Sermon on Psalm 53. Other relevant texts: Romans 3; various Pss & Provs; 1 Samuel 25; Jas 3:13f
From http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gsmunro/resource.htm
G.S. Munro. Panania-Milperra Anglican Church, Jan 24, 1999.

When I was looking for information about this psalm on the internet, I came across a webpage designed by atheists. A page that made fun of Psalm 53. They pointed out several so-called fallacies which the Psalmist makes. But after reading the page, I was not worried one little bit. It did not shake my faith in the God who says, "the fool says in his heart there is no God". In fact, it reinforced the words that are written here. Most of what they said showed that they did not even understand what Psalm 53 is on about.

For example, they made the mistake of thinking that 'fool' in the context of this Psalm means one who is not intelligent, one who is stupid. So they said, "well that's not a very good argument is it? All atheists are dumb. It's obviously not correct. Besides, that's just name calling, not an argument!" But that is not what the Psalmist means. People can be very intelligent and yet deny the existence of God. You can still be an intelligent fool, by the biblical definition of the word 'Fool'. The Psalmist is not saying that atheism is wrong because all who hold to it are unintelligent.

In fact, he is not talking primarily about atheism, he is talking primarily about the Fool. "The fool says in his heart, "there is no God." That is, he is describing something that is typical of the attitude of a fool.

Well these atheists I came across also accused the Psalmist of the Strawman Fallacy. That is, you present the weakest version of an argument you can think of, then knock it down. So, they say, you make the atheist say, "there is no God," instead of the more reasonable statement, "there is not sufficient evidence that God exists."

But again, the Psalmist is not pretending to give the view of the sophisticated modern atheist. It is not the atheist who says this, it is the Fool. They made the mistake of treating this psalm as though it were written for a debating contest. But that's not what it is, and we must not make that mistake either, if we want to understand it. It's a poem. It was not written against the arguments of the modern atheist. It was written to god's people, as a warning and an assurance. It was written to those who had already placed their trust in the God they knew to exist. The God who had revealed himself to them. It is not about the atheist, it is about the Fool. And we shall see shortly exactly what the term 'fool' means.

The first thing I want to say about this Psalm by way of application to us then, is use it rightly. It is not of great use in debating with convinced atheists. You tell an atheist, "the bible says you're a fool," and you won't get very far with them. But that is not the audience it is aimed at. Actually I don't think we should enter into arguments trying to prove the existence of God. Why not? Because if you do, you have immediately begun the debate by taking on board the basic assumption of the other side. You cannot start with the false premise that God might not exist, and prove from that basis that he does. You're defeated before you even start. You see, that is the great sleight of hand of the atheist position. They say to us, "prove to me that God exists." But by doing that they are already smuggling in two false assumptions - first, that it is possible for God not to exist; and second, that human reason is capable of proving or disproving his existence. But the fact is God does exist, and there is no possibility of his non-existence. We know he exists, because he has said so. He has revealed himself through his creation, through his prophets, and ultimately in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Well, before I go any further, let's be sure we understand what the Psalmist means by the word, "Fool" - in Hebrew the word "Nabal" (nawbale). It is a word that is used especially in the Wisdom books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes.

Now the atheism Psalm 53 has in mind is not the card-carrying fanatical atheism of the Skeptics Society, or people like Phillip Adams. It is not those pseudo-intellectuals who like to come up with all kinds of sophisticated academic arguments against the existence of God. No, it is the practical atheism of the Fool. Now of course it would include those who intellectually deny God. But primarily it refers to those who LIVE as though God's existence were irrelevant, regardless of what they claim to believe or not believe intellectually about God. So the Fool who says in his heart there is no God could be a churchgoer, or even a priest, if their lifestyle was opposed to God.

Listen to Psalm 10, verse 3 and 4.
For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire, And the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord. 4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, "There is no God."

Very similar saying to Psalm 53:1, isn't it, except here it is the wicked who thinks "there is no God." And did you notice, those verses describe the wicked as both cursing and spurning the Lord on the one hand, and thinking "there is no God" on the other? So it doesn't mean that the wicked or the fool literally believes that God does not exist. It means that the way they think and act shows that they don't really believe he is the kind of God he says he is. They don't believe there is a God who can be sought and found. They are not interested in finding him. They don't believe there is a God who judges and punishes evil. They don't believe God will call them to account for their lack of faith and their wicked actions. They live like God didn't exist. But listen to this warning from Psalm 94:8
8 Take heed, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?
11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man;
he knows that they are futile.

So the word 'fool' describes, not necessarily lack of intelligence, but primarily a lifestyle that is MORALLY foolish because it ignores God. It is a lifestyle that begins and ends with self. It will not submit to the will of God. It is a rebellious lifestyle. Psalm 107:17 says about the Israelites who came out of Egypt, "Some became fools through their rebellious ways."

It is a lifestyle of immorality. Proverbs 10:23 says, "A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct..."

