Would you turn to Psalm 53? Now, while we're reading this
psalm, I want you to remember that it's almost the exact same
psalm as Psalm 14. The words are the same, and I
think that that gives us some idea of the importance of this
psalm, the fact that it's repeated twice in scripture. Psalm 53. If you look at the title, it
says to the chief musician, which means this is a psalm that was
to be used for public worship. And it's called a Maskell, a
psalm of instruction written by David. The fool has said in his heart,
there is no God. Now, you'll notice there is,
is in italics. The meaning is literally, no,
God. It's saying no to God. Corrupt are they and have done
abominable iniquity. There is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon
the children of men to see if there were any that did understand,
that did seek God. Every one of them, that's including
me and you, is gone out of the way, gone back. They all together
become filthy. There's none that doeth good
No, not one. Have the workers of iniquity
no knowledge? Who eat up my people as they
eat bread? They've not called upon God.
There were they in great fear, where no fear was. For God hath
scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee. Thou
has put them to shame because God hath despised them. Oh, that the salvation of Israel
will come out of Zion. When God bringeth back the captivity
of his people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad. Let's pray together. Lord, how thankful we are for
who you are. How thankful we are for all your
glorious attributes. How thankful we are that you
would be pleased in your mercy to send your son to save sinners. We give thanks. Lord, we pray
for your presence at this time. We pray that you would be pleased
to speak. and reveal the gospel of thy glory to us. Speak to
each heart here according to your will. Be with all your people
wherever they meet together and forgive us of our sins for Christ's
sake. In his name we pray, amen. Now as I said, this psalm is
repeated twice and that alone tells us how important this psalm
is. Psalm 14 and this psalm. And this is the psalm that Paul
uses in Romans chapter three. Would you turn with me there
for a moment? He quotes this in Romans chapter three. Verse nine. What then? Are we better than
they? Are we Jews better than the Gentiles? No. In no wise for we have before
proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin. As it is written, and here's
the quotation from Psalm 14 and Psalm 53, There is none righteous,
no, not one. There's not one man or woman
in the world that you could call righteous. No, not one. There's none that understandeth.
There's none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good. No, not one. Now that's God's testimony. There's not one. That's including
me. That's including you. No, not
one. Now let's go back to Psalm 53. David says the fool. Now the fool means senseless. This is the language of someone
without any sense, is what he's saying, the fool. The fool has
said in his heart, there is no God. Now, I don't believe that
this is a reference to atheism. If I'm an atheist, I'm a fool.
You know, there are some arguments against atheism. One says that
if nothing can be conceived greater than God, God must be. I don't
get it, but that's said. The other argument, and I think
this is scriptural, if there is anything, something had to
cause it. If there's a creation, God had to cause it. And I think
that's what Romans 1 is teaching. There's the idea that if there
is an intelligent design, there must be a designer. Well, I guess
it makes sense. And the other argument is that
if there is a right and a wrong, God must be. And I think that
is certainly true. If there's no God, who's to say
what's right and what's wrong? Survival of the fittest. But
if God is, there are moral absolutes. Yes, there are. So God is, and
everybody knows that. I don't have to talk anybody
into that. Somebody says, I'm an atheist.
You haven't always been an atheist. There was a time, if you are
now, when you weren't. Um, there are, I like what I
was Aaron, you said this recently to me in, in the army, there
are no atheists and foxholes. I feel quite sure that that is
the case, but what David is saying, the fool has said in his heart,
no God. I REFUSE TO SUBMIT TO THIS. I DON'T BELIEVE YOU THIS WAY.
