Psalm 53:1 Komentář

God speaks once, yea, twice, and it were well if man would even then perceive it; God, in this psalm, speaks twice, for this is the same almost verbatim with the fourteenth psalm. The scope of it is to convince us of our sins, to set us a blushing and trembling because of them; and this is what we are with so much difficulty brought to that there is need of line upon line to this purport. The word, as a convincing word, is compared to a hammer, the strokes whereof must be frequently repeated. God, by the psalmist here, I. Shows us how bad we are (Psa 53:1). II. Proves it upon us by his own certain knowledge (Psa 53:2, Psa 53:3). III. He speaks terror to persecutors, the worst of sinners (Psa 53:4, Psa 53:5). IV. He speaks encouragement to God's persecuted people (Psa 53:6). Some little variation there is between Psa 14:1-7 and this, but none considerable, only between Psa 14:5, Psa 14:6, there, and Psa 53:5 here; some expressions there used are here left out, concerning the shame which the wicked put upon God's people, and instead of that, is here foretold the shame which God would put upon the wicked, which alteration, with some others, he made by divine direction when he delivered it the second time to the chief musician. In singing it we ought to lament the corruption of the human nature, and the wretched degeneracy of the world we live in, yet rejoicing in hope of the great salvation. To the chief musician upon Mahalath, Maschil. A psalm of David.

This psalm was opened before, and therefore we shall here only observe, in short, some things concerning sin, in order to the increasing of our sorrow for it and hatred of it. 1. The fact of sin. Is that proved? Can the charge be made out? Yes, God is a witness to it, an unexceptionable witness: from the place of his holiness he looks on the children of men, and sees how little good there is among them, Psa 53:2. All the sinfulness of their hearts and lives in naked and open before him. 2. The fault of sin. Is there any harm in it? Yes, it is iniquity (Psa 53:1, Psa 53:4); it is an unrighteous thing; it is that which there is no good in (Psa 53:1, Psa 53:3); it is an evil thing; it is the worst of evils; it is that which makes this world such an evil world as it is; it is going back from God, Psa 53:3. 3. The fountain of sin. How comes it that men are so bad? Surely it is because there is no fear of God before their eyes: they say in their hearts, "There is no God at all to call us to an account, none that we need to stand in awe of." Men's bad practices flow from their bad principles; if they profess to know God, yet in works, because in thoughts, they deny him. 4. The folly of sin. He is a fool (in the account of God, whose judgment we are sure is right) that harbours such corrupt thoughts. Atheists, whether in opinion or practice, are the greatest fools in the world. Those that do not seek God do not understand; they are like brute-beasts that have no understanding; for man is distinguished from the brutes, not so much by the powers of reason as by a capacity for religion. The workers of iniquity, whatever they pretend to, have no knowledge; those may truly be said to know nothing that do not know God, Psa 53:4. 5. The filthiness of sin. Sinners are corrupt (Psa 53:1); their nature is vitiated and spoiled, and the more noble the nature is the more vile it is when it is depraved, as that of the angels. Corruptio optimi est pessima - The best things, when corrupted, become the worst. Their iniquity is abominable; it is odious to the holy God, and it renders them so; whereas otherwise he hates nothing that he has made. It makes men filthy, altogether filthy. Wilful sinners are offensive in the nostrils of the God of heaven and of the holy angels. What decency soever proud sinners pretend to, it is certain that wickedness is the greatest defilement in the world. 6. The fruit of sin. See to what a degree of barbarity it brings men at last; when men's hearts are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin see their cruelty to their brethren, that are bone of their bone - because they will not run with them to the same excess of riot, they eat them up as they eat bread; as if they had not only become beasts, but beasts of prey. And see their contempt of God at the same time. They have not called upon him, but scorn to be beholden to him. 7. The fear and shame that attend sin (Psa 53:5): There were those in great fear who had made God their enemy; their own guilty consciences frightened them, and filled them with horror, though otherwise there was no apparent cause of fear. The wicked flees when none pursues. See the ground of this fear; it is because God has formerly scattered the bones of those that encamped against his people, not only broken their power and dispersed their forces, but slain them, and reduced their bodies to dry bones, like those scattered at the grave's mouth, Psa 141:7. Such will be the fate of those that lay siege to the camp of the saints and the beloved city, Rev 20:9. The apprehensions of this cannot but put those into frights that eat up God's people. This enables the virgin, the daughter of Zion, to put them to shame, and expose them, because God has despised them, to laugh at them, because he that sits in heaven laughs at them. We need not look upon those enemies with fear whom God looks upon with contempt. If he despises them, we may. 8. The faith of the saints, and their hope and power touching the cure of this great evil, Psa 53:6. There will come a Saviour, a great salvation, a salvation from sin. Oh that it might be hastened! for it will bring in glorious and joyful times. There were those in the Old Testament times that looked and hoped, that prayed and waited, for this redemption. (1.) God will, in due time, save his church from the sinful malice of its enemies, which will bring joy to Jacob and Israel, that have long been in a mournful melancholy state. Such salvations were often wrought, and all typical of the everlasting triumphs of the glorious church. (2.) He will save all believers from their own iniquities, that they may not be led captive by them, which will be everlasting matter of joy to them. From this work the Redeemer had his name - Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins, Mat 1:21.

