The largest and finest bell in the East was in the great Buddhist Temple, Shwee-da-gone, in Rangoon. During a war the bell sank in a river. Over the years, various engineers tried but failed to raise it. At last a clever priest asked permission to try, but only if the bell was given to his temple.
The priest had his assistants gather an immense number of bamboo rods. One by one the rods were fastened to the bell at the bottom of the river. After thousands of them had been fastened, the bell began to move. When the last bamboo rod was attached, the buoyancy of the accumulated rods lifted the bronze bell from the mire of the river bottom to the stream’s surface.
Every act of trust we exhibit toward God, from simple prayer to putting God’s word into practice in our lives in obedience, is like one of those bamboo rods. Each prayer or act of obedience might not seem like much at the time, but with time and persistence, the enemy is conquered. The walls of Jericho fall down. Let’s meditate on psalm 53 together.
THE UNIVERSAL NATURE OF SIN – 53:1-3:
The word “fool” is used 18 times in the OT, five times is Psalms: 14:1; 39:9; 53:2; 74:18, 22. In the Psalm 74 passage, Asaph writes “a foolish people has spurned Your name” (vs. 18) and “the foolish man reproaches You all day long.”
This “foolish” person is not necessarily an atheist. In fact, there were probably very few atheists in the ancient times. Everybody believed in some type of god. Rather, the “foolish” person is the one who lives as if there is no God, no one to whom to be accountable. When the Bible says “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6), it is describing the fool.
The fool is corrupt: see Genesis 6:11-13, 17.
The fool has committed abominable injustice. Look at Deuteronomy 7:26.
The word “injustice” is used frequently by the prophet Ezekiel; I’ve counted 9 times. There is no injustice in God (Deut. 32:4) so God demands that mankind not practice injustice. He abhors it.
Then, to emphasize the point, David says “there is no one who does good.”
In verse 2, David comments that God has looked down from heaven, from His throne of holiness and justice, to see if there are any among the “sons of men” who understands the moral nature of the universe. Is there anyone who understands spiritual truths, spiritual realities? Is there? Is there anyone who seeks after God? The idea is that this individual – who does not exist – seeks after God without God first reaching out to him. Is there anyone who seeks after God without God first appealing to him? No. There is not.
Everyone one of them (the sons of men) has turned aside.
Together, they (the sons of men) have become corrupt.
No. No one is right in the eyes of Jehovah God. No one, left to himself or herself, can be good and right and holy and stand in the presence of God.
So, what can be done?
RESTORATION COMES FROM GOD – 53:4-6:
Before David gets to the “hope,” he still emphasizes the “hopelessness” of mankind…
Verse 4: Do the workers of evil not know? Can we see here where it is important to have the right knowledge? You recall that God said through Hosea the prophet that His people were destroyed for lack of knowledge – Hosea 4:6.
What is their problem? It is found at the end of verse 4: “they have not called on God.”
The wicked do not “call upon the Lord.” Why? They do not know what the end result of life will be if they don’t call on the Lord. That’s where our job begins – telling people who God is and that they need to call upon Him.
Verse 5 notes the end result of this type of lifestyle. “Perfect love casts out fear,” we recognize from 1 John 4:18. Then perfect wrath, or perfect hatred as God’s wrath is directed at those in sin, creates or stimulates fear.
The good news, the hope, the “gospel” is in verse 6…
Who will give from Zion the salvation of Israel? When God brings back the captivity of His people, Jacob will rejoice. Israel will be glad.
Does God want us to be happy? Yes. But not at the expense of being faithful to Him. Because if we can be faithful to Him in this life, the joys we will experience in heaven will engulf, supersede, overpower all the joys we have experienced in this life.
Do you trust God? To conclude our study of Psalm 53, we go to Paul’s use of the text in Romans 3 and we note 3:23-24: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”
How do we acquire the knowledge of God that the wicked lack? Through Jesus Christ. How do we obtain salvation which the wicked lack? Through Jesus Christ. How do we approach God? Through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the answer to the sentiments expressed in Psalm 53.
Let us know God, fear God, and teach God. Then we will rejoice and be glad in ways that we can only imagine.
Paul Holland
