No, Not One!

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by elizabethaudet

by elizabethaudet

Psalms 53:1-6; 14:1-7

Psalm 53 is ascribed to David and takes on his contemplation followed by his praise in which he strongly advises the children of Israel to join him. This Psalm is almost an exact replica of Psalm 14 with only variations in some wordage; therefore, we will deal with both of them together. Both follow the 4-step pattern: An announcement of the judgment of a fool, verse 1; God's examination of people, verses2&3; Judgment of the wicked (Psalm 14 varies from judgment of sinners to the results of the righteous) verses 4&5; and, Both require the praise of Israel, verse 6 in 53, and verse 7 in 14.

"Fool" in the first verse does not refer to a lack of mental capacity but rather relates to the lack of moral and spiritual considerations. The fool ignores God! Psalm 10:4-(NKJV)-"The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts." (Romans 3:10-12 is a quote from both Psalms 53 and 14, for it says, (NKJV)-"As it is written: 'There is none righteous, NO, NOT ONE; there is none who understands; There is none who seek after God. They are all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, NO, NOT ONE.' ".

You cannot keep either good or evil from God; He is aware and sees all of it. Verse 2 say, (CEB)-" God looks down from heaven on humans to see if anyone is wise, to see if anyone seeks God, but all have turned away. Everyone is corrupt. No one does good-not even one person." What a sad view God beholds! God does not smile on sin. He grieves over it. We must sometimes hurt Him to the depth as we push aside His plan for us, for a desire to execute our own plans against His. Perhaps our Father's broken heart should make us more considerate of His will! I am speaking to professing Christians who think God winks at sin and they will never suffer for it. I have heard it said, " Be sure your sin will find you out." The sad story is, not even one good person was found.

We do have a choice as 2 Chronicles 15:2 says, (NKJV)-"And he (Azariah led by the Holy Spirit) went out to meet Asa, and said to him: 'Hear, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.' " You still have the same choice! Joshua 24:15 is a motto on my wall in my living room. It is a motto we live by! (KJV)-"Choose ye this day whom ye will serve;..but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord." I really mean it.

God goes on to speak of the wicked in verse 4 of Psalm 53, (TLB)-"How can this be? Can't they understand anything? For they devour my people like bread and refuse to come to God,". The wicked do not treat God's people as God desires. He holds them responsible for their acts. They butter us up like bread to get us to succumb to their wishes but we must be on guard! This kind are described in Jeremiah 4:22-NKJV)-"For my people are foolish. They have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge." They have disrupted the wisdom of God for their own wisdom! Watch out whose wisdom you follow. The world in its wisdom did not know God. (Read 1 Corinthians 1:21).

But the fate God has planned as judgment for the ungodly is in Psalm 53:5-(KJV)-"You were 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." This fear is not of God! Proverbs 28:1 says, (NKJV)-"The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion." This is the difference between God's Wisdom and the wicked's wisdom. Running from shadows is not the Spirit of God nor His children!

Psalm 14:5b takes the opposite role here in giving the results of the righteous as opposed to the wicked, "For God is with the generation of the righteous...". I like the way Psalm 53 and 14 are contrasted here. Both speak a truth of God's Word. Psalm 53 brings out the punishment of the wicked strongly while Psalm 14 reminds us this is not the fate of the righteous! In Psalm 14 the Psalmist gives the statement, "But the Lord is His refuge." Here he is speaking of the righteous who abide in Christ but the wicked are cast out in the end.

The climax is powerful as we consider this message in duplicate for emphasis, Psalm 53:6 and 14:7-(TEV)-"How I pray that salvation will come to Israel from Zion! When God makes His people prosperous again, Jacob's descendants will be happy; the people of Israel will be glad." This should be our heart's cry for all people! Personally, I can't wait until all God's people are gathered into His fold where we can be happy and rejoice because our hearts are drawn together through the Salvation, our SOVEREIGN GOD has provided in Christ Jesus!

I have enjoyed the study so much. We have a sure thing in Christ!

Next time...