We learn also from Proverbs that the Fool doesn't know how to use his mouth to speak wise words. Proverbs 10:18 …whoever spreads slander is a fool.
Proverbs 15:14 …the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.
Proverbs also speaks of the fool having perverse lips, being quick to quarrel, and simply talking too much.

The Fool's words come from a lifestyle of arrogance and self-assurance that will not seek for or accept correction. Proverbs 12:15 says, "the way of a Fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice."
Proverbs 18:2 "A fool finds no pleasure in understanding, but delights in airing his own opinions."
Proverbs 26:11 "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly."

Finally, Isaiah describes the fool of his day with these words from Isaiah 32 verse 6:

For the fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil:
He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the LORD;
the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water.

[In the Old Testament there is a story about David in 1 Samuel 25, where he meets a man who was just like that - he refused to supply David and his men, even though they had done good to him and were fighting the Lord's battles. This man's name was Nabal - a man who was fool by name and fool by nature. To cut a long story short, he was surly, mean, stingy, and ungodly. His arrogant attitude almost cost the lives of every male in his household, because he incited David and his men to attack him. But his wife Abigail saved the day. She appeased David with wise words and food for his men who were very hungry. Proverbs 1:7 says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowlege, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. This is what Nabal was like, and if you want to get a better idea of what the bible means when it talks about the foolish person, read Nabal's story in 1 Samuel 25.

So, the fool then, is another name for the person who treats God as if he did not matter, as if he did not exist, and lives a self-centred life. The Fool is an ungodly person.]

Now let me ask you a question. Are you a fool? Hands up anyone who when they read verse one, "the fool says in his heart there is no God," hands up if you immediately thought, "hey, that's me!"

It's not something that naturally comes to mind is it? We like to put ourselves in the position of a righteous onlooker when we read this Psalm, sitting back and agreeing with the Psalmist, and saying 'tut tut' - those stupid fools, not believing in God!
But the truth is, we are all fools. Verses 2 and 3 give us the shocking truth:

2 God looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 Everyone has turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.

Now all of these Psalms we are looking at in January are Psalms that are quoted in the New Testament book of Romans which we will be reading together in our services shortly. Romans 3 quotes Psalm 53 as scriptural proof that in our natural, fallen human nature we are all foolish. We all tend towards the position of practical atheism. To put it in modern computing terms, that is our default position. That is what we revert to when the pressure's on. We all live by nature as if God did not matter.

Now you may think, hang on, it says there is no one who does good, not even one - but I do good sometimes, this can't be talking about me. My friends the atheists picked up the same point on their website. They said,

It is obviously not the case that all atheists do nothing but bad deeds. This premise is invalidated by a single example of an atheist doing a single charitable act.

But the problem is again, we misunderstand the Psalm. On two counts. First, it is poetry, and poetry uses language that doesn't have to be taken literally. It's like when we say, "the whole world will be on our doorstep in Sydney next year for the Olympic games." It's obvious that it doesn't mean the whole world literally. In the same way, the Psalmist doesn't have to mean that no one ever does a kind or charitable act. But in any case, there is another way in which he IS literally right. It IS true that no fallen human being does good. Because we're talking here about God's definition of good, not our's. Good means one hundred percent perfect. Good means acts that come from faith in God. Romans 14:23 - "…everything that does not come from faith in God is sin." Good means the kind of lifestyle that Jesus lived, and Jesus alone. Isaiah said, "all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags."

So who are the fools? You are! I am.

Well, is there any hope for the fool?
Praise God, because the bible tells us there is! God has rescued us from our foolishness!

You see, the ultimate expression of human folly and sin, was to kill the Son of God. Those who slew him said in effect, 'He is not God' and therefore are the epitome of those that this Psalm talks about. But God of course was not outsmarted. Jesus became a 'fool' for us. The penalty for the folly of our sin is eternal punishment, but Jesus took our place on the cross to free us from that penalty, and also to enable us to live wise lives - lives that submit to God instead of rebelling.

It is possible for the fool to turn back to find God. [2 Chron 15:2f]

The Fool can repent: listen to what Psalm 107 teaches us.

17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
18 They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent forth his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.

So God gives us fools the opportunity to turn around, turn back to him and by doing so, become wise. And then, like the Psalmist, we will rejoice.
As verse 6 of Psalm 53 says here:
Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Not only that, but if God has saved us from our folly, we want to tell others how they can become wise too. We can help other fools to repent. The Apostle James says, "…remember this, whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." (Jas 5:20)

The second half of verse one says, They are corrupt, and their ways are vile.

The natural product of leaving God out of the picture is corruption and injustice. That is true of nations or individuals.

But the opposite is also true - putting God first results in justice and righteousness and love, and that is what characterizes a truly wise lifestyle. Do you want as Christians to live wisely? Here's how - James 3 verse 13.

13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such ''wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

Please pray for wisdom, for me and your other pastoral leaders. For yourself and your families, so that these words may rightly describe our church this new year.