the Third Week after Easter
Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 4 of 5
Psalms 53:1-6
With the exception of v. 5, and the substitution of the name of God for that of the LORD, Psalms 53:1-6 is the almost literal reproduction of Psalms 14:1-7. Romans 3:10-12 quotes the first three verses to show the general ruin of the whole human race, and nobody has been able to deny this fact. "There is none that doeth good" (v. 1), "no, not one" adds v. 3. Yet we know there has been one Man, the One who came from heaven, the holy exception among the sons of men on whom God has been able to look down from heaven (v. 2; cf. Matthew 3:16-17).
"There is no God" the fool says in his heart, although his conscience tells him the contrary; it is through God he moves and has his being, lives by His blessings, and breathes the very air He gives (Acts 17:28). But God is an embarrassment to him, so he forces himself to believe that He does not exist, putting in His place "all-powerful" science or philosophy. And when he is obliged in spite of everything to admit that there must be some "first cause", the unbeliever speaks vaguely of Nature or of Providence to avoid having to utter the name of God, which puts him in fear . . . because God is Light. It is He who will confound all the "workers of iniquity".