I DON'T LIKE THIS. NO, GOD. Turn to Romans 1 for
a moment. This is what this looks like. Verse 18, For the wrath of God
is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men who hold the truth. And that word hold is actually
who hold down the truth. They suppress the truth. They
do not like the truth. And this is what David is speaking
of, those people who, and it's what we all are by nature. I've
been guilty of this and you've been guilty of this. We hear
something concerning the character of God and we say, no, I don't
like that. I don't agree with that, as if
we could be God's judge. I don't like that. Well, that's
the way it is, whether you like it or not. This is who he is. But the fool has said in his
heart, no to God's sovereignty, no to God's holiness, no to God's
purpose, no to God's immutability, no to God's justice, whatever
attribute of God, no. That's what the fool says. The
fool has said in his heart, no, God. Now, here is why. Corrupt are they. That's their
nature. That's my nature. That's your
nature. Do you believe that about yourself?
Corrupt are they. Evil are they. Well, someone
says, how can you say something like that? Because the Bible
does. I don't need another reason. Somebody says, how did we get
this way? Well, when Adam died spiritually in the garden, you
and I died, we were born with his nature, his fallen, sinful
nature. Corrupt are they. And then he talks about their
works. Corrupt are they. They have done abominable iniquity. Now, he was talking about the
nature in speaking of us being corrupt. And our works are what
God says are abominable iniquity. Now here's the scripture that
I think describes this the most clearly. The plowing of the wicked
is sin. All a wicked man has to do is
go out and plow the field in order to raise food to supply
poor people. You know what God says it is?
Sin. If I do it, if you do it, it's
sin. That's what the word of God says.
Now remember, this psalm is repeated twice to show us the importance
of this psalm. There is none, the last phrase
of verse one, there is none that doeth good. None, not even one
person. You take the best thing you've
ever done, and in God's sight, it's not good. Now, the reason
we can think it's good is because we have a God that we think we
can please. We've invented a God that we
think can be happy with us, but that's not the God of the Bible.
And this is God's testimony. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. Look in verse two. I love the
imagery of this. God looked down from heaven upon
the children of men. He's doing that right now as
we speak. God is looking down from heaven
upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand
or that did seek God. Is there any that understands
the character of God? No. We have a God we've made
up. Look in Psalm 50. Verse 21, these things has thou
done and I kept silence. This is God speaking. Thou thoughtest
that I was altogether such in one as thyself. That's what every
natural man does. They think God's like I am. We
think about the way we think, and we think God thinks that
way, too. No, he doesn't. He's altogether other. He's not like anything that he's
created. He stands by himself. Now, God looked down upon the
children of men to see if there were any that did understand.
There was not one that did seek God. You know, you might seek
to be religious. You might seek to be blessed.
But as far as seeking the living God to worship him for who he
is, not one person in the history of the universe has ever done
that. Aren't you thankful for grace? Because if the Lord left
us to ourselves, we know what would happen. But thank God for
his grace. Thank God for this revelation
he gives us. Now look what God's testimony goes on to say in verse
three. When he looked down from heaven
to look upon the children of men, Every one of them is gone
back. When they see who God is, they're
repulsed and they move away. They are all together become
filthy. Now that's strong language, isn't
it? This is God's word. And this
is his description of me and you. They have all together become
filthy. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. Now, this is the scriptural description
of human nature. With regard to looking at human
nature, there are four different ways I could look at human nature.
First, I could take the evolutionary view. which is probably what
most people believe. We've evolved from something. And if I have a view of an evolutionary
view of human nature, I'm getting better. Look how far I've come. I started out in some primordial
stew and somehow life sparked and look at me now. I'm getting
better. The second view of human nature
is everybody's born morally neutral. You're just born kind of with
a blank slate. And what we need is the proper education. We need
a proper society to give people the right information and everything's
going to be fine. Now that is many, that's a many's
view of human nature. We just need to have the right
education. We need to have the right laws. Everything will be
fine. The third view is what most religious people have. Man
is fallen, but he's not totally depraved. He's fallen, but he
still has a free will. He still has some parts that
can exercise what's right and good. And in that case, really,
man doesn't need a savior. Man needs somebody to put pressure
on his will and make him make the right decisions. And then
there is the scriptural view. I've just read it. dead in sins,
completely corrupt, completely evil. Now, here's what I want
to ask myself, and here's what I want to ask you. Do you believe
that describes you? Not, I agree, the Bible teaches
that, but does that describe you personally? Yes, it does. That's my answer. Yes, it does. And if somebody fails to see
this, there's only one reason. They've never seen who the Lord
is. This is not you just all of a sudden figure out that you're
a bad person. You'll never see that until you see who the Lord
is. That's when you'll see who you are and not before then.
