compare Tg: Heb their inward (thought)
Psalm 49:13 Tg: Heb after them
Psalm 49:14 Cn: Heb the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning
Psalm 49:14 Meaning of Heb uncertain
Psalm 49:19 Cn: Heb you

[2] © Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis; p106-110

[3] Ibid. p107

[4] Ibid. p108-9