Psalm 53

“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. 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 53:1-3 (NKJV)

In today’s psalm, David contrasts the folly of the godless nations (those who are either atheists or who believe in false gods and not the God of Israel) with the restoration of Israel.  To be clear, when David says no one “understands or seeks after God,” he is not speaking of all mankind.  David is saying that none of the pagans who oppress Israel seek God, and together they have become corrupt.  

That is not to say that God is a racist or that He loves Israel and hates all other nations.  God created all men.  Furthermore, Jesus paid the penalty for the sin of the world, making a way of salvation for all mankind!  There are many foreigners in the Old Testament who turned from their pagan ways, sought the Lord, and found salvation (Ruth, Naaman, Tamar, Rahab, Nebuchadnezzar, Nineveh, etc.).  David’s point is that it is impossible to seek after God AND be an anti-Semite.  While God has a history of using pagan nations to rebuke Israel, no nation who calls upon God could say that He told them to hate Israel.  Ultimately, Israel will prevail by God’s 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 (NKJV)

Speaking prophetically, David looks far into Israel’s future and depicts a time when Israel would be taken captive.  This was obviously God speaking through David because the kingdom would not be divided until the reign of his grandson Rehoboam.  Several generations later, Assyria would conquer and exile the ten tribes of Israel’s Northern Kingdom, followed by Babylon’s eventual conquering and dispossessing of the remaining Israelites from the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

“Oh, 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 (NKJV)

Was Israel on a downward trend, and did David see their eventual downfall?  Absolutely!  But the greater lesson is that God would allow His own people, and even His own Name, to be tarnished with rebuke by pagan non-believers for both His Name and “namesake” to eventually be restored to their proper place of honor and respect among the nations.  It is amazing to me how far God will go to see His people, the priesthood of all believers, return to Him and testify of His greatness among the nations so that the nations will, in turn, believe in Him!