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 53 To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David. The word "mahalath" is only used here and in Psa 88:1. Some, with Aben Ezra, take it to be the first word of a song, to the tune of which this psalm was set; others, with Jarchi, that it is the name of a musical instrument on which it was sung; a hollow instrument; of the same nature with "nehiloth", See Gill on Psa 5:1, title. Though it may relate to the argument or subject matter of the psalm, and be rendered, "concerning sickness" or "infirmity" (e); and, as Jarchi observes, some interpret it, "concerning the sickness or weakness of Israel", when the temple was destroyed. But it seems much better to understand it of the sickness and disease of sin, and the weakness following upon that, to which all mankind are subject; since the psalm manifestly treats of the general corruption and depravity of human nature. This psalm is the same with Psa 14:1, and is expressed in the same words, with some little difference; the reason of its repetition is variously conjectured. Some think that the compiler of the book of Psalms, observing various readings in it occasioned by copying, thought fit to insert it both ways; but it is most likely to be composed by David himself, at different times, and it may be on different occasions, and with different views. Some think the former, namely the fourteenth psalm, was written concerning Nabal, and this concerning Doeg; according to Jarchi, that was concerning Nebuchadnezzar, this concerning Titus Vespasian; or, as others think, Antiochus Epiphanes. Kimchi is of opinion that this psalm, being placed between one that relates to Doeg, and another that refers to the Ziphites, points at the likeness there is between the case of David and the Messiah; that as David had many who sought to ensnare him, yet God rewarded them, and established him in the kingdom; so it will be with the Messiah: but it is much more reasonable with others to conclude, that it is repeated either because of the importance of it; because that as the former may refer to the corruption of the Jews in the times of David, this to the corruption of men in the times of Christ and his apostles, and under the Gospel dispensation, until the second coming of Christ, especially under the reign of antichrist. The argument of the psalm, according to the Syriac version, is concerning Ahithophel, who gave counsel to Absalom to pursue his father David and kill him: and, according to the Arabic version, it is a prophecy concerning Babel and Sennacherib; so Theodoret: but rather concerning mystical Babylon, and the man of sin. (e) "de miseria", Tigurine version, "vel infirmitate"; so Ainsworth.

The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God,.... The Targum adds, "of whom is revenge"; or there is no God to punish and avenge the wicked; corrupt are they; the Chaldee paraphrase is, "the wicked have corrupted their ways"; as all flesh had done in the old world, Gen 6:12; and have done abominable iniquity; iniquity is the abominable thing that God hates, and makes men abominable in his sight; in Psa 11:1, it is read, "abominable worlds": the Targum paraphrases the words, "they are far from good, for iniquity is found in them"; see Rev 21:8; there is none that doeth good; See Gill on Psa 14:1.

What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. [Psalms 53:1-3] Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

"The unwise man has said in his heart, There is no God" [Psalm 53:1]. Such sort is it of men amid whom is pained and groans the Body of Christ. If such is this sort of men, of not many do we travail; as far as seems to occur to our thoughts, very few there are; and a difficult thing it is to meet with a man that says in his heart, "There is no God;" nevertheless, so few there are, that, fearing amid the many to say this, in their heart they say it, for that with mouth to say it they dare not. Not much then is that which we are bid to endure, hardly is it found: uncommon is that sort of men that say in their heart, "There is no God." But, if it be examined in another sense, is not that found to be in more men, which we supposed to be in men few and uncommon, and almost in none? Let them come forth into the midst that live evil lives, let us look into the doings of profligate, daring, and wicked men, of whom there is a great multitude; who foster day by day their sins, who, their acts having been changed into habit, have even lost sense of shame: this is so great a multitude of men, that the Body of Christ, set amid them, scarce dares to censure that which it is not constrained to commit, and deems it a great matter for itself that the integrity of innocence be preserved in not doing that which now, by habit, either it does not dare to blame, or if it shall have dared, there breaks out the censure and recrimination of them that live evil lives, more readily than the free voice of them that live good lives. And those men are such as say in their heart, "There is no God." Such men I am confuting. Whence confuting? That their doings please God, they judge. He does not therefore affirm, "some say," but "The unwise man has said in his heart, There is no God." Which men do so far believe there is a God, that the same God they judge with what they do to be pleased. But if you being wise dost perceive, how "the unwise man has said in his heart, There is no God," if you give heed, if you understand, if you examine; he that thinks that evil doings please God, Him he does not think to be God. For if God is, He is just; if He is just, injustice displeases Him, iniquity displeases. But you, when you think that iniquity pleases Him, dost deny God. For if God is one Whom iniquity displeases, but God seems not to you to be one whom iniquity displeases, and there is no God but one whom iniquity displeases, then when you say in your heart, God does countenance my iniquities, you say nothing else than, "There is no God."

