The Words of Light

Meaning in Psalm 49

Alfred D. Byrd

LISTEN to wisdom that came from God
Through prophets who taught us the words of light.
The truth is the same whoever you are,
A big shot, a no one, loaded, or broke:
You live for a while, and then you die,
And nothing that's done for this world alone
Will go with you to the world beyond it.
Only what's done for the love of God
Will matter before the throne of the Judge.

It's easy for us to see the world
As a stage on which the rich are kings
Confirmed on their throne by a god of gold.
They may serve their god with gifts of blood—
The blood of those who labor for wealth
That goes to others who leave the worker
Barely enough to sustain one's life
For a round of work from day to day.
The rich who trust in a god of gold
Behave as if forever ahead
Is nothing but bliss renewed each dusk
For a child who scorns the touch of age
And dances till dawn without a care.
A surgeon can cut a wrinkle away,
A drink restores one's vigor for hours,
The music is loud, the smiles are bright—
It's time to party! Forever is now.

At length, each life will face a turning.
Midnight has tolled, a coach turns pumpkin,
Pipers demand the pay for their play,
And all must prepare to leave this world.
The one with nothing will leave with nothing.
Strangely, so, too, the wealthy go out.
The one with foresight to grow one's wealth
Will leave it to heirs who may be less wise
Than the one who scratched a fortune from dirt.
How swiftly a fool can squander riches!
Butterflies flutter, but then they're gone.
Go bury a fortune inside a tomb
To help the dead in the world to come!
A robber will break the seal on the tomb
And carry a fortune in gold away.
A wheel that spins will bring disaster—
Violence follows a trail of gold—
To all who trust in things of this world.

The rich and the poor have come together,
Standing before the throne of the Judge.
When we see the face of our God unveiled
And hear the questions, "What good have you done
With what I gave you in life on the earth?
What claim do you have to life on high?"
The one who trusts in looks and in wealth
Can give no answer that passes the test.
Our grins and our gold can pay no ransom
Sparing our lives from judgment before us.
Only the one who believes in God
And yields one's life to serving the truth
Will find redemption, a gift of the One
Who gives us our life both below and above.

Don't yield to fear when you see a sinner
Driving a car outshining a palace,
Stuffing his face with meat and with sweets,
Living in rooms as wide as the sky,
And acting as if the world is his due.
When it comes his time to settle with death,
He'll share the fate of a beast of the field.
Don't let your envy distract you from hope.
Your work in this world is to love your God
And to love your neighbor as much as yourself.
Whatever you build in this world on love
Will endure with God in the world to come.

If this poem spoke to you, you may enjoy my Biblical epic poems

A Song of the One, the age-old account of Creatlon, Fall, Redemption, and Glory retold in verse for a new millennium, and

The Stars Bow Down: An Epic of Joseph, the timeless tale of a favorite son whose brothers sold him into slavery, but whom God raised from a prison to save the known world from famine.