Ps. 49.12 (like the beasts that are cut off)

“But man / in his worthiness / does not survive – he is like / the beasts / that are cut off.” This verse serves as a refrain for the psalm and will be repeated, with an important change, at the very conclusion. In this capacity it represents the central theme and heart of the psalm and summarizes much of what we have already reflected upon. In short, death is profoundly destructive and man’s ‘worthiness’ does not follow him into the grave. In death, man is no different than a beast—all glory that man possesses in time, on the earth, is eradicated. It is dark, disturbing and absolute. It flies in the face of almost every natural inclination, as man (almost) cannot conceive of a state of being without ‘worthiness’ or ‘glory’, where he is relegated to nothing greater than a beast. Rather, man attempts, either above or below, to retain his worthiness and glory—whether through wealth or wisdom. Yet neither of these (neither the honor of wealth nor, importantly, the strength of wisdom) is effective; both are stripped away by the grave. Man’s “worthiness”, here, is not merely the wicked man’s wealth, but the wise man’s wisdom. Robbed of life, and these things are taken as well. Life without wisdom can produce evil; but wisdom without life doesn’t profit anyone. When we come to the concluding refrain we will consider the variations between this and the other.