Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:
The enigma solved, why the ungodly prosper while the godly are persecuted. So Psalms 37:1-40; Psalms 73:1-28,
Psalms 49:1-20.-All classes called to hear the heaven-inspired lesson of "wisdom" (Psalms 49:1-4); the thesis (Psalms 49:5-6); the grounding of it; the sinner's wealth shall pass from him, and no ransom can redeem him, whereas God shall redeem the godly (Psalms 49:7-15); conclusion: the temporary honour of him who lacks "understanding" can make him no better than the beasts that perish (Psalms 49:19-20).
Hear this, all ye people - (cf. Deuteronomy 32:1; Psalms 50:1; Micah 1:2; 1 Kings 22:28.) How important to all is the question, seeing that if the difficulty could not be harmonized with the righteousness of God's government of the world, all fear of God would be at an end!
All ye inhabitants of the world. The Hebrew for "world" х chaaled (H2465)] expresses transitoriness [by transposition from chaadal (H2308), to cease]. Thus, the opening sentence hints at the solution in the transitoriness of worldly wealth.