NOTES for Psa 49
This psalm brings together two important themes. The first lies on the surface and is discussed quite often, not only in the Bible but also in everyday life. The theme is simple: a person should not be dependent on material things. Whether rich or poor, this should not determine one's attitude toward other people or toward God. A person's financial and material situation cannot shape our worldview or serve as grounds for condemnation, whether we say that the poor person is a fool and a failure or that the rich person is a thief and a scoundrel.
The second theme addressed in this psalm is one of its less obvious prophecies. No one can redeem his brother. Death cannot be bought off or appeased. It is beyond human power either to save another or to save oneself. Only Jesus, by coming into the world, dying, and rising again, can heal the wound that humanity inflicted upon itself through original sin. Only the true God and perfect Man in one Person is able to seek and save what was lost.