Bible Commentaries
Psalms 53

Verses 1-4

Psa 53:1-4

THE UNIVERSAL SINFULNESS OF MANKIND

Superscription: Title: The Folly and Wickedness of Men.

For the Chief Musician; set to Mahalath. Maschil of David.

Psalms 53:1-4

To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psalms 53:4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.

The title in the ASV is "The Folly and Wickedness of Men," and in Halley’s Handbook of the Bible we have the one selected here.

Set to Mahalath. "According to Dr. Kay, this is a musical term indicating that it is to be sung `Maestoso.’” This is a musical instruction meaning, "`With Majesty,’ `Majestically,’ or `Stately.’”

Maschil. This word means a "a meditative poem.”

The most important fact about this psalm is that it is almost in its entirety a duplication of Psalms 14, except for two things. (1) The word [~’Elohiym] (God) is substituted throughout in place of the word Jehovah (God) which is used in Psalms 14. (2) There is a slight change of meaning in Psalms 53:5, but for what purpose is not known. Rawlinson thought it might be for the "purpose of adapting the Psalm to some special occasion.”

Reference is here made to our Commentary on Psalms 14 where we have adequately discussed the text which we find here, with the exception of Psalms 53:5.

E.M. Zerr:

Psalms 53:1. Fool is from NARAL and Strong defines it, "stupid; wicked (especially impious)." Young defines it, "Empty person, fool." It is the same word used as a proper noun in the case of the husband of Abigail in 1 Samuel 25:25. That good woman commented on the appropriateness of the word as a name for her wicked and foolish husband. We should be able to see a logical reason for saying it is a fitting name for the kind of person being considered. He made the rash declaration that there is no God. It was not merely a denial of the existence of a supreme Being, which would have been foolish enough. This man affirmed something, and before one is prepared to make such a declaration he must be in possession of all the information that pertains to the subject. Unless this man had seen every inch of space in the universe he had no right to make the affirmation he did. We know that no man has seen all of the space, and he does not know but there could be a God in some place which he has not seen. Hence the statement, there is no God, is a rash one and no one but a fool would make it. The rest of the verse is a comment on the general character and conduct of a man who would be so rash as to make the declaration at the beginning of the verse. The plural pronoun they is used to mean that all persons are in a common class of evil workers who are guilty of this atheism.

Psalms 53:2. Looked down . . . to see if, etc., is accommodative language. God knows all things at all times and does not have to make any investigation to find out. But the style of inspiration is to speak to man about the actions of God as if he were also a man. (See Romans 6:19.) The present verse means that God would classify all of the men, such as those who would be so rash as to deny the existence of a Supreme Being. In that class it will be seen that not a one would speak with understanding.

Psalms 53:3. Belief in the existence of God is the strongest of motives for a righteous life. By that token we should not be surprised to see the atheists as a class of unrighteous men. These comments are the explanation of the present verse.

Psalms 53:4. The line of thought becomes more specific. The evildoers whom David was considering especially were the persecutors of God’s people. Eat up my people is a figure of speech, referring to the vicious treatment the unbelievers imposed on the people of the Lord.

Verses 5-6

Psa 53:5-6

Psalms 53:5-6

"There were they 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 rejected them."

Nothing whatever is known about the event referred to here. The alternative use of the second person and the third person in references to God is not unusual in the Bible.

We repeat here one factor stressed in our treatment of Psalms 14, namely, that "The Universal Sinfulness of Mankind" is almost certainly a reference to the Judicial Hardening of the Adamic race for the fourth and final time at a period of history just prior to the Final Judgment. Paul, of course, applied what is written here to the Judicial Hardening of both Jews and Gentiles upon the occasion of the First Advent of Christ.

We find in such prophecies as Revelation 16 a prophecy of the ultimate and final hardening, to which these prophecies are equally applicable.

E.M. Zerr:

Psalms 53:5. Let not the reader be confused about the use of the personal pronouns. This is poetic language and is not bound by the strict rules of whether the pronouns are 1st, 2nd or 3rd person. The verse means that workers of iniquity were fearful when there should have been nothing to be afraid of had they been righteous persons. But since they were determined to injure the servants of righteousness, God had scattered the bones, which means the Lord had utterly defeated their purposes.

Psalms 53:6. A general rescue of Israel from all opposition of their enemies is the primary sense of this verse. But in addition to that, the psalmist made a prediction (unconsciously perhaps to him) of the return of the nation from the great captivity, which was fulfilled in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.