To the chief musician on mahalath, a maskil of David
53
📚The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God”.
They are corrupt, and have done
abominable wickedness.
There is no one who does good.
53:1 This is Ps 14 repeated with variations. Repetitions are given in the Bible for emphasis, and help to teach what men are slow to learn. David wrote both psalms, and introduced changes here by the guidance of the Holy Spirit to fit a different time and circumstance. For comments on the unchanged parts see Psalm 14. In this first verse the Hebrew emphasizes the corruptness of men’s behavior more than in Ps 14:1. But in both psalms a fool is a fool, and because he is a fool he comes to a foolish conclusion about a subject about which he foolishly thinks.⚜
2 📚God looks down from heaven
on the children of men,
to see if there are any who
understand, who seek God.
53:2 Here the word “God” is put instead of “LORD” (Jehovah) in Ps 14:2. The same change occurs in vs 4,5,6. Why? One possibility – when David wrote Ps 14 he may have been thinking particularly of foolish men in Israel, the people of Jehovah; now he thinks of men in general and uses the more general term “God”. And of course the Holy Spirit was working in the minds of God’s inspired prophets and writers of the Scriptures.⚜
3 📚Every one of them has turned away.
They have together become filthy 📖.
There is no one
who does good.
No, not one.
4 📚Have the evildoers
no knowledge?
They eat up my people like they
eat bread,
and do not call out to God.
5 📚There they are, in great fear,
where there was no fear.
For God has scattered the bones
of him who encamped
against you.
You have put them
to shame,
because God has despised them.
53:5 Here the two verses of 14:5-6 have been made one verse with several changes. There we have a general assurance of God’s presence with the righteous; here we have a celebration of a victory already won over the wicked. In this psalm sin is seen in its ugliness – it makes fools of people; it corrupts their nature and deeds; it drives them away from God and keeps them from seeking Him; it causes them to persecute the righteous; it brings them at last to fear, shame, and destruction.⚜
6 📚Oh, that the salvation
of Israel would
come out of Zion!
When God brings back his people
from captivity 📖,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be
glad.