Psalm 49:20 Perishing Beasts

Psalm 49:20 A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

The main lesson of Psalm 49 is summed up in its final verse - A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish. It is a wisdom psalm designed for all who live in this world, ... low and high, rich and poor alike. Verse 5 asks Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me? Opposition is coming chiefly from (6) those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches so the psalmist addresses the question of whether the rich man will win. He will not, of course, because he will not endure. No-one will live on forever and not see decay (9), that is a well known fact. All alike perish and the rich leave their wealth to others.  Verse 12 says that man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish. Of course, the rich who are in mind here are those who trust in themselves, and ... their followers, who approve their sayings. Verse 14 says that Like sheep they are destined for the grave, and death will feed on them. And so there will come a great turn around one day. The upright will rule over them as their bodies rot far from their princely mansions. The godly will be redeemed from their graves and taken to be with God. This is why we must not (16) be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendour of his house increases. The fact is that  he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendour will not descend with him. While alive he might have counted himself blessed but (19) he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light. The psalm is not a polemic against the rich as such then but against being a man who has riches without understanding which is little different from being like the beasts that perish. Such a person has no hope and will die.