Prepare
Opening Prayer
Thank God for the day and his Word, and ask him to teach, care for, and give wisdom and trusting understanding.
Read
Scripture Passage
Psalm 53
Folly of the Godless, and the Restoration of Israel
To the Chief Musician. Set to “Mahalath.” A Contemplation of David.
1 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.
2 God looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
3 Every one of them has turned aside;
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.
4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon God?
5 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.
6 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.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Ps 53.
A — About
What Is This Passage About?
The fool denies God, but God sees that every person has turned aside and become corrupt, with none doing good. Those who refuse to call on him fear what should not be feared, while salvation comes from God, who restores his people and gives them reason to rejoice.
B — Best Verse
Which Verse Best Summarizes the Passage?
Psalm 53:5
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.
A child explicitly identifies verse 5 and then singles out its opening statement as the portion he likes. Bryan connects that choice to misplaced fear and teaches that those who trust God do not need to fear what the godless fear.
C — Called or Christ
C — Christ Connection
Acknowledge the real God, call upon him, and trust him rather than fearing what ought not be feared. Confess Jesus Christ's name and rejoice that the God of Israel is Savior and Master.
Devotional Study
Transcript of the devotion. Minor transcription errors may remain.
Well, good morning and welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This, what's today, Wednesday morning, is where every day we get together, we get into God's Word, and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2021, we'll make it through all of the wisdom literature. Well, this morning we are at Psalm 53, a short but really good and powerful psalm.
Let's go ahead and have some coffee or tea. We'll pray and we'll get into God's Word. You almost missed your tea opportunity there, huh? All right, let's go ahead and pray, guys. Father, we thank you so much for this day, and we thank you for your word. We pray now that as we read your word, that you would teach us and care for us. We pray that you would let us understand it, and that we would be wise, trusting in you. In Jesus' name, amen. Okay, Psalm 53, you guys ready? To the chief musician set to Ma'aloth a contemplation of David. Nathan, go ahead and read verse 1.
Fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt and have done abominable iniquity. There is none who does good. Whoa, what did the fool say? There is no God. Oh, there is no God. And what does God call them? He calls them? Corrupt. Corrupt. What does that mean, corrupt? um corrupt i mean sinful sinful right they were once good but now they're bad they've been corrupted they've done abominable iniquity you know what abominable means what like throw up out of your mouth gross i don't like it all right deborah you want to read two and three daddy yes dear we we all know this verse we we've already we've already Yeah, you've memorized this verse before?
I think you actually memorized it from Romans chapter 3. Where Romans chapter 3 says there is none good, no not one. There is none who does good. Alright, go ahead and read 2 and 3, Debra. God looks down from heaven upon the children and of men to see if there are any who wonder or stare and to see God. Can you read loudly? Everyone has turned aside. They have together become corrupt. That's right. Everyone is what? Corrupt. Oh, they've all turned aside. There is none who does good. No, not one. Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? Who eat up my people as they eat bread?
And do not call upon God, for they are in great fear, for God has scattered the bones of Him who encamps against you. You have put them to shame, because God has despised them. Oh, what the salvation of Israel will come out of Zion when God brings back the captivity of His people. Let Jacob rejoice, and Israel be glad.
Okay, what do you guys think this is talking about? What is this about? The sinful have no fuel, but now they have fuel. The sinful what? The sinful had no fear of who? God. Of God? Worse than that, what did they say about God? There is no God. There is no God. Is that true? No. No, that means they are what type of people? Sinners. Yes, sinners. Corrupt. They were wicked. Yeah, wicked or corrupt, right? But what does the righteous person say in his heart?
There is a God. There is a God. There is a real God. There is a real God, that's right. Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion when God brings back the captivity of his people. Let Jacob rejoice and be glad. Who does the psalmist think is going to bring Israel back? Jacob. Oh, who's going to bring them back?
God. God. Where does salvation come from? God. From God. That's right. So we need to call upon God and we need to love God. I think this is a very important and applicable thing in our lives to look at verse 1 and say, the fool has said in his heart, there is no other God beside the Lord. I think verse 5 is a good one. You like verse 5? No. Yeah. Verse 5. 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.
Why do you like that one? Because, um, very They are in great fear where no fear was. You like that? I like that little portion. Okay, yeah, so people kind of will fear things that they shouldn't fear. Yeah. But if we trust in God, do we need to fear? No. No? Alright, you guys ready to pray? Okay.
Lord, we pray that we would have faith to believe that you are the God of Israel, our Savior and our Master. Lord, we pray that you would care for us and let us believe you and love you with all of our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, may the Lord bless you today. May you confess the name of Jesus Christ. May you walk in his peace. And we'll see you tomorrow. You guys want to say bye? Bye! Bye, see you tomorrow.