Psalm 53:1 – Only fools say in their hearts,

“There is no God.”

They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;

not one of them does good!

2 God looks down from heaven

on the entire human race;

he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,

if anyone seeks God.

3 But no, all have turned away;

all have become corrupt.

No one does good,

not a single one!

4 Will those who do evil never learn?

They eat up my people like bread

and wouldn’t think of praying to God.

5 Terror will grip them,

terror like they have never known before.

God will scatter the bones of your enemies.

You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

6 Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?

When God restores his people,

Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice. (NLT)

When we read through this psalm, it appears that when he wrote this, David had a pretty dim view of the world around him: “all have turned away; all have become corrupt.  No one does good, not a single one!”  Surely, there must have been a few godly people in Jerusalem.  Why was David so downcast?

When we consider the recent events that have been taking place in our world, not just the pandemic, but issues of violence, poverty, and deep divisions amongst a nation, we can understand that many people probably feel the same as David once did.  Sometimes it is easy to take a dim view of the world around us, for there is much darkness.  The Gospel of John 1:5 tells us that the world is a dark place.  That in itself is not good news.  The Good News, however, is found in the complete verse: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

Darkness cannot overcome the light of Jesus Christ. I pray that you are seeing light and not darkness, no matter what is happening in the world around you.  Furthermore, as Christians, it is our duty to spread that light throughout the world.  Verse two of today’s reading tells us that the truly wise people will seek God.  I believe that many people are seeking, but they do not know where to look. 

David asks in verse six: “Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?” We know what David didn’t know.  Jesus has come to the rescue!  Let us remember that the one who has made rescue available to all has come.  He paid the penalty for our sins, and has prepared a place for us in heaven.

People still seek, and many still stay confused as to what they are seeking.  Perhaps, the best thing that we can do for others during these trying times is to help someone find what it is they are truly seeking.   Maybe we can be more than wise.  Maybe we can help others become wise.  We do know how David must have felt, so the time for Christians to share the light is now! 

Posted by Ramón Torres