Psalm 49

Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
² Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
³ My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.
⁴ I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my dark saying on the harp.

⁵ Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
⁶ Those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,
⁷ None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—
⁸ For the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever—
⁹ That he should continue to live eternally,
And not see the Pit.

¹⁰ For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,^[a]
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.
¹² Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain;^[b]
He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³ This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah
¹⁴ Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling.
¹⁵ But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave,
For He shall receive me. Selah

¹⁶ Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;
¹⁷ For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
¹⁸ Though while he lives he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),
¹⁹ He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see light.
²⁰ A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
Is like the beasts that perish.

Why should I fear in the days of evil

I guess I was warned in verse 4 that this psalm was going to be dark. It’s all about people who put their trust in their wealth and possessions only to find that none of that matters in death. But, another point is being made along with it. It’s easy not to be afraid of things or not to get yourself into too many seemingly dire situations when you’re well-to-do. Let’s face it, even those of us who aren’t particularly rich hardly have to worry about where our next meal is coming from, even if we think we’re penny pinching. If you live in Biblical times, maybe having wealth gets you more safety when your city’s being attacked, or maybe it gets your son out of military service, or maybe keeps you from pushing your daughter into a really crappy marriage. In general, you don’t have to worry about things. But, the psalmist is one of the common folk without lots of resources, and he probably sits around thinking about how great it would be to have some money and a great big house and a bunch of servants. He definitely wouldn’t have to worry about anything then, right?

None of them can by any means redeem his brother

I find it interesting when people facing eternal damnation in the Bible are much more concerned about saving their family members than they are themselves. Maybe I’m just selfish like that. Either way, money and possessions can do nothing outside of this life. Sure, they’re great to have, but they can’t help anyone escape the one real, lasting bad situation.

For the redemption of their souls is costly

It certainly was. And I am more than glad that it has been paid. It turns out that wealth had nothing to do with paying the cost.

But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave

There is nothing that we can do with anything here on earth that can save us from “the Pit.” Only God can do that. I’m sure we all wish we had a little bit more; it’s human nature. There’s nothing wrong with that, nothing wrong with wanting to leave a legacy, either. But, as we all know, there’s nothing certain but death and taxes. Now, it’s up for debate whether money can help you with that taxes part, but death is really unavoidable. The rich and the poor both pass away equally. So, there’s little point in worrying too much about money when we already possess something that no wealth in the world can buy, our salvation given by God.