Psalm 53:13
Only fools say in their hearts, There is no God. They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!
In this psalm, David is speaking of universal corruption. Paul will quote this psalm in his own letter to the Romans
In Romans 3, talking to the Jews, those who had the promises of God, he says
"Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say, No one is righteousnot even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one. Romans 3:912
The divine diagnosis of the Great Physician concerning all of human nature and endeavor is that no one does good because all have sinned.
The story is told of Abraham Lincoln who said, Tell me, if we say that the tail of a dog is a leg, how many legs does a dog have?
The answer would come back, Five.
And he would smile and say, No. Four because calling the tail a leg doesnt make it a leg.
Calling man good doesnt make him good. Regardless of what the philosopher says, David declares and Paul reiterates that there is none righteous.
This not only shows the need for salvation, but its also a key for compassion. That is, when my brothers and sisters stumble a bit, I dont have to be shocked or offended, for the Bible says none of us do good. Instead of judging and condemning, Im free to love people and enjoy them, to be tolerant of them and patient with them.
In verses 4 through 6, David writes not of universal corruption, but of a particular situation
Psalm 53:46
"Will those who do evil never learn? They eat up my people like bread and wouldnt think of praying to God. Terror will grip them, terror like they have never known before. God will scatter the bones of your enemies. You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them. Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel? When God restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice."
The situation is that the enemies of Israel were encamped against Israel, feeling as though they had the right to annihilate, harass, and destroy the people of God due to their shortcomings. These enemies made a mistake Jude 11 refers to as the error of Balaam. Balaam was a prophet who realized that the host of Israel was sinning. So when Balak, one of Israels enemies, asked if he would come and curse the nation, Balaam agreed. The problem was, every time Balaam opened his mouth to curse, blessing poured forth instead. The error of Balaam was this: Balaam mistakenly assumed God would be eager to curse His sinful, defiled people (Numbers 2224).
There are Christians who denounce Gods people because they see flaws and weaknesses in the church. Theirs is the error of Balaam. Balaam didnt factor in grace or mercy, love or patience into the equation.
In the first three verses of this psalm, David readily admits that none is good. Nonetheless, the enemies of Gods people have no right to devour His people, for salvation will one day come. Jesus will come back and things will be right. How Im looking forward to that.
