Psalm 49

Commonplace –

“This psalm is a sermon” (Henry 341).

“But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah” (Psalm 49:15).

But God! I have often heard this phrase used in church. After a parishioner describes a hard time in their life, they will insert this phrase at the end marking a major turning point in their story. What follows is a testimony to God’s faithfulness in their life in the midst of a dark time. In Psalm 49, the author does the same thing. Or should I say that the author laid down in the Psalms the model for how we should confront adversity in our life:

• State the struggle, problem, sin
• Proclaim: “But God”
• Testify to God’s goodness in help during the struggle, problem, sin

This simple three step response to life’s problems is essential to overcoming whatever suffering we are going through in life, because it shifts our focus from the problem to the solution. Focusing on God is always the solution, staring at the problem is not.

In Psalm 49, the sermon is all about where we place our trust: God or things. This Psalm is an excellent outline of how to write a sermon, and I will address the technical aspects of that in another post. For now, I would like to focus on the psalmist’s answer to overcoming suffering, which, if you recall, Elisabeth Elliot gave a very worthy definition of:

Suffering is having what you don’t want and wanting what you don’t have (Suffering Is Never for Nothing).

In their book, The Life Model: Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You, the authors note,

There may be times when we are not in a place where we are free from pain, but we can still experience God’s amazing redemption. An often-quoted passage in II Corinthians 12 describes how the apostle Paul learned a key lesson. When he was stuck with a tormenting problem which did not go away even though he pleaded with the Lord three times, he got an answer he was not looking for: God works through weakness. What a profound discovery – [Paul] learned to delight in “weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions and in difficulties.” The good news of the Gospel is that God wants to be with us in the middle of our struggles. That is precisely when He exercises His strength in us. Paul learned to let God be in charge, and to stop asking God to end his hardship. God’s strength flowed through him because Paul stopped trying to be in control. He let God take over, and God was able to use him more effectively. Paul could delight in suffering because he found it was an opportunity for God’s strength to work through him” (7).

The shift in going from a life focusing on the problem to focusing on God, requires a shift in mindset. When we consider why things are happening in our lives, it’s important to consider eternity. In Psalm 49, the psalmist is preaching against putting faith in wealth and power, which reside here in the physical world, and preaching for putting faith in God, who resides outside of this physical time and place in eternity. The psalmist urges the reader to consider their physical end: everyone dies. The most important thing to consider is: where will I spend eternity?

For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever (Psalm 49:8).

As Matthew Henry points out, “It is certainly true that the redemption of the soul is precious and ceaseth for ever; that is, life, when it is gone it cannot be recalled, by any human art, or worldy price. But this looks further, to the eternal redemption which was to be wrought out by the Messiah, who the Old-testament saints had an eye to as the Redeemer. Everlasting life is a jewel of too great a value to be purchased by the wealth of this world.” And further on he states, “Christ did that for us which all the riches of the world could not do; well therefore may He be dearer to us than any worldly things. Christ did for us which a brother, a friend, could not do for us, no not one of the best estate or interest; and therefore those that love father or brother more than Him are not worthy of Him. This likewise shows the folly of worldly people, who sell their souls for that which could never buy them.

Suffering is for the moment, but our souls are eternal. When we consider events in light of eternity, pondering how we can turn what is happening to us into an opportunity to glorify God is key.

Works Cited

Elliot, Elisabeth. Suffering is Never for Nothing. B&H Publishing Group, 2019.

Friesen, James G., et al. The Life Model: Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You. Morris Publishing, 2000.

Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 49.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

© 2025 Angela Hormberg