JUNE 10 PSALMS 50-54

June 10 BIBLE BLOG

Psalms 50-54; BOOK TWO of the Psalms continues with one Psalm (Psalm 50), written by Asaph, a Levite whom David appointed a worship leader in Israel (1 Chronicles 16:4-5), and four more psalms by King David (Psalms 51-54).

Psalm 50 is a sobering foretaste of the Day of Judgment. The first six verses introduce God as righteous Judge. The rest of the psalm is God’s righteous judgment; first upon His own people (vv. 7-15), then upon the wicked (vv. 16-23).

Psalm 51 is David’s great prayer of repentance after God, through the prophet Nathan, exposed David’s sin with Bathsheba. This is the first place I turn when I need a spiritual jump-start with my own confession. Coming, as it does, just after Asaph’s picture of judgment, Psalm 51 is also the perfect way to ready ourselves for that day. Try praying it for yourself!

Psalm 52 is odd-sounding psalm; the first seven are a taunt against a wicked man. The inscription before the psalm reveals that David wrote it when Doeg the Edomite went to King Saul and told him that David had been at the house of Ahimelech the priest (1 Samuel 21-22). Doeg’s tattling eventually led to Saul’s ordering him to execute Ahimelech. Wickedness everywhere! Which of them is David taunting, I wonder: Doeg or Saul? In the last two verses, David powerfully proclaims his faith in God’s love, his gratitude for God’s love, and his patience.

Psalm 53 is a poetic plea for salvation. It begins with the famous statement: The fool says in his heart: “There is no God.” Were we to stop there, we’d be tempted—like a preacher I just heard—to say: “Here’s proof that atheists are fools!” That may be true, but if we read on, we see that no one is exempt. In fact, this is the very psalm (this and Psalm 14, for the first 3 verses of Psalms 14 and 53 are identical!) that the Apostle Paul quotes to prove that all have sinned, all are corrupt, and all have fallen away. David’s stark realization that all human beings, both those we call bad and those we call good, are doomed, leads him to shout: O that salvation would come!

Psalm 54 was occasioned by another set of tattlers, who exposed David’s whereabouts to hateful Saul. It’s a great psalm to pray whenever you feel wronged for doing right.

Your brother in the Word,
Pastor Gary