Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 49:8
(For the redemption of their soul [is] precious, and it ceaseth forever: )
8. Render:
For too costly is the redemption of their life,
And he must let it alone for ever.
The sum to be paid by the man whose life was forfeit was to be assessed, probably in proportion to his culpability and his means: but there is no ransom which can be paid to God; it is hopeless to think of attempting it. Cp. Mat 5:26. Their refers to brother, regarded generically; or, if the reading But is adopted, to the rich men.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For the redemption of their soul is precious – The word soul here means life, and not the immortal part. The only question which the psalmist here considers is the value of wealth in preserving life, or in saving man from the grave. The phrase, their soul, refers doubtless to the man and his brother, as alluded to in the previous verse. The idea is that neither can the man of wealth ransom his own life from the grave, nor the life of his brother. Wealth can save neither of them. The word precious means costly, valuable. The word is applied 1Ki 10:2, 1Ki 10:10-11 to gems, and then to the costlier kinds of stones employed in building, as marble and hewn-stones, 2Ch 3:6. Compare the notes at Psa 36:7. The idea here is, that the rescue of the life, or the saving from the grave, would be too costly; it would be beyond the power of all wealth to purchase it; no amount of silver or gold, or raiment, or precious stones, could constitute a sufficient price to secure it.
And it ceaseth for ever – That is, Wealth forever comes short of the power necessary to accomplish this. It has always been insufficient; it always will be. There is no hope that it ever will be sufficient; that by any increase in the amount – or by any change in the conditions of the bargain – property or riches can avail for this. The whole matter is perfectly hopeless as to the power of wealth in saving one human being from the grave. It must always fail in saving a man from death. The word rendered ceaseth – chadal – means to leave off, to desist, to fail, Gen 11:8; Exo 9:34; Isa 2:22. As there is no allusion here to the redemption of the soul – the immortal part – this passage affirms nothing in regard to the fact that the work of redemption by the Saviour is completed or finished, and that an atonement cannot be made again, which is true; nor to the fact that when salvation through that atonement is rejected, all hope of redemption is at an end, which is also true. But though there is, originally, no such reference here, the language is such as is adapted to express that idea. In a much higher and more important sense than any which pertains to the power of wealth in saving from the grave, it is true tint the work of the atonement ceased for ever when the Redeemer expired on the cross, and that all hope of salvation ceases forever when the atonement is rejected, and when man refuses to be saved by his blood; nothing then can save the soul. No other sacrifice will be made, and when a man has finally rejected the Saviour, it may be said in the highest sense of the term, that the redemption of the soul is too costly to be effected by any other means, and that all hope of its salvation has ceased forever.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 49:8
For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever.
Redemption
I. Its subject–the soul of man. Think–
1. Of its powers.
2. Of its affections.
3. Of its duration.
II. Its price–the precious blood of Christ.
III. The period of its accomplishment. It is limited; it ceaseth for ever. How precious is time! what eternal results binge upon its right employment or neglect! (D. MAllum, M. D.)
The preciousness of redemption
I. The subject of redeeming love–the soul. We cannot question its existence. Reflect upon–
1. Its origin.
2. Its prodigious faculties.
3. Its duration. The soul is a flower that always blooms, a fountain which ever flows, a seed which never dies, a plant which never withers; that mysterious flame which, once kindled, nought can ever quench.
4. Its last and rescued state.
II. The value of this redemption. It is precious. For consider–
1. From what the soul of man is redeemed.
2. To what the soul is redeemed. Some of you have already tasted something of the pleasure which arises to the soul that has been sensibly freed from the trammels of sin and of Satan, and which anticipates the blessedness reserved in heaven for those who love God.
3. By what the soul is redeemed–the precious blood of Christ.
III. The limits within which alone the benefits of this redemption are to be obtained. It ceaseth for ever. Consider, then–
1. The uncertainty of life.
2. How this world deceives us.
3. And Satan also deceives.
4. The positive evil which springs from delay. (John Gasken, M. A.)
The preciousness of the human soul
I. The soul of man is precious. For–
1. How high was the origin of the soul. See the history of its creation.
2. How vast its capacities. Small is the power of the human body, but the soul of man gives him a might and mastery all his own.
