King James Version
Psalms 49
20 verses with commentary
The Folly of Trusting in Riches
To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: for: or, of
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The summons: 'Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world.' The scope is universal--not just Israel but 'all inhabitants of the world.' The wisdom offered transcends national boundaries because it addresses universal human concerns: mortality, wealth, and ultimate destiny.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Hear this.**—For the opening address, comp. Deuteronomy 32:1; Micah 1:2; Psalm 50:7; Isaiah 1:2.
**World.**—As in Psalm 17:14; properly, *duration. *(Comp. our expression, “the things of time.”)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14. The fiery brightness of lightning, in shape like burning arrows rapidly shot through the air, well represents the most terrible part of an awful storm. Before the terrors of such a scene the enemies are confounded and overthrown in dismay.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 49
Chapter Outline
A call for attention.(1-5)
Folly of worldlings.(6-14)
Against fear of death.(15-20)
**Verses 1-5**
We seldom meet with a more solemn introduction: there is no truth of greater importance. Let all hear this with application to ourselves. The poor are in danger from undue desire toward the wealth of the world, as rich people from undue delight in it. ...
Read full commentary →Both low and high , rich and poor, together.
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KJV Study Commentary
Both 'low and high, rich and poor, together' are summoned to hear. The wisdom offered applies across all social distinctions. Wealth and status cannot exempt anyone from the realities the psalm addresses. Death and judgment are great equalizers before which all human distinctions fade.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Both high and low.**—The two Hebrew expressions here used, *benê-âdam *and *benê-îsh, *answer to one another much as *homo *and *vir *in Latin. The LXX. and Vulg., taking *âdam *in its primary sense, render “sons of the soil and sons of men.” Symmachus makes the expressions stand for *men in general *and men as *individuals.*
**Shall be of understanding.**—The copula supplied by the Authoris...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15. The tempest of the air is attended by appropriate results on earth. The language, though not expressive of any special physical changes, represents the utter subversion of the order of nature. Before such a God none can stand.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 49
Chapter Outline
A call for attention.(1-5)
Folly of worldlings.(6-14)
Against fear of death.(15-20)
**Verses 1-5**
We seldom meet with a more solemn introduction: there is no truth of greater importance. Let all hear this with application to ourselves. The poor are in danger from undue desire toward the wealth of the world, as rich people from undue delight in it. ...
Read full commentary →My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalmist's mouth speaks 'of wisdom' and his heart's meditation is 'of understanding.' True wisdom begins internally (heart meditation) before external expression (mouth speaking). Hebrew <em>chokmah</em> (wisdom) and <em>tevunah</em> (understanding) together indicate both practical skill and discerning insight.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-19. from above--**As seated on a throne, directing these terrible scenes, God--
**sent--**His hand (Psa 144:7), reached down to His humble worshipper, and delivered him.
**many waters--**calamities (Job 30:14; Psa 124:4, 5).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 49
Chapter Outline
A call for attention.(1-5)
Folly of worldlings.(6-14)
Against fear of death.(15-20)
**Verses 1-5**
We seldom meet with a more solemn introduction: there is no truth of greater importance. Let all hear this with application to ourselves. The poor are in danger from undue desire toward the wealth of the world, as rich people from undue delight in it. ...
Read full commentary →I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
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KJV Study Commentary
The psalmist will 'incline mine ear to a parable' and 'open my dark saying upon the harp.' He positions himself as student before teacher, receiving wisdom before expounding it. The 'dark saying' (<em>chidah</em>) is a riddle or puzzle--wisdom that requires effort to understand and apply.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **I will incline mine ear.**—The psalmist first *listens, *that he may himself catch the inspiration which is to reach others through his song. It was an obvious metaphor in a nation to whom God’s voice was audible, as it was to Wordsworth, for whom nature had an audible voice:
“The stars of midnight shall be dear
To her; and she shall *lend her ear*
In many a secret place,
Where rivulets danc...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-19. from above--**As seated on a throne, directing these terrible scenes, God--
**sent--**His hand (Psa 144:7), reached down to His humble worshipper, and delivered him.
**many waters--**calamities (Job 30:14; Psa 124:4, 5).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 49
Chapter Outline
A call for attention.(1-5)
Folly of worldlings.(6-14)
Against fear of death.(15-20)
**Verses 1-5**
We seldom meet with a more solemn introduction: there is no truth of greater importance. Let all hear this with application to ourselves. The poor are in danger from undue desire toward the wealth of the world, as rich people from undue delight in it. ...
