Friday in the 24th Week of Ordinary Time, September 17, 2021

Psalm 49

Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together! My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me, men who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? Truly no man can ransom himself, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of his life is costly, and can never suffice, that he should continue to live on for ever, and never see the Pit. Yea, he shall see that even the wise die, the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes for ever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they named lands their own. Man cannot abide in his pomp, he is like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who have foolish confidence, the end of those who are pleased with their portion. 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. But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.  Be not afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. Though, while he lives, he counts himself happy,  and though a man gets praise when he does well for himself, he will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never more see the light. Man cannot abide in his pomp, he is like the beasts that perish. 

Above is the whole text, in translation, of Psalm 49, parts of which are used for today’s Responsorial Psalm.  It is an unusual Psalm in that it does not include praise and thanksgiving to God, or pleas for mercy from him.  God, in fact, is hardly mentioned by name.  The Psalm, however, is a meditation on Divine Providence.  As such, it addresses timely and timeless issues.  It is an apt Psalm for us to consider in view of our society’s present state.

“Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me, men who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?”  The translation here is a little cumbersome.  The Hebrew reads more like: “Why should I fear, in the days of evil, the iniquity of the usurper which surrounds me, of those who trust in the wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches?”  The “usurper” here is one who seeks to add to his wealth the little which another man has.  The usurper is confident in his ability to do this, as he is backed by wealth and political power, and he thinks himself right in acting this way.  We can think of the parable the Prophet Nathan tells King David about the rich man who took the poor man’s lamb for his supper.  The verse of the Psalm tells of a dire situation, and yet the Psalmist asks, “Why should I fear?”

“Truly no man can ransom himself, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of his life is costly, and can never suffice, that he should continue to live on for ever, and never see the Pit.”  The answer the Psalmist gives to his question does not provide a short-term solution to the threat he perceives to himself.  Instead, the Psalmist takes the long view.  The usurper may be rich now; he may have the upper hand now and think himself invincible, but sooner or later he will come to his end and nothing and no one can save him from it.  As Christians, this means that we trust in the Lord that his justice will prevail in the world.  The wicked die and are judged according to their deeds.  “Yea, he shall see that even the wise die, the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.”  The wise — those who know how to live properly, both morally and physically — die too, and if even they die, those who have wealth will die.  The wise, that is, the devout believer in Jesus Christ, differs from the wicked in that for them, death in this world is not the end.  The true believer looks forward in hope to the day when he rests in the arms of the Lord.  The wicked dread death throughout their lives because they do see it as the end.  They throw much of their money at schemes to cheat old-age and death.  They live in desperation, despite their appearances to the contrary, which they feign.

“Their graves are their homes for ever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands their own.”  This verse is translated not from the Hebrew text but from the Greek Septuagint.  The Hebrew reads: “Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwellings to all generations.”  The Greek may in fact preserve the reading from an earlier Hebrew text.  It is interesting though that modern translations which pride themselves on using the earliest manuscripts go back to the Greek for this verse rather than rely on the Hebrew.  Perhaps there is a Hebrew variant text that translates this way.  All the same, the verse speaks of the impermanence of the individual human and even of his heritage.  The few traces we leave behind us in this world are quickly lost.  We can understand “their graves are their homes forever” as meaning that in their sin, the wicked, the usurpers, are already dead, and that after their time on earth is over, they shall experience the second death, which is hell.  “Man cannot abide in his pomp, he is like the beasts that perish.”  The one who trusts in his own strength, wealth, or power is deluded and lives like the beasts.  He dies like them too, and is soon forgotten.

“This is the fate of those who have foolish confidence, the end of those who are pleased with their portion.”  In this Psalm, the Psalmist seems to equate the wealthy with the wicked, but he does not.  He is concerned with the usurper, who makes himself rich from the property of others.  A usurper is bold and because he holds other people as subjects for exploitation, he sees himself as superior to them.  A usurper may otherwise be any bully, anyone who has power over others and lords it over them.  This could be a parent, a spouse, or a boss.  The usurper could be a politician, a bishop, or a pope.  Whoever they are, “like sheep they are appointed for the netherworld; Death shall be their shepherd; straight to the grave they descend, and their form shall waste away; Hell shall be their home.”

“But God will ransom my soul from the power of hell, for he will receive me.”  He will receive me because I did not usurp, nor did I despair or seek revenge when I was surrounded by the usurper’s iniquity.  I did not sin when I was sinned against.  I persevered in my faith in God and in my trust in his justice. 

“Be not afraid when one becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.”  The Psalmist consoles those who suffer injustice in this world by reminding them of the destiny of the wicked who become “rich” in wealth or power.  This also pertains to unjust political or social trends which sometimes seem to rise up and hold sway.  One moment, a movement has everything going for it and the good people seem unable to stem its tide, and the next it is gone, for all that is dark is self-destructive and can last only so long. As the Psalmist says, “Though, while he lives, he counts himself happy,  and though a man gets praise when he does well for himself, he will go to the generation of his fathers, who will nevermore see the light.”  But those who seek the Lord will live forever in the glory of heaven.