To such people the word of the prophet can be applied most fittingly: “The fool says in his heart, there is no God.” They who say that nothing is seen by God almost deprive him of eyes and even take away substance from him. For when they say he sees nothing, they say he does not exist at all. Although no evil deed is based on reason, because crime cannot be joined with reason, there is no sin, I believe, more irrational or senseless. What is more insane than for anybody, who does not deny that God is the creator of the universe, to deny his governance? How does he admit that God created the world and neglects what he created? As if, indeed, he took pains in creating all things so that he would neglect what he had made!

"The fool has said." Above, the Psalmist rebuked the wickedness of sinners from the side of their affection for sin; here he rebukes their wickedness from their contempt of God. The title: "Unto the end, for understanding, of David, for Amalek." The history of this is found in 1 Sam. 30, when David, fleeing, came to Achish, king of the Philistines, who gave him the city of Ziklag, and it happened that the Amalekites, in his absence, burned the city; eventually David pursued them and recovered the spoil. Mystically, by David is signified Christ; and as the Gloss says, the Amalekites -- "a people licking blood" -- signify the Antichrist and his followers, who with affection "lick" carnal things. Mt. 16: "Flesh and blood," etc. Therefore, as their malice is interpreted, from this they are led against Christ. Augustine says "for Maeleth," which is interpreted as "suffering and giving birth"; and it signifies the Church, of which Jn. 16 says: "A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow," etc.; and so the Psalm is for the tribulations which the Church suffers from the evils of the world. And this, therefore, is through Korah, who was one of the chief singers; and so this Psalm was sung by his ministry. Likewise it should be known that this Psalm was set forth above at Psalm 13; yet the context is not the same, nor are all the verses, and there it is introduced on account of the first coming of Christ, here on account of the coming of Christ for judgment. And concerning this he does two things. First he sets forth the malice of sinners. Second he introduces the divine judgment, at "The Lord from heaven." Concerning the first he does two things. First he sets forth the root of evil, namely contempt. Second he shows what follows from such a root, at "They are corrupt." It should be known that wisdom, if properly understood, differs from knowledge, because wisdom is about the knowledge of divine things, while knowledge is about the knowledge of human things. The foolish man despises the knowledge of divine things. Job 21: "Depart from us, and we desire not the knowledge of your ways." Rom. 1: "Their foolish heart was darkened," etc. Therefore "the fool has said"; that is, he has despised God and the knowledge of God; and he did this "in his heart," he said: "There is no God." Against this, Anselm says that no one can think that God does not exist. It must be said that something can be unknown to us in two ways. In one way, on its own account; in another way, on our account. In the first way, those things are unknown to us which have their primary existence, such as contingent things, prime matter, motion, and time. In the second way, those things are unknown to us which exceed our knowledge. I say, therefore, that if we consider God according to himself, it cannot be thought that he does not exist, and no proposition is more known than one whose predicate is included in the subject. The existence of God is his essence, and therefore this proposition, "God exists," is maximally self-evident; yet as regards us, the essence of God is not known to us, but is made known to us through his effects. And from this it is the case that whoever denies certain effects of God -- for example, his providence over good and evil men and all things universally, and the miracles of God, and that he is omnipotent -- denies God, and says in his heart -- because it is from God in the hearts of all that God exists -- what no one indeed wishes: he is considered a fool for saying that God does not exist. Or "the fool," that is, the Jew. Ps.: "Understand, you fools"; who said that Christ is not God. Jn. 10: "You, being a man, make yourself God."

"They are corrupt." Here is the effect of their malice. Just as fear, knowledge, and love of God is the principle of every good work, so when knowledge and love of God are removed, all good life is taken away. And first he shows what follows as to the doing of evil; second, as to the loss of good. There are two evils that follow. The first is that "they are corrupt." The body is corrupted through the evaporation of natural heat and through the withdrawal of actual exterior heat. The natural heat of the human soul is God himself; and therefore, as long as knowledge of God is in the soul, the soul retains its form which God impressed upon it, namely innocence and the divine image; but when this heat evaporates and actual heat is withdrawn -- namely the heat of concupiscence and of fear -- the soul is corrupted, and consequently it follows that many cast off fear and love and the knowledge of God from themselves and are corrupted in impurities; and therefore "they have become abominable in their iniquities." Hos. 9: "They became abominable like the things they loved." And he says "iniquity," that is, on account of their iniquities, and they also lose what is good. "There is not one who does good." Jer. 4: "They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge."

Upon Mahalath--(See on Psa 88:1, title). Why this repetition of the fourteenth Psalm is given we do not know. (Psa 53:1-6) with few verbal changes, correspond with Psa 14:1-4.

The well-grounded asyndeton השׁהיתוּ התעיבוּ is here dismissed; and the expression is rendered more bombastic by the use of עול instead of עלילה. עול (the masculine to עולה), pravitas, is the accusative of the object (cf. Eze 16:52) to both verbs, which give it a twofold superlative attributive notion. Moreover, here השׁחיתו is accented with Mugrash in our printed texts instead of Tarcha. One Mugrash after another is contrary to all rule.