Psalm 49

This psalm takes a different tone and has some interesting elements. On one hand, it is somber and even vitriolic against rich people. It states quite bluntly distinguishes people solely based on wealth. It states that rich people have nothing to look forward to after this life.

By contrast, the author believes that he will encounter God in the afterlife. He states that God will redeem him from the world of the dead and take him to God. (v. 15). I know it is commonly believed that the Old Testament people did not believe in the afterlife. I am not entirely sure where that comes from, perhaps because the Gospels state that the Sadduccess did not believe in the resurrection. Anyway, this psalm would provide some Biblical support that a belief in the afterlife was present in the Old Testament. The Book of Job had this as well.