What does Psalm 62:9 mean?
David has been describing God using terms implying stability, reliability, and power (Psalm 62:6–8). Here, he draws a contrast to human lives, which are all limited and temporary. Human wealth is meaningless from an eternal perspective. Though David uses different phrases for the rich and the poor, both statements apply to all humans. Life is brief (James 4:14). What looks like power and influence is, ultimately, a short-lived illusion (Psalm 49:10; Luke 12:20). Comparing human power and importance to that of God is like measuring weights on scale against a breath of air.In view of the brevity of life, James exhorts readers to live every day according to the will of God (James 4:15). Job painfully understood that life is brief and uncertain. He observed, without David's optimism, that his days would pass quickly and with little to show for their passing (Job 7:6–7). The point of David's comment here is to set up the warning of the next verse (Psalm 62:10).