The entirety of Psalm 49 speaks of life after death, and a key for understanding this psalm may be the final verse. In the writer’s eyes, only humans have hope of a life after this one.
With that in mind, we turn to the rest of the poem, which is one of the “wisdom psalms” because it claims to give advice for living. The writer is troubled by those who have no regard for God. They are, in his mind, those who are rich and specifically, those who are so rich that they believe nothing can befall them they cannot buy their way out of. Death, however, for the Psalmist, is not the great equalizer, but the great revealer.
There is no amount of money that can buy a soul from God – no amount that will blind the eyes of the Lord to the ways of the wicked, and death will happen to all: the rich, the poor, the unrighteous and holy. When it does, only the upright – which does not include those whose trust is in wealth – will survive. All others will be like the dead dog rover: dead all over – and forever.
Those who seek enough money to allay all worry, are seeking permanent ruin. God calls us not to worry, but to trust in Him. When we seek enough money that we will not have to worry, we are, in essence, saying we don’t trust God. The end of those people is without promise or hope.