Know God Know Peace – No God No Peace – Psalm 53

“To the Chief Musician. Set to ‘Mahalath.’ A Contemplation of David. 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.” Psalm 53:1

The Hebrew word for fool in this psalm is ‘nabal’ (נָבָל), a word which implies an aggressive perversity, epitomized in the story of Nabal which is recorded in 1 Samuel 25:25. [1]

In Romans 1:18, 28, Paul wrote that people who are not in a right relationship with God (the unrighteous) suppress truth. They do not retain God in their knowledge. They are intentional atheists. So what does God do? He gives them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. In this way, He makes it clear to them and others that something is wrong with their way of thinking.

In his books, “Mere Christianity” and “The Problem of Pain,” C. S. Lewis states that “A person’s morality deeply impacts their theology, spiritual perception, and openness to God.”

Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “If we go astray in our doctrine, eventually our life will go astray as well. You cannot separate what a man believes from what he is.” Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” [2]

Hebrews 4:12 says that “The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” God’s Word helps those who receive it to discern right thoughts from wrong ones. Psalm 119:130 says that the entrance of God’s words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.

Romans 2:4 states that the goodness of God leads us to repent. Repentance of sin is a gift of God to us. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, and He urges us to believe in and profess Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sin and to be set free from its captivity. The death of Jesus on the cross was not merely a moral example for us, it was an absolutely necessary act of atonement to save our souls from going to hell, and to make a way for us to be with God.

“God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside. They have together become corrupt. There is none who does good, no, not one.” Psalm 53:2-3

God is an eye-witness, “The Lord looked down from heaven.” Was there anyone who wanted to know God? God could not find one. Why were they corrupt? They did not want to know God. What is the first and great commandment? It is to love God with all one’s being.

In Noah’s day, God was about to destroy humankind due to our sinfulness, but “praise God,” Genesis 6:8 says, ‘Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” God expressed grace through one man named Noah.

Noah was a type of Christ because Romans 5:12-15 states that God saves humankind from His wrath on sin via the grace of the one man Jesus Christ. “Just as through one man [Adam] sin entered the world... much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.”

Romans 5:20 states, “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” There is more grace in the One Man Jesus Christ than there is sin in the entire race from Adam until the last person born, but we must believe in and profess Jesus as our Lord and Savior to receive His grace.

“Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God? There they are in great fear where no fear was, for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you. You have put them to shame because God has despised them.” Psalm 53:4-5

Workers of iniquity err because they know not God. Iniquity is being unequal or unfair in one’s relationships with others. Taking in much! Returning little! The workers of iniquity devoured God’s people. They encamped against them. They made life difficult for the very ones who were trying to help them know God. The worker of iniquity refused to “call upon God.” In 1 Samuel 12:23, Samuel said to the people of Israel, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.”

What wage do workers of iniquity earn? They earn fear when there is no reason to be afraid. They earn division. Proverbs 13:10 states, “By pride comes nothing but strife.” They earn shame. In Romans 1:28, Paul wrote, “Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.”

“O, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back the captivity of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.” Psalm 53:6

“David knew that God was a refuge for His people and that the workers of iniquity would never win. Yet that was hard to see at the present time, so David expressed his great longing that God would bring the victory and deliverance He had promised to His people.” [3]

The captivity that David speaks of refers to any situation where God’s people are oppressed. [4]

Due to His faith in God’s faithfulness, David fully expected Israel’s salvation to happen. Thus, he called God’s people to rejoice and be glad in advance of it.

In the Bible, Zion primarily refers to Jerusalem and the site of the Temple Mount, but later, “Zion” expanded to symbolize the spiritual “City of God” or the heavenly kingdom. Salvation came out of Zion when Jesus Christ, God’s Son, gave His life there as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world.

The triumph of Zion’s King JESUS is the joy of both Jew and Gentile believers in Him. JESUS fills us as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:8, “with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” Amen! Hallelujah!



[1] Enduring Word Commentary with quote from Derek Kidner
[2] Enduring Word Commentary
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid