Psalm 53

To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

Psalm 53 is essentially a repetition of Psalm 14 with a few changes. This is the work of an editor who placed the psalm here, perhaps to correspond to the psalm before it and the ones that will follow. Psalms 52-60 have a common theme of “enemies” of David or more generally, enemies of humanity. Several contain curses against those enemies as well as vows of trust to be faithful in spite of them. Doeg from the previous psalm is the embodiment of the “fool” in this psalm, although many others could share that designation as well. The Hebrew word “fool” is nabal which happens to be the name of Abigail’s husband, a selfish jerk who refused to help David after David had helped him. David may have had him in mind in composing this psalm as well. (The fact that the man’s name was Fool could indicate that this is a nickname that was given to him by David. I mean, what parent names their son “fool”?). The point of this psalm is a foolish person is someone who lives as if there were no God. It’s unlikely that there were philosophical atheists in David’s time, although it’s possible. The fact that David adds the qualifier, “in his heart” is key. One can appear to be a believer in God on the outside, mouthing all the right words and performing all the expected actions, yet in the heart and mind still be unconverted. Such a person will inevitably be corrupt and do abominable iniquity. As Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”. It is when a person comes to believe that he is no longer accountable to any authority higher than himself that he becomes very dangerous. This is at the heart of the wisdom in this psalm. A fool lives as if there were no God, as if there were no accountability for his actions, as if he could do whatever he could do without consequence. David also acknowledges that such atheism is universal, “there is none who does good” (repeated in verse 3). David may be using hyperbole here because he doesn’t seem to be putting himself in the same category as “the fool”. This is not a psalm of confession like Psalm 51 where David acknowledges his own sinfulness. Here David seems to be talking about others. However, Paul quotes this psalm in the New Testament as evidence of the depravity of mankind. While this type of practical atheism may be more obvious in some than others, it is present in all of us. When we live as if there were no God, we inevitably become corrupt people who do corrupt things and corrupt others. Like mold spreading through bread or rust through metal, unchecked unbelief destroys.

2 God looks down from heaven on the children of man [sons of Adam] to see if there are any who understand, [who act wisely] who seek after God.

3 They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

David doubles down on his assertion in the first verse that everyone has become corrupt. The fact that God looks down from heaven is a way of saying that God is “totally other”, unlike the creatures that he made in his image. It is a reversal of Genesis 1:26, the imago dei. David’s use of the phrase “sons of Adam” may suggest this connection to Genesis 1 and the original state of man. God is looking for anyone who demonstrates wisdom and seeks after him. The word “understand” here is maskil, the same word that describes this type of psalm (see the superscription). He describes their actions as a turning away, a rejection, walking away from God, and as a result, becoming corrupt, everyone of them. David is quite emphatic here, repeating the negative multiple times -- no one has avoided the corruption of unbelief. As a wisdom psalm, this poem is spot on in its diagnosis of the human condition. While we are all sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, made in the image of God, designed to reflect his nature and personality, we invariably reject our design and purpose to pursue our own course. This is how Ravi Zacharias has defined sin: a denial of purpose. A hammer can be used to drive a nail and build wonderful things, or it can be used as a murder weapon to bash in someone’s head. When used according to its original purpose it is a good thing, when it’s not, it’s heartbreakingly painful. Hear in this psalm the breaking of God’s heart. This is not his intent for humanity and yet it is what we have become. I stand guilty as charged. I have acted as if God did not exist, as if I would never be judged for my actions, as if my thoughts had no consequence, as if I were God myself. It’s tempting to read this psalm and point our fingers at those foolish atheists, until we realize by verse three that David is speaking about us as well. Every single one of us. Our propensity to sin manifests itself early on when as toddlers we push back against the will of our parents, and once we’ve gotten a taste of the forbidden fruit of rebellion, we never stop pushing. Left unchecked, our desires will destroy us and everyone around us. This is where faith in God makes the difference. If we trust that God will meet all of our needs, there is no fear and no need to force our will on others. If we trust in the truth of God’s word we will see others as equal image-bearers of God and we will no longer use them for our selfish gratification. Instead we will seek their good. 

4 Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?

