Psa 49:16-20 | KingComments | STEP | In the light of the God-fearing’s trust in God ( ) and the foolishness of the rich man’s reliance on his wealth, there is no reason to fear the increasing wealth and power of the wicked. In the beginning, the psalmist asked the question why he should fear ( ). Now he tells his hearer, his disciple – for he is teaching – not to fear ( ). He is going to motivate this again. Wealth often leads one to rely on that rather than on God. The rich fool shows this by the use of his wealth. He does not use his wealth to serve God, but to increase the honor of his own house. With that, he impresses others. He wants others to praise him for his good taste. In addition, and this is the main idea in this psalm, wealth gives power to oppress the poor. Then the psalmist points out to the faithful the end of the foolish rich man ( ; cf. ). The rich man is a fool, for he says “in his heart, “There is no God”” ( ). The fool plods, dies, and can take nothing of his wealth with him ( ; ; ). Nor does he benefit from all the honors people have given him during his life and speak of at his funeral (cf. ). He can take all his titles and diplomas with him in his coffin and into the grave, as well as a copy of his enormous bank balance; they are completely without value and meaning to him in the grave. He congratulates himself with his life ( ). His circumstances are as he has wanted them to be. He can do what he likes to do without having to ask anyone for a favor or be accountable to anyone. Others see that he has had success in life and praise him for his successes. He taps himself on the shoulder and others do the same. That’s the way it should be, he thinks. Selfish people can often count on approval. It flatters their ego, but they don’t realize that it is hypocrisy and that the flatterers are just as big egotists as he is. The harsh reality is that he dies and spends eternity in darkness ( ). He can praise himself into heaven, but when he dies he joins the family of his fathers, that is all those people who had success in life, but after their death will never see the light again. His fate is exactly the reverse of what he has thought. He has thought that he would live on forever ( ) and that his house would exist forever ( ). The reality is that he “never” will see the light. To see light is to see the light of life and to enjoy prosperity and joy. He has no part in that in all eternity. The foolish rich man, like the beasts, is “without understanding” ( ), i.e. he has no view of the true state of affairs. Nor can he judge it. He completely lacks discernment because, like the beasts, he walks with his head down and looks down. He who has insight or understanding looks upward (cf. ). The ‘psalmist-teacher’ penned this psalm to thereby give ‘understanding’ to those who will hear ( ). The foolish rich man is not lost because of his possessions, but because of his lack of understanding of true wealth, which is wealth in God ( ). He also shuts himself off from gaining this insight. The material also holds enormous temptation for us, members of the New Testament church. We can easily become slaves to money. This can happen by working hard for your own business. You tell yourself that it is your responsibility after all, but you don’t realize that you are in the power of the money. A good help to see how things really are is to consider the relationship between being busy with and for material things and the things of God. If we do this honestly, it will quickly become clear where our priorities lie. We can also deal with spiritual riches in a wrong way: if we boast about our knowledge of biblical truths and spiritual achievements. We see this in the church in Laodicea. The Lord Jesus makes severe reproaches to that church about this ( ). They must first be detached from all their supposed riches in order to be truly rich, that is, that the Lord Jesus can be in their midst again. He is, in fact, outside, at the door ( ). If we are full of ourselves, there is no room for Him. What the psalmist wants to teach the God-fearing is that he should not marvel at the prosperity of the foolish rich man ( ). He should not be impressed by it. They all perish and can take nothing of their wealth with them. The God-fearing also may know that God leads him till death and delivers him from the grip of the grave by raising him from the dead. All this is an encouragement to the believing remnant to persevere.

‏ Psalms 49:16-20

The Fool Perishes

In the light of the God-fearing’s trust in God (Psa 49:15) and the foolishness of the rich man’s reliance on his wealth, there is no reason to fear the increasing wealth and power of the wicked. In the beginning, the psalmist asked the question why he should fear (Psa 49:5). Now he tells his hearer, his disciple – for he is teaching – not to fear (Psa 49:16). He is going to motivate this again.

Wealth often leads one to rely on that rather than on God. The rich fool shows this by the use of his wealth. He does not use his wealth to serve God, but to increase the honor of his own house. With that, he impresses others. He wants others to praise him for his good taste. In addition, and this is the main idea in this psalm, wealth gives power to oppress the poor.

Then the psalmist points out to the faithful the end of the foolish rich man (Psa 49:17; cf. Psa 73:15-17). The rich man is a fool, for he says “in his heart, “There is no God”” (Psa 14:1 ; Psa 53:1). The fool plods, dies, and can take nothing of his wealth with him (Ecc 5:14; 1Tim 6:7; Job 27:16-19). Nor does he benefit from all the honors people have given him during his life and speak of at his funeral (cf. Isa 14:10). He can take all his titles and diplomas with him in his coffin and into the grave, as well as a copy of his enormous bank balance; they are completely without value and meaning to him in the grave.

He congratulates himself with his life (Psa 49:18). His circumstances are as he has wanted them to be. He can do what he likes to do without having to ask anyone for a favor or be accountable to anyone. Others see that he has had success in life and praise him for his successes. He taps himself on the shoulder and others do the same. That’s the way it should be, he thinks. Selfish people can often count on approval. It flatters their ego, but they don’t realize that it is hypocrisy and that the flatterers are just as big egotists as he is.

The harsh reality is that he dies and spends eternity in darkness (Psa 49:19). He can praise himself into heaven, but when he dies he joins the family of his fathers, that is all those people who had success in life, but after their death will never see the light again. His fate is exactly the reverse of what he has thought. He has thought that he would live on forever (Psa 49:9) and that his house would exist forever (Psa 49:11). The reality is that he “never” will see the light. To see light is to see the light of life and to enjoy prosperity and joy. He has no part in that in all eternity.

The foolish rich man, like the beasts, is “without understanding” (Psa 49:20), i.e. he has no view of the true state of affairs. Nor can he judge it. He completely lacks discernment because, like the beasts, he walks with his head down and looks down. He who has insight or understanding looks upward (cf. Dan 4:33-34).

The ‘psalmist-teacher’ penned this psalm to thereby give ‘understanding’ to those who will hear (Psa 49:3). The foolish rich man is not lost because of his possessions, but because of his lack of understanding of true wealth, which is wealth in God (Lk 12:20-21). He also shuts himself off from gaining this insight.

The material also holds enormous temptation for us, members of the New Testament church. We can easily become slaves to money. This can happen by working hard for your own business. You tell yourself that it is your responsibility after all, but you don’t realize that you are in the power of the money. A good help to see how things really are is to consider the relationship between being busy with and for material things and the things of God. If we do this honestly, it will quickly become clear where our priorities lie.

We can also deal with spiritual riches in a wrong way: if we boast about our knowledge of biblical truths and spiritual achievements. We see this in the church in Laodicea. The Lord Jesus makes severe reproaches to that church about this (Rev 3:14-18). They must first be detached from all their supposed riches in order to be truly rich, that is, that the Lord Jesus can be in their midst again. He is, in fact, outside, at the door (Rev 3:19-20). If we are full of ourselves, there is no room for Him.

What the psalmist wants to teach the God-fearing is that he should not marvel at the prosperity of the foolish rich man (Psa 49:11). He should not be impressed by it. They all perish and can take nothing of their wealth with them. The God-fearing also may know that God leads him till death and delivers him from the grip of the grave by raising him from the dead. All this is an encouragement to the believing remnant to persevere.