The Folly of Trusting in Riches.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will [a]express my riddle on the harp.5 Why should I fear in days of adversity,
When the iniquity of my [b]foes surrounds me,
6 Even those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 No man can by any means redeem his brother
Or give to God a ransom for him—
8 For the redemption of [c]his soul is costly,
And he should cease trying forever—
9 That he should live on eternally,
That he should not [d]undergo decay.
There’s more of this psalm to come, but an important message comes through right in the beginning as the psalmist asks “Why should I fear in days of adversity…?” Why indeed? Well, the answer depends on a critical choice. That is, whether you put your trust in earthly things, wealth and riches, like those in verse 6.
The psalmist reminds us that no one can redeem his brother (or any one else), regardless of how much wealth one has. The price of that redemption is beyond us, and in fact, has already been paid for each of us. So what is the alternative, or are we doomed to death and decay?
We find a bit of a double-meaning in verses 8-9, which tells us again the futility of trying to live forever. A lot of time and money has been spent by mankind trying to live forever, which should tell us something (and it does). It gives us a hint of our destiny, that we were not created to be mortal, but to live eternally.
And so, the answer is also in verses 8-9. That is, we should stop relying on our own merits, and trust in the ransom paid by God himself. God offers us life eternal, if we will put our trust in Him instead, if we will “cease trying forever”. No amount of effort will ever fulfill the destiny God has set before us. We can only find it in Him, and in Him we find life and meaning and more than we could ever imagine.