Psalm 49:7–9 (ESV) … “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit.”
Without envy or complaint, in a cool philosophic mood, a teacher of wisdom propounds a moral lesson for all concerned, namely, that the wealthy die like other men, like the beasts that perish. Great wealth makes men boastful, self-confident, ostentatious, yet no wealth can redeem a brother or oneself from death. Since even the wise die, how much more will fools who trust in their wealth leave it behind! Even the social influence which wealth bestows ends with the grave.
In contrast, the upright will win in the end. God can and will redeem the soul of the wise, and take him to himself. Essentially, the poet compares temporary and eternal values, material and spiritual blessedness, by the test of what outlives the grave.[1]
