Show Don't Tell: Psalm 49

Instead of saying "Wealth can't buy immortality," listen to wisdom's riddle. "Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, both low and high, rich and poor alike: My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle." Wisdom poetry set to music. "Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me—those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?" The fear question answered. "No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—so that they should live on forever and not see decay." No amount of money purchases eternal life. "For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves." Named estates—but tombs are the final address. "People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish." The refrain—twice repeated. "This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined for the grave, and death will be their shepherd." Death as shepherd—leading to Sheol. "But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself." The hope: God redeems what money cannot.