Psalm 49--Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

Psalm 49
English Standard Version

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. 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 shall speak wisdom;
    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
    I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
6 those who trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly no man can ransom another,
    or give to God the price of his life,
8 for the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
9 that he should live on forever
    and never see the pit.

10 For he sees that even the wise die;
    the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves are their homes forever,
    their dwelling places to all generations,
    though they called lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp will not remain;
    he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
    Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will receive me. Selah

16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself--
19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again see light.
20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

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The psalmist tells us that his intended audience is for all the peoples of all the world to hear this song and know that his hope and trust are in the LORD.  He will not fear in times of trouble, nor will be troubled by the wickedness of the evil men that surround him (probably speaking of the Gentile nations on every side, but probably also referring to those who are in Israel, but do not live according to the LORD's covenant).  Such evil men trust in and boast in their wealth and riches which have no power to save them.  Their hope and trust are misplaced for in the end, there is not enough money in the world to pay the price of sin.  Only God through the blood of His Son, can pay that ransom.  Only God can give us eternal life and save us from death and hell.

So also, with those who trust in worldly wisdom have misplaced their hope and trust.  The wise and the foolish both have the same end--death.  No one is wise enough to escape it, nor is any one smart enough to figure out a way to save their own souls.  Everything the rich and wise have acquired is left to their heirs (if they have any) or to those who will take possession of that which they did not work for.  Eventually, no one will remember them, and their natural end is not that different than any of the wild animals (we have more value because we are made in the image of God and can have a saving relationship with God through Jesus, but if we focus on the physical aspects of life, our life cycle is not that different--this too seems meaningless (this Psalm is starting to sound a lot like the book of Ecclesiastes, and it may be that Solomon wrote these words, as he wrote several psalms).

​The psalmist points out that everyone alike--rich and poor, wise and foolish ends up dying and going to the place called The Grave or Sheol in Hebrew.  It usually refers to the afterlife but typically indicates that people are there in "jail" awaiting their trial and prison sentence.  The psalmist is sure that the LORD will ransom his soul (pay for his sin debt) so that his soul will be set free and will not need to be imprisoned and he will have eternal life and not eternal damnation.

Therefore we do not fear the ungodly even if they are rich, and "wise" (according to this world) and powerful, for their is a way that seems right to man that leads unto death, but there is but one Way that leads unto life everlasting and His name is Jesus.  "For there is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved."  We don't trust in riches or wisdom in this world or in the world to come, we trust in Christ alone both now and forevermore.  Everyone of this world no matter their bank account, diplomas, or social standing will die and eventually be forgotten and has no "meaning" or "destiny" apart from that given by God (two of the big worldview questions we seek to answer).  In many ways this makes us "no better" than the wild animals who don't have an eternal nature to them and never seem to think about such things--they also die and are forgotten.  For sure this psalm is depressing for those who are outside of Christ, but it should fill us with hope if we are in Christ, but it is in Him that we find the answers to Origins, Meaning, Morality, Destiny, and Identity.  We have certainty in something that not even death can take away from us.  "For I am convinced that neither death nor life....is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."