Psalms 53 - 63

A Fool Says There Is No God

Note: This covers three days of reading.

The Psalms speak about the glory of God and His goodness. They also express the needs and laments of the psalmists to God.  What is surprising is how much the Psalms talk about evil people and sin.  Because they were written in the time of the law, perhaps the sin is amplified in the writing to define a clear difference between those who trust in the Lord and those who do evil.

Psalm 53 deals almost entirely with evil.  The first verse sets the tone, "Only fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'" Then David starts to list the attributes of evil people and how the Lord will visit his justice on them.  As previously stated, because men lived under the law, only the offering of a sacrificial animal could cover their sin, but it did nothing to the sin "nature," i.e. the evil nature innate in mankind that motivates us to sin.  Only through the acceptance of the sacrifice at Calvary and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can a person live above sin.

May God bless you and bless the reading of His Word.