Read full commentary →Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
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KJV Study Commentary
The riddle begins: 'Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?' The 'days of evil' are times of trouble and danger. 'Iniquity of my heels' may refer to enemies who dog the psalmist's steps or to sins that pursue him. Either way, the question probes the grounds of fear.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Should I fear?**—Here the problem is stated not in a *speculative, *but *personal *form. The poet himself *feels *the pressure of this riddle of life.
**When the iniquity of my heels.**—The Authorised Version seems to take “heels” in the sense of footsteps, as Symmachus does, and “when the evil of my course entangles me,” is good sense, but not in agreement with the context. Render rather, *...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-19. from above--**As seated on a throne, directing these terrible scenes, God--
**sent--**His hand (Psa 144:7), reached down to His humble worshipper, and delivered him.
**many waters--**calamities (Job 30:14; Psa 124:4, 5).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 49
Chapter Outline
A call for attention.(1-5)
Folly of worldlings.(6-14)
Against fear of death.(15-20)
**Verses 1-5**
We seldom meet with a more solemn introduction: there is no truth of greater importance. Let all hear this with application to ourselves. The poor are in danger from undue desire toward the wealth of the world, as rich people from undue delight in it. ...
Read full commentary →They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
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KJV Study Commentary
The false confidence of the wealthy: 'They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches.' 'Trust' (<em>batach</em>) and 'boast' (<em>halal</em>) reveal the heart's orientation. Wealth becomes their security and identity. The psalmist contrasts this misplaced trust with the reality death brings.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **They that**—*i.e., *the rogues implied in the last verse.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-19. from above--**As seated on a throne, directing these terrible scenes, God--
**sent--**His hand (Psa 144:7), reached down to His humble worshipper, and delivered him.
**many waters--**calamities (Job 30:14; Psa 124:4, 5).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-14**
Here is a description of the spirit and way of worldly people. A man may have wealth, and may have his heart enlarged in love, thankfulness, and obedience, and may do good with it. Therefore it is not men's having riches that proves them to be worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best things. Worldly men have only some floating thoughts of the things of God,...
Read full commentary →None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
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KJV Study Commentary
The stark limitation: 'None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.' No amount of money can purchase exemption from death or entry to God's presence. The Hebrew <em>padah</em> (redeem) and <em>kopher</em> (ransom) are commercial terms--wealth cannot transact with mortality.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **None of them can.**—Brother is here used in the wide sense of Leviticus 19:17, Genesis 13:11 (where rendered “the one”). The sense is the same whether we make it nominative or accusative. Death is the debt which all owe, and which each must pay for himself. No wealth can buy a man off. God, in whose hand are the issues of life and death, is not to be bribed; nor, as the next verse says, even...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
20-24. The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul's persecutions and Absalom's rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God's Church and people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-14**
Here is a description of the spirit and way of worldly people. A man may have wealth, and may have his heart enlarged in love, thankfulness, and obedience, and may do good with it. Therefore it is not men's having riches that proves them to be worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best things. Worldly men have only some floating thoughts of the things of God,...
Read full commentary →(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)
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KJV Study Commentary
The reason: 'For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever.' The 'soul' (<em>nephesh</em>) here means life itself. Its redemption is too 'precious' (costly) for any human wealth to purchase. 'It ceaseth for ever'--human resources are exhausted without achieving the goal.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **For.**—This verse is rightly placed in a parenthesis. “Soul” is the animal life, as generally, and here necessarily from the context. There is no anticipation of the Christian scheme of redemption from sin. A ransom which could buy a man from death, as one redeems a debtor or prisoner, would be beyond the means of the wealthiest, even if nature allowed such a bargain.
