Psalm 53

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 53
• Sermon
• Pastoral Prayer

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Sermon Title: The Folly of Unbelief and the Hope of Salvation from Zion

Scripture: Psalm 53

I. The Wickedness of Mankind (Psalm 53:1–3)

A. Psalm 53 is nearly identical to Psalm 14; the repetition signals the passage's great importance in the Hebrew literary tradition

B. The psalm opens with "the fool" — the Hebrew word nabal, which also recalls the biblical character Nabal, Abigail's husband (1 Samuel 25)

1. Psalm 52 addresses the betrayal by Doeg the Edomite (1 Samuel 22)
2. Psalm 53 parallels Nabal's rejection of David (1 Samuel 25)
3. Psalm 54 will address the Ziphites' betrayal of David (1 Samuel 26)
4. Psalms 52–54 appear to follow chronologically the story of David fleeing from Saul

C. Wickedness is manifested primarily through rejection of the Lord's anointed king

1. Doeg informs Saul that David was among the priests at Nob, resulting in their slaughter
2. Nabal refuses to show hospitality to David despite David's men protecting his servants
3. The Ziphites betray David's location to Saul in the wilderness of Ziph
4. This connects to John 16 — the Spirit convicts the world of sin, which Jesus defines as unbelief in him, the anointed one

D. The wickedness is universal — both Gentile and covenant people alike

1. Nabal was a Calebite, a descendant of Caleb, of the tribe of Judah — David's own tribe — yet acts like a rejected outsider
2. The Ziphites were also of the tribe of Judah, yet betray the anointed king
3. Universal language: "there is none who does good" (Psalm 53:1), "none who understand" (Psalm 53:2), "they have all fallen away" (Psalm 53:3)

E. Paul draws directly on this psalm in Romans 3:9–20 to establish that all mankind — Jew and Gentile — stands condemned before God

1. The purpose of shutting all mankind up in sin is to set the stage for the only hope of salvation: Jesus Christ
2. Both Jew and Gentile are equally wicked apart from the regenerative work of God's Spirit

II. The Preservation of God's People (Psalm 53:4–6)

A. Verse 5 — the wicked are in great terror where there is no terror; God scatters and shames those who encamp against his people

1. Nabal exemplifies this: when Abigail tells him how close he came to death, his heart dies within him and he becomes as stone (1 Samuel 25:37); the Lord strikes him dead ten days later
2. Those who do not know God live in constant, irrational fear

B. Discussion — why are those without God in constant fear?

1. A fatalistic, naturalistic worldview offers no certainty or control
2. Without forgiveness, guilt and the fear of consequences linger
3. Oswald Chambers: "When you fear God you fear nothing else; if you do not fear God you fear everything else"
4. Suppressing the truth of God means one always worships something temporal — and fears losing it
5. G.K. Beale's theme: We Become What We Worship — idolators fear the loss of their idols; those who make themselves god fear losing their life
6. Nabal is a prime example: wealthy, feasting, drunk — yet the news of how close he came to death kills him inwardly

C. Verse 6 — "Oh that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!"

1. Within the context of Psalms 52–54, David is repeatedly rejected — by Saul, Doeg, Nabal, and the Ziphites
2. Yet in 2 Samuel 5, after Saul's death, David is anointed king over all Israel
3. David's first act as king is the defeat of the Jebusites and the capture of Jerusalem — the stronghold of Zion (2 Samuel 5:7)
4. Salvation "out of Zion" points to the rejected-yet-anointed king bringing deliverance from that very place
5. The true Israel — not the Nabals and Ziphites — rejoices in the salvation that comes from the hand of the anointed king

D. Closing passage — 1 Peter 2:4–10

1. Jesus Christ is the living Stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious to God
2. The stone the builders (Israel) rejected has become the Cornerstone — a stone of stumbling to those who disobey
3. Believers are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation — called out of darkness into his marvelous light
4. Once not a people, now God's people; once without mercy, now recipients of mercy
5. Connects to Hebrews 12 — believers have come to Mount Zion, to the truly anointed king ascended to the Father's right hand
6. The Rock of Zion is where salvation comes for all — both Jew and Gentile — who have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3)