3. How eternal its duration.
II. Its redemption is precious.
1. See the greatness of the Author of Redemption.
2. The price that was paid to redeem us.
3. The stupendous nature of its results. These may affect the whole intelligent universe, and not this world alone. We are brought into a new relationship with God. Eternal woe is escaped and eternal blessedness gained. All this will be seen fully when the whole work of redemption is accomplished. How precious, then, must this work be. How important not to neglect it. (Hugh Stowell, M. A.)
The redemption of the soul precious
I. The worth of the soul. The soul is precious to God, for it is His own workmanship–the end of creation, for which all earthly things were made, which received His blessing and obtained dominion over everything below. It is precious to the angels, for there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. It is precious to all Christians upon earth. How fervently and with what an undying flame did the love of it burn in the hearts of the apostles; and in how many forms did it show itself–in preaching, in writing, in continual prayer. And are not our souls precious to ourselves? If we find the soul to be precious, let us act as if it were so: if we discover that it is valueless, let us snatch the pleasures of life while they last. But the soul is precious. It must be so–
1. From the statements of Gods Word;
2. From its nature;
3. From the value of that which has been given for it;
4. From the means used to save it.
II. The impossibility of recovering the soul when it is lost. Our conduct in this world will determine our fate in the next.
1. The soul may be lost.
2. The soul must be lost, unless it be redeemed.
3. When once lost, the soul can never be regained.
4. The soul may be soon lost. It well becomes us, then, to improve our brief existence by endeavouring to secure the salvation of our souls; for in the future all is uncertainty but this one thing, that the wicked are driven away in their wickedness, but the righteous hath hope in his death. (W. Dickson.)
The value of a soul
When Sir John Franklin was lost, the most extraordinary measures were set on foot to recover him and his party. The British and American governments combined together to save him if he should be yet living. Nearly a million pounds were spent in the search. Besides money, good and fearless men were ready to expose their life in the distant hope of finding, and relieving their missing brothers. The exceeding value of mans soul is seen in what Jesus has done for it. Men often put forth great efforts for very insignificant objects; but when we think of Christ leaving His bright throne in the heavens, and becoming a homeless wanderer upon the earth, that He might save lost souls, we are able to form some estimate of the souls value. This was the life, the spiritual being, the deathless power breathed into man by the breath of God when he was made. It is our greatest gift, and that over which we should exercise the most sacred care,
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. For the redemption of their soul is precious] It is of too high a price to be redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver or gold, and has required the sacrificial death of Christ.
And it ceaseth for ever] This is very obscure, and may apply to the ransom which riches could produce. That ransom must be for ever unavailable, because of the value of the soul. Or this clause should be added to the following verse, and read thus: “And though he cease to be, ( vechadal,) during the hidden time, ( leolam😉 yet he shall live on through eternity, ( vichi od lanetsach,) and not see corruption.” This is probably the dark saying which it was the design of the author to utter in a parable, and leave it to the ingenuity of posterity to find it out. The verb chadal signifies a cessation of being or action, and olam often signifies hidden time, that which is not defined, and the end of which is not ascertained, though it is frequently used to express endless duration. This translation requires no alteration of the original text, and conveys a precise and consistent meaning.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of their soul, i.e. of their life, as soul is commonly used.
Is precious, i.e. rare, as the word is used, 1Sa 3:1; Dan 2:11, hard to be obtained. But he doth not call it simply impossible, because Christ hath purchased this privilege for his true disciples, that in some sense they shall not see death, Joh 8:51.