**It ceaseth for ever.*...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
20-24. The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul's persecutions and Absalom's rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God's Church and people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-14**
Here is a description of the spirit and way of worldly people. A man may have wealth, and may have his heart enlarged in love, thankfulness, and obedience, and may do good with it. Therefore it is not men's having riches that proves them to be worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best things. Worldly men have only some floating thoughts of the things of God,...
Read full commentary →That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.</strong> This verse concludes the psalmist's meditation on the futility of trusting in wealth to secure eternal life. The Hebrew <em>vichi-le'olam od</em> (וִיחִי־לְעוֹלָם עוֹד, "that he should live forever still") expresses an impossible wish—that wealth could purchase immortality. The phrase <em>lo-yireh hashachat</em> (לֹא־יִרְ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **That**—*i.e., *in order that; introducing the purpose of the imagined ransom in Psalm 49:7. Others connect it consecutively with Psalm 49:8, “He must give up for ever the hope of living for ever.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
20-24. The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul's persecutions and Absalom's rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God's Church and people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-14**
Here is a description of the spirit and way of worldly people. A man may have wealth, and may have his heart enlarged in love, thankfulness, and obedience, and may do good with it. Therefore it is not men's having riches that proves them to be worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best things. Worldly men have only some floating thoughts of the things of God,...
Read full commentary →For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.</strong> This verse confronts the universal reality of mortality that transcends human distinctions. The Hebrew verb "seeth" (<em>ra'ah</em>, רָאָה) indicates not casual observation but contemplative understanding—anyone who truly reflects on life recognizes this truth.<br><br...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **For** **he seeth.**—The clauses are wrongly divided in the Authorised Version. Translate—
“On the contrary he must see it (the grave),
Wise men must die **. . .**
Likewise the fool and the stupid must perish.”
The wealth of the prudent will not avail any more for indefinite prolongation of life, than that of fools.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
20-24. The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul's persecutions and Absalom's rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God's Church and people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-14**
Here is a description of the spirit and way of worldly people. A man may have wealth, and may have his heart enlarged in love, thankfulness, and obedience, and may do good with it. Therefore it is not men's having riches that proves them to be worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best things. Worldly men have only some floating thoughts of the things of God,...
Read full commentary →Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names. all: Heb. generation and generation
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KJV Study Commentary
The universal reality: 'Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever...they call their lands after their own names.' The wealthy imagine perpetuating their legacy through real estate and naming. Yet this very effort reveals awareness of mortality--why name land after yourself except to be remembered after death?
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever.**—These eleven words represent three in the Hebrew, and, as the text stands, give its sense, which is intelligible and consistent:
“They believe their houses will last for ever,
Their dwelling places from generation to generation;
They call the lands by their own names.”
The reading followed by the LXX., Chaldee, and Syriac...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
20-24. The statements of innocence, righteousness, &c., refer, doubtless, to his personal and official conduct and his purposes, during all the trials to which he was subjected in Saul's persecutions and Absalom's rebellions, as well as the various wars in which he had been engaged as the head and defender of God's Church and people.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-14**
Here is a description of the spirit and way of worldly people. A man may have wealth, and may have his heart enlarged in love, thankfulness, and obedience, and may do good with it. Therefore it is not men's having riches that proves them to be worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best things. Worldly men have only some floating thoughts of the things of God,...
Read full commentary →Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
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KJV Study Commentary
The verdict: 'Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.' Despite status, humans share animals' mortality. 'Abideth not' (<em>lo yalin</em>) suggests not spending the night--honor is temporary, like a guest who departs. The comparison to beasts emphasizes physical death common to all creatures.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **Abideth** **not.**—This verse gives the kernel and the thought of, as it also serves as a refrain to, the poem, thus vindicating the claim of a lyric tone for this didactic psalm. The reading of the LXX. and Vulg. (“without understanding” instead of “abideth not”), which brings Psalm 49:12 into exact correspondence with Psalm 49:20, is unquestionably to be adopted. The present text could no...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
25-27. God renders to men according to their deeds in a penal, not vindictive, sense (Le 26:23, 24).
