READ:
TWENTY-THREE
Psalm 52 is a little bit different than
many of the other psalms. Many psalms sing about how the wicked rise up at
scoff at the righteous, and how the righteous feel like they are getting
trampled on. We see David with almost a mocking tone say to the evildoers that
their strength and wealth will not last because they do not honor God. He talks
about the things God will do to bring them to justice. Verse 6 says the
righteous will see and fear what God is doing. This is key! The righteous see
God’s power and fear it, knowing He could pour His wrath on them as well. The
wicked see God’s power and fight it, believing somehow they can stand against
Him. The final two verses of this psalm are a personal declaration of faith and
praise. David has seen the blessing of following God – even while being pursued
relentlessly by enemies. He has benefited from being righteous. He can stand on
the unfailing love and goodness of God. He has seen firsthand how God has
handled the wicked. It is no wonder then, this testimony of praise would come
from his heart.
Psalm 53:1 is a well-known verse. To
say there is no God is the epitome of foolishness. How does this apply to us
who say we are believers? When we continue to act and live as if there is no
God, we live foolishly. Giving God room in our lives to speak and living as if
He exists, makes a difference, affects our eternity, and ensures we live and
die differently than the fool.
Verses 2-3 in Psalm 53 are somewhat
sobering, yet hopeful. God is looking on this earth for men and women who love
Him and are devoted to Him. He is looking for people who seek Him. Yet the news
isn’t good: everyone has turned away. Everyone does evil. It even says “not even one”. This is sobering because it sounds like the
days of Noah when God saw just one person He could entrust with Creation. Yet it causes us to ask, what about our
culture? What about our country? Would God find even one here?
These verses are hopeful in the sense
that although there doesn’t seem to be anyone choosing to seek God, this is not
the first time this has happened. Every time we see this happen throughout
Scripture, we also see God rise up to save His people. God longs for relationship with people so He goes to great lengths to
make it happen. When we compare this to our culture we can have hope in the
Lord because He wants to find someone seeking Him. It also leads us to ask very
personally, If God is looking on the
earth today for a faithful person who seeks Him… will He see me?
JOURNALING
AND PRAYER
1. Spend a few minutes writing out some of
the big and small miracles God has done for you, even if you didn’t recognize
the miracle when it happened. (For example: protecting me when I slipped on the
ice, giving me a spouse, healing me, taking away cravings for nicotine, etc)
Then spend some time personalizing the prayer in Psalm 52:8-9. Pray this for
yourself, and keep it handy to pray through the week.
2. Ask the Lord if there is a part of your
life where you are living as a fool because you are either denying God access
to that part, or you don’t believe He can really make a difference (He’s not
really God… enough). Listen carefully to what He says, confess if necessary.
Ask Him to break through and show you even more concretely that He is God.
3. If God would searching the earth for a
soul seeking Him… would He notice you? What exactly would He see? Ask God to
speak to you about what He sees when He looks at your life. Is He pleased? Are
you seeking Him? Pray a prayer of
commitment to faithfully
seek Him even in difficult situations.
