Foolish Confidence – The Presidential Prayer Team

God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. – Psalm 49:15

In a great many psalms, the writer is either praising God or petitioning Him for a need. Psalm 49 is directed to its readers as a preaching psalm. “Hear this, all peoples!” the psalmist proclaims (v. 1). What is so pressing that he wants all humankind to hear?

It is actually a matter of life and death. As one commentator wrote, the psalmist seeks to warn the rich and give consolation to the poor regarding the value of worldly wealth. The poor may yearn to have all that those with riches enjoy. However, the rich may trust solely in their wealth for all their happiness in this life… and this is “foolish confidence” (v.13). No one is exempt from death, and there is no one who can pay the ransom due to God for sin, except Jesus who died for all. There’s no taking it with you! There’s only Christ who can save you.

In the end, the problem is not really rich versus poor, but a matter of in whom or what you trust. The believer is redeemed by God’s hand; you are His child through faith in Christ Jesus. Trusting in self, money, or anything or anyone else is worse than fruitless!

The prosperity of the wicked is transitory, but hope in Christ is eternal. Without the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, every person in the world would experience eternal separation from God. Pray today for those in this nation who rely on worldly goods for their confidence. Let their minds and hearts be focused on Christ alone. He alone is the Giver of life.

Today’s Verse: Psalm 49:15

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will receive me. 

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

Recommended for further reading: Psalm 49:5-15

Why should I fear in times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
⁶those who trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
⁷Truly no man can ransom another,
    or give to God the price of his life,
⁸for the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
⁹that he should live on forever
    and never see the pit.

¹⁰For he sees that even the wise die;
    the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their graves are their homes forever,
    their dwelling places to all generations,
    though they called lands by their own names.
¹²Man in his pomp will not remain;
    he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah
¹⁴Like 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.
¹⁵But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will receive me. Selah