NOTES for Psa 53

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¹The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

²God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

³Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

⁴Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.

⁵There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.

⁶Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Why is the person who says “there is no God” a fool? Not someone playing to an audience, but one who utters these words inwardly, in his heart, establishing for himself an entirely new way of existing. The world then becomes full of causeless evil, for if there is no God, there is no devil who rebelled against Him either. This evil lies in wait for us at every step; we are forced to defend ourselves as best we can, and then the best defense is an attack. Anticipating a possible blow, one must then kill at once. It is impossible to struggle for one's life or give life to children if one says in one's heart, “There is no God.” For if that is so, there is not a single reason to go on living. There is no need to struggle, suffer, or love, because only one constant remains in the world: death. A person who rejects God is not always prepared to admit that the path now lying before him is a path to a terrible and agonizing death.

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For

¹The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

²God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

³Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

⁴Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.

⁵There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.

⁶Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

It is no surprise that a person threatened with being treacherously handed over to his persecutor asks God for deliverance... Read more

It is no surprise that a person threatened with being treacherously handed over to his persecutor asks God for deliverance. The deliverance spoken of here is, of course, deliverance from immediate, present enemies, but we are entitled to regard this particular request as an image of our common hope for salvation from the power of evil and sin.

What is striking, however, is that the one who trusts in God not only pleads for his deliverance but is also ready to stand before His judgment. We might suspect presumption in this if we did not see how reverently the petitioner approaches the Lord. The insistence that the one who takes refuge in the Most High is worthy to stand before His judgment sounds not like boasting, but like a humble assurance that a person does not have the moral right to appeal to God in every state.

The Lord certainly hears and receives us in any case. He can come to our aid despite all our crookedness, for His mercy surpasses all our sins and all our vileness. And yet, when we take refuge in Him, let us not forget to look at ourselves and see what we are like.

Readings for 10 March 2004

NOTES for Psa 53

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Readings for 10 March 2004

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