19 Though a man blesseth his soul during his life — And they praise thee that thou dost enjoy thyself —
20 It shall come to the generation of his fathers : In eternity they shall never see the light.
2 1 Man in pomp, and yet having no understanding, Is like to the beasts that are destroyed.
To the pair of Psa 47:1-9 and Psa 48:1-14 is appended Psalms 49, which likewise begins with an appealing “all ye peoples;” in other respects, being a didactic song, it has nothing in common with the national and historical Psalms, Psa 46:1. The poet here steps forward as a preacher in the midst of men. His theme is the transitoriness of the prosperity of the ungodly, and, on the other hand, the hope of the upright which rests on God. Accordingly the Psalm falls into the following divisions: an introduction, Psa 49:2, which by its very promissory tone reminds one of the speeches of Elihu in the Book of Job, and the two parts of the sermon following thereupon, Psa 49:6, Psa 49:14, which are marked out by a refrain, in which there is only a slight variation of expression. In its dogmatic character it harmonizes with the Psalms of the time of David, and by its antique and bold form takes rank with such Psalms as Psa 17:1-15 by David and Ps 83 by Asaph. Since also in the didactic Psalms of David and Asaph we meet with a style differing from that of their other Psalms, and, where the doings of the ungodly are severely rebuked, we find a harsher and more concise mode of expression and a duller, heavier tone, there is nothing at variance with the assumption that Ps 49 was composed by the writer of Psa 42:1 and Psa 84:1; and more especially since David has composed Psalms of a kindred character (Psa 39:1-13 and Psa 62:1-12) in the time of the persecution by Absalom. Nothing, however, is involved in this unity of the author.
Verses 1-4
Psa 49:1-4 (Hebrew_Bible_49:2-5) Introduction. Very similarly do the elder (in the reign of Jehoshaphat) and the younger Micha (Micah) introduce their prophecies (1Ki 22:28; Mic 1:2); and Elihu in the Book of Job his didactic discourses (Psa 34:2, cf. Psa 33:2). It is an universal theme which the poet intends to take up, hence he calls upon all peoples and all the inhabitants of the חלד.
