Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director; according to [a]Mahalath. A [b]Maskil of David.
53 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
There is no one who does good.
2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is anyone who [c]understands,
Who seeks after God.
3 Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.4 Have the workers of wickedness no knowledge,
Who eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God?
5 There they were in great [d]fear where no [e]fear had been;
For God scattered the bones of [f]him who encamped against you;
You put them to shame, because God had rejected them.
6 Oh, that the salvation of Israel [g]would come out of Zion!
When God [h]restores His captive people,
[i]Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
While this psalm is essentially a second “translation” of Psalm 14, we’ll take it another look and see what God has to say. The story is pretty bleak, with everyone turning away from God, no one doing what is right. Yet that is the story for all of us but for the grace of God. Paul quotes this psalm to the church in Rome and reminds them (and us) quite clearly, “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God…”
The punishment of “the workers of wickedness” is for their bones to be scattered, to be put to shame, and rejected. But is that the end, is God’s judgment against us all the final “nail in the coffin”? Fortunately, that is not the case. While the psalmist looked for salvation in the future, Paul could write of what had already happened.
Where once there was no hope, God made a way, and through Jesus death on the cross, the captives were released, the chains of sin and death broken. While with one hand God shows us the folly of our own ways, He then offers a free gift, redemption by faith. The punishment that was ours, was put upon Jesus, so that we could be made righteous. What seems impossible, due to the depravity of our hearts, is more than possible through Him who saves us.
For all that put their faith in Him, there is great rejoicing and much cause for gladness. There was no coffin that could hold Jesus, and there is none now that can hold you when He lives inside of you. Thank God today for overcoming the darkness inside of each of us, and let your light shine the brighter.