It ceaseth for ever, i.e. it is never to be accomplished, to wit, by any mere man, for himself or for his brother.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. it ceaseth for everthatis, the ransom fails, the price is too precious, costly.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the redemption of their soul [is] precious,…. Or “heavy” s; it is, as Jarchi observes, “heavier than their substance”: it is too weighty a matter for the richest man in the world to engage in; he is not equal to it; his riches are not an equivalent to the redemption of a soul which has sinned, and which is of more worth than the whole world: “what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” or another for him? all the substance of his house would be utterly despised. It requires a greater price for the redemption of it than gold and silver, and therefore it is impossible to be obtained by any such means; and which may be the sense of the word here, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it; and so it is used for that which is “rare”, “difficult”, yea, “impossible”, not to be found or come at, in 1Sa 3:1. The only price of redemption of the soul is the precious blood of Christ; his life is the ransom price, yea, he himself, 1Pe 1:18 1Ti 2:6; nor is the redemption of the soul possible upon any other ground;
and it ceaseth for ever; that is, the redemption of the soul; it must have ceased, it could never have been accomplished, had not Christ undertook it and performed it; he has obtained eternal redemption, and in him we have it, and in no other. Or the words may be rendered, “and he ceaseth for ever”; the brother, whose soul or life is to be redeemed, he dies; see Ps 12:1; and dies the second and eternal death, for aught his brother can do for him, with all his riches: or he that attempts to redeem him, “he leaves off for ever” t; see Ps 36:3; whether he will or not, as Jarchi observes; he ceases from redeeming his brother; he finds he cannot do it; his endeavours are vain and fruitless. Some join and connect these words with the following, “and it ceaseth for ever, that he should still live for ever”, c. that is, it is impossible that such an one by such means should live for ever. Gussetius u renders and interprets the words quite to another sense, “but the redemption of their soul shall come”: the true redemption price by Christ and which, being once paid and perfectly done, “ceaseth for ever”, and shall never be required more; so that he for whom it is made “shall live for ever”, as in Ps 49:9, which is a truly evangelic sense.
s “gravis”, De Dieu, Michaelis. t “definet”, Montanus, Vatablus. u Ebr. Comment. p. 345.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(8) For.This verse is rightly placed in a parenthesis. Soul is the animal life, as generally, and here necessarily from the context. There is no anticipation of the Christian scheme of redemption from sin. A ransom which could buy a man from death, as one redeems a debtor or prisoner, would be beyond the means of the wealthiest, even if nature allowed such a bargain.
It ceaseth for ever.This is obscure. It may mean, either the ransom utterly fails, or the life utterly perishes, and so cannot be ransomed. Or, as in the Prayer Book version, the verb may be taken transitively, he lets that alone for ever. The first of these is the simplest, and most agreeable to the context.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
This blessed passage is enclosed in parentheses; perhaps by way of showing, not only that it stands totally unconnected with what was said before, of a worldling redeeming his brother, which is a thing impossible, but also to point to him who is indeed a brother, and with whom all things are possible. Surely Christ is plainly here. Dear and precious as the redemption of the soul is, and not to be bought with corruptible things, as silver and gold, yet the precious blood of Christ is a rich purchase and more than an equivalent for the redemption of it; and, indeed, so greatly purchased, and so dearly purchased is it, by this price of Jesus’s blood, that it ceaseth forever; impossible ever more again to be lost, and impossible evermore to need any further redemption. Reader! what a mercy is here. Oh! Lamb of God! what thanks will a whole eternity be able to show thee, for thy tender compassion to our souls?
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 49:8 (For the redemption of their soul [is] precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)
Ver. 8. For the redemption of their soul is precious ] i.e. The price of life is greater than that any man, how wealthy soever, can compass it. Money is the monarch of this world, but not of the next.
And it ceaseth for ever
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
redemption = Hebrew. padah, as “redeem”, in Psa 49:7.
their soul = them. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
precious = costly, or, so costly is it that, &c.
it = the redemption of themselves.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
redemption
(See Scofield “Isa 59:20”). See Scofield “Exo 14:30”.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Job 36:18, Job 36:19
Reciprocal: Lev 25:31 – they may be redeemed 1Sa 26:21 – my soul 2Ki 1:14 – let my life Job 6:23 – Redeem Job 33:24 – I Mat 16:26 – or Mar 8:37 – General Luk 7:42 – when 1Co 15:55 – is thy victory 1Pe 1:18 – ye
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
49:8
(For the redemption of their soul [is] {d} precious, {e} and it ceaseth for ever:)
(d) That is, so rare or not to be found, as prophecy was precious in the days of Eli, 1Sa 3:1.
(e) Meaning it is impossible to live for ever: also that life and death are only in God’s hands.