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.