Eclectic Amateur

Psalm 49 (1-13) was the Psalm for last Sunday in the ECUSA lectionary.

I am finding verse 4 in particular a great comfort this week. We are in evil days indeed, but hope is a virtue and despair is a sin.

Psalm 49  Audite haec, omne



1  Hear this, all you peoples;

hearken, all you who dwell in the world, *

 you of high degree and low, rich and poor together.



2  My mouth shall speak of wisdom, *

 and my heart shall meditate on understanding.



3  I will incline my ear to a proverb *

 and set forth my riddle upon the harp.



4  Why should I be afraid in evil days, *

 when the wickedness of those at my heels surrounds me,



5  The wickedness of those who put their trust in their goods, *

 and boast of their great riches?



6  We can never ransom ourselves, *

 or deliver to God the price of our life;



7  For the ransom of our life is so great, *

 that we should never have enough to pay it,



8  In order to live for ever and ever, *

 and never see the grave.



9  For we see that the wise die also;

like the dull and stupid they perish *

 and leave their wealth to those who come after them.



10  Their graves shall be their homes for ever,

their dwelling places from generation to generation, *

 though they call the lands after their own names.



11  Even though honored, they cannot live for ever; *

 they are like the beasts that perish.



12  Such is the way of those who foolishly trust in themselves, *

 and the end of those who delight in their own words.



13  Like a flock of sheep they are destined to die;

Death is their shepherd; *

 they go down straightway to the grave.



14  Their form shall waste away, *

 and the land of the dead shall be their home.



15  But God will ransom my life; *

 he will snatch me from the grasp of death.



16  Do not be envious when some become rich, *

 or when the grandeur of their house increases;



17  For they will carry nothing away at their death, *

 nor will their grandeur follow them.



18  Though they thought highly of themselves while they lived, *

 and were praised for their success,



19  They shall join the company of their forebears, *

 who will never see the light again.



20  Those who are honored, but have no understanding, *

 are like the beasts that perish.