1 The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on the Lord.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! NIV
Psalm 53 is nearly identical to this one. Take a moment to try to spot the slight differences.
For what reason do you think this psalm would have been included nearly word for word twice in the Book of Psalms? Might each psalm serve a different purpose in any way?
Explain the sobering and the encouraging truths of verses 4-6.
"Jacob" and "Israel" are often interchangeable names (for all of Israel comes through Jacob). Considering the heavy and depresive outlook of much of this psalm, how would it be possible for an Israelite to ever rejoice and be glad, as indicated in verse 7?
::::: Digging Deeper :::::
Jesus seems to refer to verse 3 of this psalm (and also Psalm 53). Take a quick look at Luke 18:19… "No one is good". What point is Jesus trying to help his audience understand about who He is?
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