Psalms 22:29 Meaning: Rich and Dying at God's Feast

The English translations give us three pictures worth sitting with. “The fat ones of the earth” (as some versions put it) sounds strange to modern ears, but in the Bible “fat” signals prosperity, strength, and self-sufficiency. Barnes notes that this image occurs throughout the Old Testament to describe the rich, well-fed, and powerful. These are the people who have everything they think they need. Yet they are pictured eating and worshiping, not holding a banquet of their own, but coming to God’s feast.

Then come “those who go down to the dust.” This phrase is gentler than it first appears. It means the crushed, the oppressed, the ones sinking toward death. Not just the poor, but the people whose strength has run out. They bow before the Lord, the same posture as the rich, but from the opposite end of life.

Finally, “he who can’t keep his soul alive.” Some translations read “none can keep alive his own soul.” This is the deepest truth of the verse: no one, rich or dying, holds the power of life. We do not sustain ourselves. Life is a gift, and the giver is God. Across every divide, everyone shares the same need.

The verse has been read with different emphases across traditions. Adam Clarke, a Wesleyan commentator, saw the rich embracing the Gospel and joining the church’s worship, while “those who go down to the dust” are dying people placing their trust in Christ. Barnes, representing a Reformed view, described three classes: the prosperous, the crushed and oppressed, and those approaching death, all worshipping together. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, an Anglican work, notes the difficulty of the verse but suggests it pictures a sacrificial meal where rich and poor, strong and weak, all participate. Some interpreters see a contrast between the living and the dead: earth’s fat ones are the living, and those in the dust are the dead, both bowing before the Lord. Across these readings, the universal call to worship holds steady.

Some read this verse as describing two separate groups: the wealthy who eat and worship, and the poor and dying who bow in submission. In fact, the verse describes a single scene. Both the rich and the dying perform the same actions, they eat, worship, and bow. The point is not that different classes have different postures, but that all humanity, from the most powerful to the weakest, comes together to acknowledge God. No one stands outside the need for worship, and no one can sustain their own life.

This week, you may find yourself in one of two places. Maybe things are going well, the bills are paid, the fridge is full, and life feels stable. Or maybe you are close to the dust, worn out by grief, illness, or a situation you cannot fix. This verse has a word for both places. The rich are not too self-sufficient to worship; they come to the table. The dying are not too broken to bow; they kneel too. Neither posture is more acceptable than the other. What matters is that you come. So if you are full today, do not stay away thinking you do not need Him. If you are empty, do not stay away thinking you have nothing to offer. The table is set for everyone who knows they cannot keep their own soul alive.