The wealthy person doesn’t fair too well in Psalm 49.

He’s told his money can’t help redeem another person (v 7)
When equated with a wise person, he is reminded that he, too, will die, and he’s put in the same camp as the stupid and senseless (v 10)
He’s reminded that his wealth will be left to another (v 10)
He is often equated to the person who is arrogant (vv 12, 20)
He is reminded twice more that he will die (v 12, 20)
Again he is reminded that what he has won’t follow him (v 17)
Whatever fame he received for his riches will only be felt in this world (v 17)
There is sadness in the picture of leaving this world without light in the next (v 18-19)

I could try to contextualize this to show how all of us are wealthy in some relative way and perhaps help you relate to this psalm, but the challenge I took up in these reflections is not so much to read the psalms as to let the psalms read ME.

And this psalm — with its words to the wealthy — is scary to me. I don’t have to compare myself to a third world farmer to answer the question, “Do I qualify for this unhappy end?” Well, of course I do. I’ll die and I can’t take anything with me. It will all go to someone else.

If the word selah, which occurs in many of the psalms, is a musical notation as some believe, this would be a good place for it: “I’ll die and I can’t take anything with me. It will all go to someone else.” Selah…the music swells, leaving me to contemplate the end of my life…

Is there hope that I won’t be counted among the stupid, senseless, arrogant generations, with no light in the end?

Fortunately there is hope. Verse two indicates this psalm and its promises are for everyone: low, high, rich, and poor together. Just as its message is a warning to all, its hope extends to all.  (Whew! I was worried there for a minute.)

Verses 5 and 6 focus the issue. The problem isn’t wealth itself, but trusting in wealth. “Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me—those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?”

And the final verse brings it home: “A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.” It’s not riches but the lack of understanding that spell doom.

Oh, God, grant me understanding greater than my riches. Grant that I might live with the hope of verse 15 that, yes, I am destined to die, “But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself.”  Selah.

Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, both low and high, rich and poor alike: My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding. I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle: Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me—those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—that he should live on forever and not see decay. For all can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings.      Selah  Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. The upright will rule over them in the morning; their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself.      Selah  Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him. Though while he lived he counted himself blessed—and men praise you when you prosper—he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light [of life]. A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish. — Psalm 49

Howard Morrison is a partner in Arizona’s Morrison Ranch. He presently resides with his family in Austin, Texas.