The description of the fool here includes three statements. First, those who work evil (because of their rejection of the reality of God) have no knowledge or understanding. They are lacking in wisdom because they are pushing against reality. If God is the ultimate reality, then to deny him is to deny ultimate reality and to construct your own false world. There are abundant examples of this in Western culture today -- men can become women and vice versa, there is no inherent difference between men and women (every difference is socially conditioned), a same-sex marriage is the same things as heterosexual marriage (a phrase that is redundant, like “ice cream that is cold”). In addition to these culturally popular false realities, we create our own reality when we think that we can act outside the moral boundaries that God has set and not suffer any negative consequence. The second description is that they “eat up my people as they eat bread”. In other words, they treat other people as commodities to be consumed, they dehumanize them into objects for their use and pleasure. There is no more serious and more common example of this than the use of pornography -- the objectification of men and women for personal gratification, treating them as less than human. The person using porn doesn’t care about the names and the lives of porn actors. They are impersonal objects/images to be used and discarded for our pleasure. They are no more than a loaf of bread - cheap, eagerly consumed, and quickly forgotten. Third, they do not call upon God. That is, they do not pray, not even when they need something, even when catastrophe has fallen upon them. They have so thoroughly rejected him that they can’t even bring themselves to their knees when they sense that they are in genuine need. Their pride will not allow it. They are utterly alone. 

5 There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

As a result of their rejection of God which leads to a stubborn unwillingness to even call on the name of God when in distress, the foolish person lives in a state of tremendous anxiety. The Hebrew construction is similar to the way this kind of terror is stated in Greek -- they fear a great fear. It’s the same description that was used in the gospels describing the condition of the disciples after Jesus calmed the storm. The irony here is that in spite of their great fear, there is nothing to be afraid of. In other words, they worry about things needlessly. Because they do not trust in God, they take all of their anxiety upon themselves. In Psalm 55:22 we are urged to “cast our burdens upon the LORD because he cares for us” (also quoted in 1 Peter 5:7).  Jesus told us to do the same in his great invitation to “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I’ll give you rest” (Matthew 11:28-30). This is the plight of the atheist fool: having rejected the reality of God, they must bear the full weight of their anxiety. There is plenty to worry about in this life -- legitimate threats exist. I am writing this in the midst of a global pandemic. The believer is in a unique position to rest because they know that God is sovereign. He promises his presence and his protection of our souls in all circumstances. Even the worst that can happen in this life will be quickly forgotten when we enter the presence of God upon our death. The unbeliever is entirely on their own with virtually no resources to deal with the anxiety and stress of life. As a result, many will medicate their anxiety with alcohol, drugs, food, sex and any number of other things to take their minds off of it. The promise for the believer comes in the second half of the verse. “God scatters the bones of the enemies of the good.” In the ancient near east this was a way of dishonoring one’s foes -- leave their bodies on the battlefield for scavengers to pick clean and for the ravages of time to scatter. Not having a proper burial was a shameful thing then (and now). This is how God will shame those who reject his free gifts. They receive the very thing they demand -- a life without God. The end of that life is simply that: the end. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust -- the unbeliever has no hope beyond this life, their bones bleached in the sun until they return to dust. It is a recipe for despair and high anxiety.

6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

The expression, “Oh, that…” is a statement of an unfulfilled hope, a deep desire that has not yet been satisfied. When pondering the human condition, one cannot help but wish for something better. Living in a world where people carry out their lives as if there were no God, as if there were no future beyond the grave, as if people were no better than a loaf of bread, you can’t be surprised that people feel a longing for something more. This is the end result of atheism -- longing unfulfilled. I’m sure atheists would deny this reality, and only God knows the heart. But this is the logical outcome of a rejection of God. It is a rejection of reality, an ignorance of our identity as image bearers of God, and a denial of our purpose. All of these have real world consequences in how we see ourselves and others. It is fundamental to every human being. Vibrant faith in God changes how you see yourself, other people, and the meaning of life. For those who believe in God, there is a deep longing that others would know the joys of faith as well. This is expressed in this text in the context of the nation of Israel which must have had its share of practical atheists as well. The psalmist believes that a restoration of faith in God “restore the fortunes” of the nation. This phrase is literally, “a return from captivity” and is used elsewhere in connection with the return from exile which began in the late 6th century BC. For this reason some scholars think this psalm was written at that time or at least edited at that time. But could it be that David sees the nation as captive to sin even in the midst of their freedom and independence? Here are the people of God, who should believe in the One who chose them from among the nations and has done great things in their midst, and yet they live as if there were no such God. Captives of sin and suffering from its deadly consequences personally and socially, David prays that salvation would come to the nation as faith in God is restored in the hearts of each citizen. This would result in human flourishing all around, joy and gladness. But there is also another prophetic hope in this psalm, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion. Salvation for the entire world ultimately came out of Zion in the person of Jesus Christ. The Jewish nation, because they held onto faith through their exile and returned to Zion, restoring worship and faith, the way was prepared for a messiah to come. David’s prayer was answered almost a thousand years later by a child from his own lineage, Jesus, the son of David, bringing freedom from captivity for all who believe.