Now, every one of them has gone back. They are all together become
filthy. There's none that doeth good. No, not one. And I think of what
the Lord said to the rich young ruler. Remember when he came
to him, he said, good master, what good thing shall I do to
inherit eternal life? Now he's coming to the Lord only
as a man. He didn't know he was the son
of God. He's coming to him as a good man. I can see you're
a good man, obviously. What good thing can I do that
will elevate me up to your goodness? Give me something to do. I see
something in you that I don't see in anybody else. Good master.
What good thing shall I do that I might inherit eternal life?
And the Lord said, why callest thou me good? There's none good
but one, God. Oh, God is good. He's good. Everything he does
is good. Everything he is is good. God is good all the time. Everything he does is good all
the time. God is good. And the Lord is saying to that
man, you're coming to me as a man, there's none good with God. What
are you doing calling me good? If you had any idea of what you
really are or what man really is, you wouldn't talk like that. There's none that doeth good,
no, not one. Look in verse four. Before I read that, somebody's
thinking, that's such a bleak, depressing view of human nature.
I mean, what is there to feel good about if you're describing
human nature in such horrible terms? Christ came to save people like
that. Is that good? Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners. And if you're not like this,
OK, Christ didn't come to save you. The only people he came
to save is sinners. And if you see that this describes
you and you really believe it, guess what? Christ Jesus came
into the world to save you. He had you on his heart when
he came into this world, when he kept the law, he kept the
law for you. So don't say, well, this is just
a negative view of human nature. No, this is the most glorious
thing there is. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Now, let's go on reading. Have the workers of iniquity
no knowledge? Who eat up my people as they eat bread they have not
called upon God. Now, when he talks about the
workers of iniquity, and that's what every man is by nature, We read in Job how much more
abominable and filthy is man that drinketh iniquity like water.
That's me and you. But he talks about the workers
of iniquity who eat up my people. Now God calls his people my people. Now why does the worker of iniquity
hate his people? Because they hate the Lord. They
hate the Lord. That's why it's not the people
so much. It's the Lord they hate. And anyone that's associated
with him They want to get rid of them, in that sense. And David says, have they no
knowledge? I mean, talking about fighting
a battle you can't win. Have they no knowledge? If God
be for us, who can be against us? No one. No one. Now, if God's against
you, nobody can be for you. But if God's for you, no one
can be against you. So he says, have the workers
of iniquity no knowledge? Do they have no understanding?
Who eat up my people as they eat bread? They have not called
upon God. Now, whosoever, are you whosoever? Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. That's God's promise. How crazy is it to not call on
his name? How insane is it? How sinful
is it to not call upon his name? Now, right now I'm calling on
his name, Lord save me. And his name is his attributes.
Save me by an act of your sovereign will. Save me in a way that glorifies
your justice. Save me in a way that honors
your grace and your mercy and your love. One of the glorious
things of God's salvation is every attribute of God is displayed
and glorified in His salvation. So this calling on His name is
calling on His name intelligently, spiritually intelligently, because
of His revelation. I'm calling upon His name, who
He is, to save me. And you know, I ask the Lord
to save me every day. Lord, save me from myself, save
me from my sins, Save me from my circumstances, save me. What
a prayer, Lord, save me. That's the most useful prayer
at all. Somebody says, well, I already
prayed that. Well, if you just prayed it once, you've never
prayed it at all. I'm sure of that. If you ever prayed, Lord,
save me, you're praying it all the time. They've not called upon God,
verse five, There were they in great fear where no fear was. Now, this fear spoken of here
is not the fear of God. That's a good fear, isn't it?
