Psalms 49:1-20

Listen, one and all! Both rich and poor together, all over the world— everyone listen to what I have to say! For wisdom will come from my mouth; words of insight and understanding will be heard from the musings of my heart. I will break open mysteries with my music, and my song will release riddles solved. There’s no reason to fear when troubling times come, even when you’re surrounded with problems and persecutors who chase at your heels. They trust in their treasures and boast in their riches, yet not one of them, though rich as a king, could rescue his own brother from the guilt of his sins. No one could give God the ransom price for the soul of another, let alone for himself. A soul’s redemption is too costly and precious for anyone to pay with earthly wealth. The price to pay is never enough to purchase eternal life for even one, to keep them out of hell. The brightest and best, along with the foolish and senseless, God sees that they all will die one day, leaving their houses and wealth to others. Even though they name streets and lands after themselves, hoping to have their memory endure beyond the grave, becoming legends in their own minds, their home address is now the cemetery! The honor of man is short-lived and fleeting. There’s little difference between man and beast, for both will one day perish. Such is the path of foolish men and those who quote everything they say, for they are here today and gone tomorrow! Pause in his presence A shepherd called “Death” herds them, leading them straight to hell like mindless sheep. Yet at daybreak you will find the righteous ruling in their place. Every trace of them will be gone forever, with all their “glory” lost in the darkness of their doom. But I know the loving God will redeem my soul, raising me up from the dark power of death, taking me as his bridal partner. Pause in his presence So don’t be disturbed when you see the rich surround you with the “glory” of their wealth on full display. For when they die, they will carry nothing with them, and their riches will not follow them beyond the grave. Though they have the greatest rewards of this world and all applaud them for their accomplishments, they will follow those who have gone before them and go straight into the realm of darkness, where they will never ever see the light again. So this is the way of mortal man— honored for a moment, yet without eternal insight, like a beast that will one day perish.