What does Psalm 49:7 mean?
The writer of this psalm is untangling the "riddle" (Psalm 49:1–4) of wicked people who seem to become rich by unjust means, or use their riches unrighteously, without consequences (Psalm 49:5–6). His answer, in part, is that no human being can earn enough money to pay off their debt to God. The debt of sin against the Creator cannot be paid for with possessions we did not create and cannot keep (Luke 12:19–20; Proverbs 11:4; 23:4–5). No man can accumulate enough wealth to save his own soul, or anyone else's (Titus 3:5). Rather than being frustrated by the success of an immoral person, we should remember their dire fate (Psalm 73:2–3, 15–20).Jesus asked, "For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?" (Luke 9:25). When a rich man asked Jesus how to gain eternal life, Jesus told him to sell all his possessions. That command was targeted directly at that man, who was willing to do many things for God—but not become poor (Luke 18:18–23). Jesus commented: "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God" (Luke 18:24–25). The wealthy man made the fatal mistake of prioritizing riches over his soul.