**merciful--**or, "kind" (Psa 4:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-14**
Here is a description of the spirit and way of worldly people. A man may have wealth, and may have his heart enlarged in love, thankfulness, and obedience, and may do good with it. Therefore it is not men's having riches that proves them to be worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best things. Worldly men have only some floating thoughts of the things of God,...
Read full commentary →This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah. approve: Heb. delight in their mouth
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KJV Study Commentary
The way of fools: 'This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings.' Those who trust wealth follow a foolish path, yet their children repeat the same errors. Generational folly perpetuates itself as children 'approve' (literally, 'find pleasure in') their parents' misguided values.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **This their way**—*i.e.*, the folly mentioned in the (amended) preceding verse, and described in Psalm 49:11.
**Is their folly**—*i.e.*, is a way of folly.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
25-27. God renders to men according to their deeds in a penal, not vindictive, sense (Le 26:23, 24).
**merciful--**or, "kind" (Psa 4:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-14**
Here is a description of the spirit and way of worldly people. A man may have wealth, and may have his heart enlarged in love, thankfulness, and obedience, and may do good with it. Therefore it is not men's having riches that proves them to be worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best things. Worldly men have only some floating thoughts of the things of God,...
Read full commentary →Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. beauty: or, strength in the grave from: or, the grave being an habitation to every one of them
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KJV Study Commentary
The grim imagery: 'Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them.' The wealthy who thought themselves masters become death's flock, herded into Sheol. 'The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning'--resurrection reverses present inequities. Death feeds on those who fed on luxury.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Like sheep they are laid in the grave.**—Rather, *like a flock for sheol they are arranged; death is their shepherd. *While planning for a long life, and mapping out their estates as if for a permanent possession, they are but a flock of sheep, entirely at the disposal and under the direction of another, and this shepherd is death. Comp. Keble’s paraphrase.
“Even as a flock arrayed are they...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
25-27. God renders to men according to their deeds in a penal, not vindictive, sense (Le 26:23, 24).
**merciful--**or, "kind" (Psa 4:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-14**
Here is a description of the spirit and way of worldly people. A man may have wealth, and may have his heart enlarged in love, thankfulness, and obedience, and may do good with it. Therefore it is not men's having riches that proves them to be worldly, but their setting their hearts upon them as the best things. Worldly men have only some floating thoughts of the things of God,...
Read full commentary →But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. power: Heb. hand the grave: or, hell
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KJV Study Commentary
The hope: 'But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me.' While no human can ransom another (v.7), God can redeem! 'Receive' (<em>laqach</em>) echoes Enoch's translation (Genesis 5:24). This verse expresses confidence in resurrection or assumption beyond death.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **But God will.**—Better, *But God shall redeem my life from the hand of sheol when it seizes me. *Taken by itself, this statement might only imply that when just at the point of death, the Divine favour would draw him back and rescue him. But taken with the rendering given above to the previous verse, we must see here the dim foreshadowing of a better hope, that death did not altogether brea...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
28. To give one light is to make prosperous (Job 18:5, 6; 21:17).
**thou--**is emphatic, as if to say, I can fully confide in Thee for help.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-20**
Believers should not fear death. The distinction of men's outward conditions, how great soever in life, makes none at death; but the difference of men's spiritual states, though in this life it may seem of small account, yet at and after death is very great. The soul is often put for the life. The God of life, who was its Creator at first, can and will be its Redeemer at last....
Read full commentary →Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
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KJV Study Commentary
The practical application: 'Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased.' The wealthy person's prosperity should not produce envy or fear. Their riches cannot accomplish what truly matters; therefore, their apparent advantage is ultimately meaningless.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16, 17) After expressing his own hopes of escaping from death, or being rescued from corruption, the psalmist recurs to the question of Psalm 49:5, and completes the answer to it. He need not fear, however prosperous and wealthy his adversaries become, for they will die, and, dying, can take none of their possessions with them.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
29. And this on past experience in his military life, set forth by these figures.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-20**
Believers should not fear death. The distinction of men's outward conditions, how great soever in life, makes none at death; but the difference of men's spiritual states, though in this life it may seem of small account, yet at and after death is very great. The soul is often put for the life. The God of life, who was its Creator at first, can and will be its Redeemer at last....
