Psalms
Chapter 53
2
Denunciation or Universal Wickedness
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their ways are wicked; not one of them does good.
3
From heaven, God looks down upon the people, to see, if there is anyone who seeks God and understands.
4
None! They have all fallen away. Depraved—they are all alike. There is no one who does good; no, not even one.
5
Will these evildoers never learn? They devour my people, just as they devour food, and never call on God.
6
There they are—afraid when there is nothing to be feared. God will scatter their bones; they will be put to shame because God has rejected them.
7
May I see Israel’s salvation coming forth from Zion! When God restores his people’s fortune, Jacob will be glad, Israel will rejoice.
Commentaries
53
This psalm, with slight variations, repeats Psalm 14. The “fool” in Scripture is not an ignorant person or a theoretical atheist. Agnosticism was unknown to Old Testament writers, who lived in a polytheistic world. The fool values things incorrectly and is encouraged by experience to act as if God would never intervene. The psalmist states that the world is full of such people. However, their time will pass, and God will rescue his people from them, whether they are traitors to Israel or enemies from outside. We should never think we are exempt from Scriptural condemnation. For example, how often have we thought, ‘I thank God I am not like this Pharisee?’ We are ‘foolish’ too. The traitor inside us creates a convenient hierarchy of values. In this and many other psalms, we pray to God to remove our wrongdoings.