Wealth And The Fate Of The Wicked Series

Introduction

“What is the most significant problem that faces each person in the world?”

This is the question that I typed into Microsoft’s Copilot.

Here is Copilot’s answer:

“Great question, Freddy. While many global challenges affect humanity, the most significant problem that faces each person individually—regardless of wealth, nationality, or circumstance—is death itself.”

That is a great answer.

The most significant problem that each person faces is indeed death.

The Bible addresses the question of death in many places.

Psalm 49, the psalm we are examining today, also addresses the question of death.

Scripture

Let’s read Psalm 49:1-20:

1 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.

Lesson

Psalm 49:1-20 teaches us how to live in light of the certainty of death, particularly in a world consumed by wealth.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. A Call to Pay Attention (49:1-4)

2. A Warning That Death Comes to All (49:5-12)

3. A Promise That Death Is Not the End (49:13-20)

I. A Call to Pay Attention (49:1-4)

First, let’s heed a call to pay attention.

We sometimes think that the Bible is written only for God’s people.

While it is true that much of the Bible is addressed to the people of God, the fact is that God intends for all people to hear his word.

Sometimes, he makes that explicit, as he does here in verses 1-2, where we read, “Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together!”

God calls all people to pay attention to what he is about to say through the psalmist.

The psalmist goes on to say, “My mouth shall speak wisdom” (v. 3a).

Psalm 49 is a wisdom psalm.

Examples of wisdom psalms include Psalms 1, 19, 37, 49, 50, 73, 78, 112, and 119.

This summer series of sermons is on the wisdom psalms.

What is a “wisdom psalm”?

A wisdom psalm may be described as a type of psalm that is addressed to people rather than to God. It offers counsel about relating to God. It explores themes like prosperity, destruction, wealth, poverty, and the contrast between the righteous and the wicked.

Psalm 49, then, is a wisdom psalm addressed to all people that teaches us how to live in light of the certainty of death, particularly in a world consumed by wealth.

The psalmist also notes in verse 4a, “I will incline my ear to a proverb.”

He indicates that he will first listen to God’s instruction before passing it along to all people.

He then said in verse 4b, “I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.”

This psalm was set to music to facilitate learning.

The point of the psalmist, however, is an urgent call to pay attention.