Read full commentary →For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
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KJV Study Commentary
The reason not to fear: 'For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.' The naked truth of death: nothing accompanies us. 'Glory' (reputation, honor, visible splendor) remains behind. The funeral procession doesn't include moving vans; shrouds have no pockets.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
30-32. God's perfection is the source of his own, which has resulted from his trust on the one hand, and God's promised help on the other.
**tried--**"as metals are tried by fire and proved genuine" (Psa 12:6). Shield (Psa 3:3). Girding was essential to free motion on account of the looseness of Oriental dresses; hence it is an expressive figure for describing the gift of strength.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-20**
Believers should not fear death. The distinction of men's outward conditions, how great soever in life, makes none at death; but the difference of men's spiritual states, though in this life it may seem of small account, yet at and after death is very great. The soul is often put for the life. The God of life, who was its Creator at first, can and will be its Redeemer at last....
Read full commentary →Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. while: Heb. in his life
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KJV Study Commentary
The self-deception: 'Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.' The rich person congratulates himself, and others add their flattery. Self-blessing and social praise combine to reinforce the illusion that wealth equals blessing and success equals divine favor.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Though, while he lived. . .** .—This is abundantly illustrated by our Lord’s parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:19; comp. Deuteronomy 29:19).
**And men will.**—Rather, *and though men praise thee, *&c. “Although prosperity produces self-gratulation, and procures the homage of the world as well, yet,” &c
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
30-32. God's perfection is the source of his own, which has resulted from his trust on the one hand, and God's promised help on the other.
**tried--**"as metals are tried by fire and proved genuine" (Psa 12:6). Shield (Psa 3:3). Girding was essential to free motion on account of the looseness of Oriental dresses; hence it is an expressive figure for describing the gift of strength.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-20**
Believers should not fear death. The distinction of men's outward conditions, how great soever in life, makes none at death; but the difference of men's spiritual states, though in this life it may seem of small account, yet at and after death is very great. The soul is often put for the life. The God of life, who was its Creator at first, can and will be its Redeemer at last....
Read full commentary →He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light. He: Heb. The soul shall
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KJV Study Commentary
The destination: 'He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.' Despite present glory, the wealthy joins ancestors in death's darkness. 'Never see light' indicates not just physical death but exclusion from God's presence, which is light. The eternal destiny contradicts temporal prosperity.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **They shall never.**—Better, *who will never again look on the light, i.e.*, “never live again,” implying, in contrast, a hope of a resurrection for the upright. (See Note Psalm 49:14.)
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
30-32. God's perfection is the source of his own, which has resulted from his trust on the one hand, and God's promised help on the other.
**tried--**"as metals are tried by fire and proved genuine" (Psa 12:6). Shield (Psa 3:3). Girding was essential to free motion on account of the looseness of Oriental dresses; hence it is an expressive figure for describing the gift of strength.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-20**
Believers should not fear death. The distinction of men's outward conditions, how great soever in life, makes none at death; but the difference of men's spiritual states, though in this life it may seem of small account, yet at and after death is very great. The soul is often put for the life. The God of life, who was its Creator at first, can and will be its Redeemer at last....
Read full commentary →Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
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KJV Study Commentary
The refrain (repeating v.12): 'Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.' The addition 'understandeth not' is key. Honor without wisdom equals animal existence. Understanding--the wisdom the psalm offers--distinguishes the truly human from the merely biological.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
33-36. God's help farther described. He gives swiftness to pursue or elude his enemies (Ha 3:19), strength, protection, and a firm footing.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-20**
Believers should not fear death. The distinction of men's outward conditions, how great soever in life, makes none at death; but the difference of men's spiritual states, though in this life it may seem of small account, yet at and after death is very great. The soul is often put for the life. The God of life, who was its Creator at first, can and will be its Redeemer at last....
Read full commentary →