Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 49:11

"Their inward thought is, [that] their houses [shall continue] for ever, [And] their dwelling-places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names." — Psalms 49:11 (ASV)

Their inward thought is — Their secret expectation and feeling is that they have secured permanency for their wealth in their own families, though they themselves may pass away. The essential thought in this verse is that the rich people referred to in the previous verses imagine that their possessions will be perpetuated in their own families.

The word rendered “inward thought” — קרב qereb — properly means “the midst,” “the middle,” or “inner part”; consequently, it comes to mean the heart or the mind, as the seat of thought and affection (Psalms 5:9; Psalms 64:6). Here, it signifies their hope, their calculation, their secret expectation; and the entire verse is designed to show the value or importance they attach to wealth, as they understand it to be suited to build up their families forever.

That their houses shall continue for ever — Either the dwellings which they build, or — more probably — their families.

And their dwelling-places to all generations — Margin, as in Hebrew, to generation and generation. That is, forever. They expect that their possessions will always remain in the family and be transmitted from one generation to another.

They call their lands after their own names — They give their own names to the farms or grounds which they own, in the hope that, though they must themselves pass away, their names may be handed down to future times. This practice, which is not uncommon in the world, shows how intense is the desire of people not to be forgotten and at the same time illustrates the main thought in the psalm — the importance attached to wealth by its possessor, as if it could carry his name down to future times, when he shall have passed away. In this respect, too, wealth is commonly as powerless as it is in saving its possessor from the grave.

It is not very far into future times that mere wealth can carry the name of a man after he is dead. Lands and tenements pass into other hands, and the future owner soon ceases to have any concern about the name of the former occupier, and the world cares nothing about it. A man must have some other claim to be remembered than the mere fact of his having been rich, or he will be soon forgotten. Compare the notes at Isaiah 22:15-19.