Psalms 49
Psalms 49:1-20 (NLT)
1 For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah. Listen to this, all you people! Pay attention, everyone in the world!
2 High and low, rich and poor—listen!
3 For my words are wise, and my thoughts are filled with insight.
4 I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.
5 Why should I fear when trouble comes, when enemies surround me?
6 They trust in their wealth and boast of great riches.
7 Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death by paying a ransom to God.
8 Redemption does not come so easily, for no one can ever pay enough
9 to live forever and never see the grave.
10 Those who are wise must finally die, just like the foolish and senseless, leaving all their wealth behind.
11 The grave is their eternal home, where they will stay forever. They may name their estates after themselves,
12 but their fame will not last. They will die, just like animals.
13 This is the fate of fools, though they are remembered as being wise. Interlude
14 Like sheep, they are led to the grave, where death will be their shepherd. In the morning the godly will rule over them. Their bodies will rot in the grave, far from their grand estates.
15 But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave. Interlude
16 So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich and their homes become ever more splendid.
17 For when they die, they take nothing with them. Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.
18 In this life they consider themselves fortunate and are applauded for their success.
19 But they will die like all before them and never again see the light of day.
20 People who boast of their wealth don’t understand; they will die, just like animals.
For all the lofty pontifications coming from talking heads and their obvious superior intellect, there is a pervasive truth that will render all their status and acquisitions meaningless. All earthly achievements and possessions are soon to become overwhelmed with death. Where we’re going, none of this will be of any use. When the wisdom is from God, however, and the investments have been made in heaven, death is not so much a loss but only a transition. It may seem that there are so many enjoying importance and riches while ignoring godliness. If their source, though, is their own strength and earthly scheming, they will be among the penniless and ignorant in the moment of their passing.