I remember when I graduated high school, and then college, hearing some of my classmates talking about how one main goal of theirs was to get rich, get as much money as they could. I don’t know if any of them achieved that goal. Quite possibly a number of them did. That seems to be the goal of so many people throughout all of history. That is the topic of our psalm today, a look at people who trust in money, and what that leads to in the end.
Today’s psalm is one of eleven psalms that the Sons of Korah wrote. These men were Levites who served in Temple worship in Jerusalem. Their goal in this psalm was to show the people that desiring to accumulate a lot of money is a futile task, and also that what the end result will be.
As the Sons of Korah begin their psalm, they call out to the people, and not just the Jewish people, who would be their audience, but to all people, all the inhabitants of the world (vs. 1-4). They call out to the aristocrats and the working class, to the rich and the poor. God has a message for them, and no one is excluded. God’s Word, His truth, is not reserved just for the elite, the educated, or the privileged. The psalmist is offering God’s wisdom and truth here, which is accessible to all. We can all read God’s Word, the Bible. It has wisdom for all of us, regardless of our status. The psalmist is bringing us some of that wisdom here, a message from the Lord in these verses.
We are told to listen. “Hear this” our psalm says. One message in this psalm is that all the money we could ever have will not redeem our soul nor that of any loved one (vs. 5-9). One thing that is common among many very wealthy people is that they find their value in what they have acquired, and they look down on people poorer than themselves. However, God tells us that all the money in the world cannot redeem our soul, which is ultimately the most important thing. Scripture tells us that our eternal salvation cannot be bought. Only the Blood of Jesus Christ can redeem us (I Peter 1:18-19). When the rich come to the end of their life, if they have not turned to Jesus, they will face God’s judgment, and their money cannot sway Him. We need to trust in Jesus Christ alone for redemption, not in any earthly riches or achievements we have. They will do us no good at the time of our death.
There is a saying that “nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Our psalm speaks the truth about the first part of that saying (vs. 10-14). Until the Lord Jesus returns, death is a certainty for everyone. Death will come to the rich and to the poor, to the intellectual and the uneducated. In death, everyone is equal, the billionaire will lie in the morgue right next to a homeless person, no difference, equally a dead corpse. All worldly glory is gone then. All of our wealth will mean nothing then. Knowing that, we should live our life with eternity in view, and instead of working to accumulate earthly wealth, we should instead be concerned with storing treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).
A key verse in this psalm is verse 15. This is the psalm’s turning point, as it affirms the psalmist’s, and all believers, hope in the resurrection and eternal life. Eternal life is a gift from God, and is secured by the shed Blood of the Lord Jesus, not through anything we do, and not purchased through someone’s wealth. Jesus promised that those who believe and trust in Him will have eternal life (John 11:25-26), thus the psalmist could have this confidence.
Our psalm finishes up with a final warming against materialism (vs. 16-20). If we are not reading and studying God’s Word, if we have no understanding or spiritual discernment, then how are we any better than an animal? True understanding comes from the Bible, and if we reject that, then we are on the path to eternal ruin. We need to be pursuing the wisdom of God’s Word. Instead of envying the wealthy, we should be seeking spiritual riches.
Looking back over our psalm, we see that God’s truth, His Word the Bible, is for everyone. It doesn’t matter whether one is rich, poor, or in-between. It is for people from every nation and race. It is not just for the privileged or any one certain nationality. It is important to know that riches cannot redeem or save anyone. Once we die we can’t take any riches with us. They are worthless in the afterlife. Until the day that Jesus returns, we all will die, and our only hope is in the Lord Jesus, who offers us eternal life, and who alone can redeem us from the grave.
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