This is talking about the fear of mistrust, the fear of unbelief. There were they in great fear. You know, I like that scripture,
the wicked fleeth with no man pursueth. One time I was out
running in a place I was preaching and somebody yelled that out
at me. The wicked fleeth when no man pursueth. Okay, but it's
true. The wicked do, they have the
fear of mistrust. And this is what this is talking
about. There were they in great fear where no fear was, for God
hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee. Now, The unbeliever is encamped
against, opposed to God and his people. But it's a fight that
cannot be won. God is going to scatter the bones
of him that encampeth against thee. Thou hast put them to shame
because God hath despised them. Now, listen to that language.
God hath despised them. Does God despise people? Yeah.
Yeah. Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. And if we get up in the air about
that and say, well, how can God despise somebody? Because he's
holy and we're sinful. Don't be amazed by that. Be amazed that he is gracious
and loves and saves people. But it says God despised their
image. And when he despises someone's
image, that's bad for that person. We're talking about the God of
glory. God hath despised them. Oh, that the salvation of Israel
will come out of Zion. Now that salvation is that salvation
which is of the Lord. The salvation that Christ accomplished
for His people. Oh, that the salvation, salvation
from sin. Let me remind you of this scripture,
Matthew 121. This is one of every believer's,
every believer would say this is one of my favorite scriptures,
maybe my favorite. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sins. Now that's the
salvation of Israel, salvation from sin. That means I'm saved
from the penalty of sin. I'm not held responsible for
my sin because I don't have any. He took it away. He made it not
to be. I'm saved from the power of sin.
I can now do what I at one time could not do. I believe the gospel.
Saved from the power of sin. And one of these days, thank
God, I'll be saved from the very presence of sin. I won't be a
sinner anymore. Oh, that the salvation of Israel
will come out of Zion, the church, God's people. You know, Christ
came out of, Christ is eternal. He was before any of them. We
know that. woman. He, she was born, she was a virgin,
but still he came out, he was born in the church in that sense.
And that's what he's saying. Oh, that the salvation of Israel
will come out of Zion. When God bringeth back the captivity
of his people, Jacob shall rejoice and Israel should be glad. Now,
when David wrote this, Israel had not yet gone into captivity.
That's gonna happen a couple hundred years later when Nebuchadnezzar
comes in and they're all brought out of Israel. So what's he talking
about? You know. Turn to Romans 7. Verse 14. For we know that the law is spiritual,
but I am carnal, sold under sin. That means a slave to sin. Now, Paul is speaking of his
experience, present tense. He didn't say, I used to be carnal
before God saved me. Actually, he didn't know any
of this until God did save him. He didn't know any of this until
God did save him. This is the language of a saved
man. An unbeliever can't even speak this way. They don't understand
it. It makes no sense to them. Well,
if you're saved, how can you describe yourself that way? That's
because they don't have a new nature. They've never been born
again. This is the language of a saved
man. I never will forget somebody
once told me, you need to get out of Romans 7 and into Romans
8. I thought, you're clueless. You're clueless. You've just
never been taught of the Lord. I'm in Romans 7 all the time.
I'm in Romans 8 all the time. All the time. But look what he
goes on to say in verse 23. You can read this a bit. But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity. There's that captivity he's talking
about. Bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in
my members, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from
this body of death? Now, he says in our text, oh,
that the salvation of Israel will come out of Zion when God
bringeth back the captivity of his people, when you're no longer
a sinner. You stand before God, and I think
this is talking about heaven. Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel
shall be glad. But you know what? I rejoice
in the gospel right now, and I'm glad in the gospel right
now for the deliverance from captivity. Now, you can see what
an important Psalm that is. It's repeated twice. That of
the Lord, okay.