For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
The wicked enjoy prosperity while God's people suffer affliction, which tempts the faithful to despair. But the Psalmist means to check their envy and moderate the pride of the ungodly by showing that worldly happiness, however grand it appears, is vain and evanescent, whereas the godly, tried though they be, remain the objects of divine regard and shall be delivered from their enemies.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 49:1-20
For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away. He has but a leasehold of his acres, and death ends his tenure. Through the river of death man must pass naked. Not a rag of all his raiment, not a coin of all his treasure, not a joy of all his honour, can the dying worldling carry with him. Why then fret ourselves about so fleeting a prosperity?
The believer's great comfort in death is this: God will redeem the soul from the grave's power and receive it into glory. Rich and poor meet in the grave alike, yet their spiritual states divide them forever at death. When death breaks the lantern, the candle inside does not go out; the soul lives on, freed from its prison, conversing more freely than ever, until body and soul reunite in resurrection.
AI summary
Commenting on Psalm 49:15-20