John Calvin Commentary Psalms 49:12

"But man [being] in honor abideth not: He is like the beasts that perish." — Psalms 49:12 (ASV)

And man shall not abide in honor. Having exposed the vain and delusory nature of the fantasies entertained by the ungodly, he next shows that however fondly they may cherish them, they must experience the same fate as the beasts of the field. It is true that there is a great difference, as far as the soul is concerned, between man and the animal creation; but the Psalmist speaks of things as they appear in this world, and in this respect he was warranted in saying of the ungodly that they die like the beasts.

His subject does not lead him to speak of the world to come. He is reasoning with the children of this world, who have no regard for another, and no idea of a further happiness than that which they enjoy here. He accordingly ridicules their folly in conceiving of themselves as privileged with exemption from the ordinary lot of humanity, and warns them that death will soon be near to humble their presumptuous thoughts, and put them on a level with the lowliest of the lower creatures. This I prefer to the more ingenious interpretation which some would give to the words, that they reduced themselves to the level of beasts by not recognizing the true dignity of their nature, which consists in the possession of a never-dying soul. The Psalmist’s great aim is to show the vanity of the boasting of the wicked, because of the nearness of death, which must join them in one common fate with the beasts of the field. The last word in the verse gives the reason why the ungodly may be compared to the beasts—they perish. It matters little whether or not we consider the relative אשר , asher, as understood, and read, that perish.