Today's Featured Psalm
Psalm 49

Read this Psalm

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

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.

Scripture taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm Devotional
In God We Trust?

If you examine any form of U.S. currency you will find on it the phrase, “In God We Trust.” This phrase first appeared on U.S. coins during the Civil War. It was adopted as means of acknowledging our national trust in God.

Today, the presence of this confession on our money is ironic. While our currency states that our nation trusts in God, the reality is that we trust in the currency itself. We have exchanged our trust in God for trust in money. Such an exchange is utterly absurd. In Psalm 49, the psalmist addresses this absurdity.

The first four verses of this psalm seem like they were excerpted from the book of Proverbs. Like in Proverbs, the psalmist’s audience is a universal one. Wisdom is not something exclusive to Israel. Notice that this psalm contains no reference to the covenant, the temple, or Israel’s history. The universality of this psalm is reflected in verses 1-2, where we learn that its wisdom is directed to “all you peoples,” “all who live in this world,” “low and high,” and “rich and poor alike.” A second connection between this psalm and Proverbs is the presence of a sage who is seeking to instruct others in the ways of wisdom. In Psalm 49, the psalmist is the sage who seeks to “speak words of wisdom” and to “give understanding” (v. 3).

Listen to this Psalm

Wisdom album art Hear This, All Earth's Nations (Psalm 49A)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Wisdom
Wisdom album art Let No Fear Disturb Your Peace (Psalm 49B)
The Book of Psalms for Worship | Wisdom