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PSALM 53 (NIV Version)
For the director of music. According
to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
1.The fool says in his heart there is no God. They are corrupt and
their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.
2.God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are
any who understand, any who seek God.
3.Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there
is no one who does good, not even one.
4.Will the evil-doers never learn those who devour my people like
men eat bread and who do not call on God?
5.There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing
to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you, you
put them to shame, for God despised them.
6.Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God
restores the fortunes of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel
be glad!
This Psalm has been given to the chief musician… which
indicates great musical care to be given… I love that! But
then there is a new phrase for us…
Mahalath… according to Mahalath. I found a few slightly different
meanings, but it generally means ‘disease’, meaning,
the song of man’s disease. The other words were suffering,
or sickness…
basically saying that this Psalm sings of man’s afflictions.
This is also almost identical to Psalm 14.
It starts strong…
The fool says in his heart, there is no God!To deny God, even His
existence, is to deny the core of life itself…In fact, it
is the denying of God, the lack of fear of God, the forgetfulness
about God, which is the source of unrighteousness and the wickedness
we see about us today.
The very first album I ever recorded was called ‘Make The Choice’.
It was actually an LP… most of you have never even seen an
LP!! Anyway, one of the songs was called ‘the fool’… and
I based it on this Psalm, as there were many in my own world who
continually denied the existence of God, denied His power, His grace,
and most importantly, His love.
We were never designed to live life without Christ….
The fallen race of man, left to his own energy, will always end up
in the midst of some sort of battle… to fight this battle
without any eternal perspective, or any understanding of God’s
love and devotion toward you, is such a hard way to live… foolish
to say the least.
Verses 4, 5 and 6 go on to talk about how God Himself will defend
His righteous ones… even when it feels like God is somehow
silent on your behalf, for He who knows all and rules all, will overwhelm
those who attack His people.
Dear friends, I am also totally convinced that the plight of the
people of the earth should be deeply felt by each one of us… for
the world, lying in wickedness, is desperate for connection to Jesus
Christ. For us to stand back and simply point the finger at those
out of relationship with Christ is not enough, for us to be complacent,
or just unmotivated to share Christ with those around us, is inconceivable… in
fact, God Himself says here that He was having trouble finding even
ONE who would say Yes to His ways, and no to the thinking of the
world. I would pray that our lives are ones that inspire even the
hardest of hearts to question their convictions on matters eternal.
Well, the psalmist here paints a vivid contrast between the lives
of the just and the unjust… but as you can see, his heart
desperately longs for the salvation of Israel, and closes the Psalm
with the thought that the most calloused heart, when aroused by the
spirit of God, can find life, and life in all its fullness.
Ok lovely ones, that’s it for this week…
Be strong, be prayerful, be full of the word in your life, be in
connect group, in fact, make it a priority…. And bring the
lost to church !!!
Love lots!!!! Darls.
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