This is another Psalm in the Sons of Korah series found in I Chronicles in my chronological bible, after the gatekeepers are assigned to the Temple.
Psalm 49 (NIV Chronological)
Verse 4 sums this psalm up nicely- it's a proverb put to song. Wealth cannot save you. Only understanding and faith in the God who redeems can save you.
It's always a blessing for me to find the redeeming God in the Old Testament. Salvation has always been the same- faith in the God of the universe.
Verse 10 also emphasizes that wisdom cannot save you. Everyone dies.
Only God can "afford" the costly ransom to redeem me.
Psalm 49 (Wiersbe Commentary)
Wealth cannot prevent death. You leave eveeything behind.
Wealth will not determine your destiny. We cannot trust ourselves, either our money or our wisdom to save us. We're letting death by our shepherd when we do that. For the Lord to be our shepherd, we have to acknowledge that we are not enough and our redemption has to come from Him.
Don't be overawed or covetous to see others gaining wealth. It cannot add one day to someone's life and it cannot save them from death.
Wiersbe twice states that wealth is not a sin; but it makes it easy to sin by trusting ourselves.
Redemption comes from the Lord and being received unto Him.
Amen.