Psalms 49:15

15 But God will buy me back from the power of hell because he will take me. Selah

Psalms 49:15 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 49:15

But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave
The psalmist expresses his faith, that though he should die, and for a while be under the power of the grave, yet he should be redeemed from it in the resurrection; which to the saints will be "the day of redemption", ( Ephesians 4:30 ) ; their bodies then will be redeemed from mortality, weakness, corruption, and dishonour, which attend them now, and in the grave; and which will, be in consequence of the redemption both of their souls and bodies, through the blood of Christ; see ( Hosea 13:14 ) ; or the words may be rendered, "but God will redeem my soul from the power of hell"; and so the Targum,

``David said by the spirit of prophecy, but God will redeem my soul from the judgment of hell;''

that is, will keep and preserve from the second death, from being hurt by it, or from its having any power over him; and Christ, who is the Redeemer of his people, and who, being God over, all, is an able and mighty one, has redeemed the souls of his from wrath to come, hell, or the second death, by destroying sin, the cause of it, by satisfying the law, the administration of it, and by abolishing death itself; all which he has done by giving himself a ransom price for them, whereby he has procured the redemption which rich men, with all their gold and silver, could never obtain for themselves or others. The reason why the psalmist believed Christ would do this for him, follows;

for he shall receive me.
Or, "for he hath received me" F9; into his arms of love, into his grace and favour; which he does openly at conversion, and in the effectual calling; men being drawn to Christ by the cords of love, come to him, and are received by him, who casts none out; and the argument from hence is very strong, that such whom Christ receives by his grace, he will redeem from the grave, or raise at the last day to the resurrection of life: or, "for he will receive me"; as he does the souls of his people to glory at death, when, during their separate state, they will be happy with him, and takes their bodies into his care and custody; from whence it may be strongly concluded he will raise them up again at the resurrection morn, and then will receive them soul and body to himself, and present them to his Father, and introduce them into his kingdom and glory; wherefore, as in ( Psalms 49:5 ) , the good man has no reason to fear anything in the day of evil; for when it goes ever so ill with others, it is well with him. The Targum in the king's Bible is,

``he will lead me into his part or portion in the world to come.''

Selah; on this word, (See Gill on Psalms 3:2).


FOOTNOTES:

F9 (ynxqy) "suscepit me", Tigurine version, Vatablus, Musculus, Gejerus.

Psalms 49:15 In-Context

13 This is the final outcome for fools and their followers who are delighted by what they say: Selah
14 Like sheep, they are driven to hell with death as their shepherd. (Decent people will rule them in the morning.) Their forms will decay in the grave, far away from their comfortable homes.
15 But God will buy me back from the power of hell because he will take me. Selah
16 Do not be afraid when someone becomes rich, when the greatness of his house increases.
17 He will not take anything with him when he dies. His greatness cannot follow him.
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