Ps. 49.10 (from wealth to wisdom, nothing can thwart death)

“Surely / he can see / that wise men die – that fool and brute / perish together.” This is the second time the psalmist has used the word “Surely…” (vs. 7, 10). By this, as we have seen, the psalmist initiates his observation of an obvious state of affairs. Here, there is a progression in the psalmist’s discourse. He has first remarked upon what, it seems, everyone is aware of: that wealth can not redeem, or ransom, someone’s life from God. That observation is buttressed here with an observation that harkens back to the opening of the psalm. There, the psalmist called upon everyone to hear him (quantitatively), from high to low (qualitatively). Here, the psalmist makes an observation about these men. Up to this point the psalmist has relativized the power of the wealthy man to prolong his life by his wealth. Now, he makes a more total and absolute observation—that even the wise man and the fool are encompassed within the same arena as death; and it is one that includes even the animals (brutes). So now, not only wealth, but even wisdom is understood as unable to prolong man’s life. When it comes to death, the wise man and the fool are subjected to the same fate. Death, then, is like a wave that sweeps over everything. Hidden, though, within this line is an important point—the psalmist is a ‘wise man’. Therefore, unlike the wealthy, who make the mistake in thinking their wealth can prolong their life, the wise man (himself) knows that his possession (wisdom) affords him nothing in the face of death. This is the negative portion of truth. The positive is that he knows that life is God’s; life is actually ‘owned’ and ‘possessed’ by someone (God). Death reveals to him, by the fact that it is utterly indiscriminate, that life is ‘worth’ more than every possession. It is here that we come to see a profound truth about Eden (something that has deep resonances with our psalm): that when death falls on man as a curse, it falls on Adam and Eve, as the original parents. Death is as total in them as it becomes within all humanity. In other words, in seeing death as originating with Adam and Eve, death becomes total. It may seem obvious, but in the context of our psalm it apparently is not. There are those who attempt to escape the curse of Adam and Even through the glory (the ‘magnitude’) of wealth. The wise man will see, however, (by simple observation) that nothing (from wealth to wisdom) can thwart this inviolable rule. It is one written by God and not susceptible to negotiation (life and death are covenantal, not contractual). Death is absolute because life is God’s. This may shed some light on Eden enigma: that in the choice between life or wisdom, man chose wisdom over life and, in so doing, broke his covenant with God. There is an important correlation between the two trees (as we sense in this psalm). However, life does not, as we see here, flow from wisdom; it flows from the ‘tree’ and obedience to the commands of God. ‘Life’ is in covenantal union with God (as every covenant explicitly states later on). If this fundamental truth is lost sight of and wisdom (or, wealth) is understood as conferring ‘life’, or, its appeal creates a forgetfulness, everything is subverted and death begins. The story is a type of the original proverb: “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God”. We might say, in the context of this psalm, “wisdom is in knowing that life belongs to God”.