Psalms · psalm 53 of 150
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Psalm 53 is a psalm of David that describes the folly of the one who says in his heart that there is no God. God looks down from heaven and finds no one who does good, not even one. It announces the terror of those who oppress his people and ends by wishing that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion, so that Jacob rejoices.
The title dedicates it to the choirmaster, according to Mahalath, a musical term of uncertain meaning, and calls it a Maskil of David. This psalm is almost the same as Psalm 14, with small differences: here the name God (Elohim) is used instead of Lord (Yahweh), and verse 5 is different. Paul cites the idea in Romans 3:10-12 to show that everyone needs God's grace.
The psalm begins by saying that the fool has said in his heart: there is no God. They are corrupt and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. It is a practical folly more than a theory: the person lives as if God did not exist or would not call to account.
God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if any understand, if any seek after God. Every one has fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. He asks whether they have no knowledge, those who work evil, who eat up his people as they eat bread and do not call upon God.
There they are in great terror, where there was no terror, for God scattered the bones of him who encamped against his people; they were put to shame, for God rejected them. The psalm ends with a wish: oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The fool says in his heart that there is no God. The Bible calls folly living without reckoning with God, and not only an intellectual error.
God looks down from heaven and finds no one who seeks him with understanding, for all have turned aside. It is a portrait of the human condition that Paul takes up in Romans 3.
The oppressors tremble where there was nothing to fear, because God scatters the bones of the one who encamped against his people. God's judgment reverses the fortune of one who seemed secure.
The psalmist longs for the salvation of Israel to come out of Zion, and for Jacob to rejoice when God restores his people. The final hope of the psalm is the deliverance that comes from God.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That there is no God. — Psalm 53:1
Answer: Whether any understand and seek after God. — Psalm 53:2
Answer: None, not even one. — Psalm 53:3
Answer: Those who devour God's people. — Psalm 53:4
Answer: They are in great terror, because God scatters the bones of the one who encamped against his people. — Psalm 53:5
Answer: From Zion. — Psalm 53:6
Psalm 53 invites humility. It says all of us have turned aside, and so no one can look at others with contempt. In a Sunday school class you can talk about how a practical form of saying there is no God is lived today: planning life without thinking of him, making decisions without prayer or treating people as if they were not his image.
The psalm ends with hope. Salvation comes from Zion, and for Christians it comes from Jesus, born of David's line. The passage of Romans 3, which cites ideas from this psalm, does not end in condemnation but in the righteousness God gives through faith in Christ.
Psalm 53 ends with the longing for a salvation only God can bring. Psalm 54 returns to a specific situation of David: pursued by Saul, betrayed by the Ziphites, he trusts God as his helper.
Both psalms share almost all of the text, with variations. In Psalm 14 the name Yahweh (the Lord) is used and in 53 Elohim (God), and verse 5 is different. This is characteristic of the second book of the Psalms, which prefers the name Elohim. They were probably two versions of the same poem.
In Romans 3:10-12 Paul gathers several Old Testament texts, among them Psalms 14 and 53, to show that all, Jews and Gentiles alike, are under sin. The purpose is not to condemn without hope but to show the need of God's grace in Christ.
It refers to the fool, that is, the one who lives without reckoning with God, whether he denies him with words or with his conduct. In the ancient world theoretical atheism was uncommon. What the psalm describes is a practical life without God, which remains a risk for everyone.