Psalm 14 and Psalm 53

Guest blogger for this post will be my beloved hubby, Luke:



Psalm 14

For the director of music. Of David.

1 The fool [a] says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
I've been thinking lately about doubt, and examples of same;Thomas, of course, and John the Baptist, when he was imprisoned and sent some faithfuls out to Jesus to ask Him if he was a poser or the real deal. They had no doubt about God, of course, just Jesus. How could they not? This guy with the beard who sweats and stinks like the rest of us, is the Messiah? These are some of the most human moments in the history of God and man. The psalmist, like Thomas and John, does not doubt God. He's no fool! The way to read this is: The fool says there is no god of the Israelites. The fool says Baal is the way, Zeus is the truth, this god, that god, is real, your god is not. These post-enlightenment days bring new meaning to the words. People want proof!
2 The LORD looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.

3 All have turned aside,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

4 Will evildoers never learn—
those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on the LORD ?

5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.

6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is their refuge.

7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Footnotes:

Psalm 14:1 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Psalms denote one who is morally deficient.


Psalm 53

For the director of music. According to mahalath. A maskil of David. [a][b]

1 The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.

3 Everyone has turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

4 Will the evildoers never learn—
those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on God?

5 There they were, overwhelmed with dread,
where there was nothing to dread.
God scattered the bones of those who attacked you;
you put them to shame, for God despised them.

6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Footnotes:

Psalm 53:1 mahalath: Probably a musical term
Psalm 53:1 maskil: Probably a literary or musical term