Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 49:4

"I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp." — Psalms 49:4 (ASV)

I will incline my ear. —The psalmist first listens, that he may himself catch the inspiration which is to reach others through his song. It was an obvious metaphor in a nation to whom God’s voice was audible, as it was to Wordsworth, for whom nature had an audible voice:

“The stars of midnight shall be dear
To her; and she shall lend her ear
In many a secret place,
Where rivulets dance their wayward round,
And beauty, born of murmuring sound,
Shall pass into her face.”

Parable. —Hebrew mâshal, its root idea being similitude. It is the term used for Balaam’s prophecies and for the eloquent speeches of Job. Therefore, it is here a proverb-song (Ewald), since the psalmist intends his composition for musical accompaniment.

Dark saying. —This term is derived either from a root meaning to tie, and thus means “a knotty point”; or from a root meaning to sharpen, and thus means a sharp, incisive saying. The Septuagint and Vulgate use the terms “problem” and “proposition.”

To open the riddle is not to solve it, but to propound it, as we say, “to open a discourse.” (Compare Saint Paul’s phrase, “opening and alleging.”) The full phrase is probably found in Proverbs 31:26: “She openeth her mouth with wisdom.”