PSALM FORTY NINE

A PARABLE PLAYED
ON THE HARP.

   This psalm is a sermon. Most psalms are praying or praising, or both, but 
this one is preaching. Listen to the parable played on the harp. The parable 
is given to convince men of this world of their sin and folly in setting 
their hearts on the things of this world. Verse one says, "Hear this!" and 
verse two "Sons of Adam and Sons of Jacob." (Chaldee version) - Gentiles and 
Jews together. Men's relationships to each other may be different. Their 
relationships to God are all the same.

   The parable is a problem, or a proposition, or a riddle. "All die like 
sheep in a grave." Sheep that are in a grave have suffered from a disease. 
Sin has ravaged humanity. Here is the riddle :- All die, the fool and the 
wise, BUT rich men make an inheritance, that their name should continue. Yet 
all their dreams of permanence vanish in actual life. They leave their wealth 
to others. Nothing is fixed. Their posterity approve. Men are doing the same 
today. The man who worked himself to death in B.C.10, to establish his name, 
is now forgotten.
   There are things which wealth cannot do. It cannot redeem; it cannot 
prolong life; it cannot bribe God. Death laughs at a bag of gold. Redemption 
cost God everything He had. It cannot now be bought. Wealth corrupts and it 
is unthinkable that men should live for ever corrupted.
   Throughout the psalm, however, there is a theme of the expectations of the 
righteous. The best solution to the obscure rendering of verse five is :- 
"Why should I give way to fear and despondency, in time of calamity, when the 
wickedness of my wealthy and powerful adversaries compasses me about, to 
supplant and overthrow me?" Our hope is in God. A good man may be rich but he 
does not trust in his wealth. Our problems are multiplied by people who trust 
in riches; but our hope is in God. The upright will have dominion in the 
morning. Our dominion now is over our sin. Our dominion then will be over the 
wicked. All our dominion is in Christ alone.
   The final analysis of the wicked is this:- "When he dies he carries 
nothing away. Though men praise him in this life, he will go where his father 
went." They die like beasts. All have, like sheep, gone astray, but some of 
us have turned to the good shepherd of our souls - Jesus Christ.



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file: /pub/resources/text/hpalmer/psalms: ps-049.txt
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