Chapter Forty-Eight

The aforementioned psalm does not contain such indications that would make it possible to determine with approximate precision the time of its origin. By unanimous inscription of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin Bibles, the writers were the sons of Korah. In the Greek Bible, the inscription contains the name of David, which shows the connection of this psalm’s content with the age of King David. Indeed, if we assume that the psalm originated in the time of the persecutions from Absalom, we will find nothing in its content that contradicts that time. There is even one indication of a particular character, which apparently confirms this supposition. The godless, in order to perpetuate the memory of themselves, liked to give their own names to their lands. From 2 Sam 18:18, it is evident that Absalom himself during his lifetime also erected a monument for himself to transmit and preserve his name in history.

All, O people, listen to the instruction of wisdom (2–5). One should not fear persecutions from the godless, for these people will die and no one can escape death (6–11). The godless, thinking to live in posterity, calls his lands by his name. In doing this, however, he does not escape death, after which he will be consigned to the netherworld; the grave is his dwelling, while the righteous will be received by God (12–16). Do not be afraid when you see the increase of strength and glory of the godless: after death, he will go to his fathers, who never saw light, he will perish for his lack of understanding, like an animal (17–21).

Psalm 48:2. Hear this, all peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world, Psalm 48:3. Both low and high, rich and poor alike. The writer invites all who dwell on the earth to listen to the statement which he intends to communicate. The appeal to all living ones indicates the importance of this communication. Such a method of calling is quite common in the Bible (see (Deut 32:1; Isa 1:2) and others).

Psalm 48:5. I will incline my ear to a proverb; on the harp I will expound my dark saying. The writer listens carefully to the voice speaking within him. This indicates both that what he is communicating is not the fruit of human invention, but of Divine revelation, and that this “dark saying,” unclear at first hearing, requires special attention.

Psalm 48:6. “Why should I fear in days of calamity, when the iniquity of those who persecute me surrounds me? The very dark saying is brought forth in the aforesaid verse, while the rest of the psalm’s content represents its elucidation and confirmation of its truth. The Hebrew translation is not particularly clear. The expression “paths,” in Hebrew “hageb,” properly means “heel,” and from this “persecutor, one who trips up.” Then the entire expression takes on the following form: “Why should I fear in days of calamity, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me?” It makes no sense; one should not be afraid, even if enemies surround me from all sides, and I must perish from them.

Psalm 48:7. Those who trust in their own strength and boast of the abundance of their wealth! Psalm 48:8. A man cannot redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him, Psalm 48:9. For the redemption of their soul is costly, and cannot be had forever, Psalm 48:10. That he might live forever and not see the pit. Death, which overtakes me, will inevitably overtake the godless and strong persecutors of mine. This death will overtake you, self-assured rich ones! From this death, it is impossible for anyone to redeem himself, since “the redemption of their soul is costly” — since too costly, beyond the power of man, is the price which would free (“redemption”) life (“soul”) from death. This is not in man’s power to do. Of all men, all must die.

Psalm 48:11. Everyone sees that the wise die, and so too the fool and the senseless perish and leave their wealth to others. Psalm 48:12. In their hearts they think that their houses are forever, and their dwellings to all generations, and they call their lands by their own names. If death is the inevitable lot of all living things, then pitiful is man’s attachment to the earthly, pitiful his faith in the indestructibility of his material possessions, pitiful his striving to perpetuate himself by naming his lands with his own names. Such concern for immortality in posterity is a painful self-deception and harmful.

Psalm 48:13. But man in honor does not abide; he is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 48:14. This is their way, their folly; yet those who follow them approve of their pronouncements. The godless man does not receive during his lifetime the fame which he cares for so much. After death, he becomes like the beasts, perishing without fame, even though others follow and imitate the conduct of these godless men.

Psalm 48:15. Like sheep they will be shut up in the grave; death will be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning; their strength will vanish away; the grave is their dwelling. Psalm 48:16. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, when He takes me to Himself. When the godless die, God will consign them to the netherworld, where death will guard them like sheep. They will remain forever in the grave. The righteous man, on the other hand, “in the morning,” that is, immediately after death, will “rule,” will be rewarded, for God will redeem his soul from the power of the netherworld and take him to Himself. In these verses is expressed the doctrine of the post-mortem existence of men after death. The godless always remain in a dark place, while the righteous are in God’s presence and freed from this heavy darkness. There is no clear conception of life beyond the grave, but there is opposition between existence in sheol and life before God: the first is the grave, the power of death, while the second is life, closeness to God.

Psalm 48:17. Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house is multiplied. Psalm 48:18. For when he dies, he will take nothing with him; his glory will not descend after him. It is clear that if just judgment is rendered on earthly life after death, then on earth one should not fear the expansion of the power of the godless, for what is great on earth becomes insignificant after death.

Psalm 48:19. Although during his lifetime he pronounces a blessing on his own soul, and they praise you, as you satisfy yourself, This verse, because of the thought it contains, might be presented in such a distribution of expressions: “although during his lifetime he pronounces a blessing on his own soul” (meaning speeches which he hears about himself): “and they praise you, as you satisfy yourself,” that is, the godless man during his lifetime receives much flattery from those around him, that he does well when he lives in the satisfaction of his desires.

Psalm 48:20. He will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never see light. From these praises, there is no benefit for him: after death, he goes with his ancestors, who never saw light, and will remain in the darkness of sheol. Here, in the doctrine of post-mortem existence, a new feature is introduced: life in sheol is a life of darkness, opposed to the light which man enjoyed on earth. On earth, however, his life was full of well-being, glory, and honor, and therefore in sheol there will come days of sorrows, forgetfulness, and humiliation, days of suffering, which are not experienced (according to verse 16) by the righteous living near God. In sheol, there is no action or help from God for those found there.