Commentary - Psalm 53:4-5

Bird's-eye view

Psalm 53 is a sobering diagnosis of the human condition apart from God, and it is a diagnosis that is important enough to be given to us twice in the Psalter, the other place being Psalm 14. The central point is that sin is not an unfortunate mistake that well-meaning people make from time to time. Rather, sin is a form of functional atheism. The fool says in his heart that there is no God, and the fruit of this internal conviction is a life of corruption and abominable iniquity. This psalm is not about the handful of people who write books against God, but about the state of every human heart before grace gets ahold of it.

In verses 4 and 5, the psalmist pivots from the general condition of mankind to the specific outworking of this godlessness against the people of God. The workers of iniquity are not content to be corrupt on their own; their rebellion inevitably targets the righteous. But their brazen confidence is built on a delusion. They operate as though God is not a factor, and so when God finally does act, their terror will be as sudden as it is complete. The passage shows us the stark contrast between the arrogant presumption of the wicked and the sudden, shattering reality of God's judgment.

Outline

Context In Psalms

Psalm 53 is nearly identical to Psalm 14. The most significant difference is the consistent use of "Elohim" (God) here, whereas Psalm 14 uses "Yahweh" (the LORD) more frequently. This is characteristic of the second book of the Psalms (Psalms 42-72), which is sometimes called the "Elohistic Psalter." The repetition of this psalm underscores the foundational importance of its message. The Bible is not afraid to repeat itself when a lesson is crucial, and this is one of them.

The theme of the fool who denies God is central to biblical wisdom literature. This is not about intellectual capacity, but moral and spiritual rebellion. The fool is the man who organizes his life as though there were no final accountability to a holy God. This psalm fits squarely within the biblical teaching on the absolute necessity of divine grace. As Paul argues in Romans 3, quoting from this very psalm, "none is righteous, no, not one." This psalm is the bad news that makes the good news of the gospel so necessary and so glorious.

Key Issues

Commentary

Psalm 53:4

Do the workers of iniquity not know,

The question is rhetorical, but it drips with divine astonishment. Is it possible to be that blind? The answer, of course, is yes. This is not a lack of information. These are not men who would do better if they just had a few more facts. Theirs is a willful, culpable ignorance. They suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18). They are "workers of iniquity," which means this is their trade, their craft. They are skilled in it. And the foundation of their entire enterprise is a resolute refusal to "know." They do not know because they do not want to know. To acknowledge God would ruin their entire business model.

Who eat up my people as they eat bread

This is what functional atheism always leads to. If there is no God in your heart, there will be no charity in your hands. The hatred of God invariably translates into a hatred for the people of God. And notice the casual nature of their cruelty. They devour God's people like a man eats a sandwich for lunch. It is unremarkable. It is routine. There is no conscience to bother them, no fear of reprisal to restrain them. The people of God are seen as nothing more than a resource to be consumed, an obstacle to be removed, or a victim to be exploited. This is what happens when men see other men, made in God's image, as mere matter.

And do not call upon God?

Here is the root of the whole problem, laid bare. Their predatory behavior is a direct result of their prayerlessness. They do not call upon God because, as the first verse established, in their hearts they have concluded He is not there. Or if He is, He is irrelevant. Prayer is the creature's acknowledgment of the Creator. It is an admission of dependence, of need, of accountability. The wicked will not do this. Their pride is too great. They are their own gods, and you don't pray to anyone but yourself when you are the center of your own universe. This refusal to call upon God is the very definition of their folly.

Psalm 53:5

There they were in great dread where no dread had been;

And here is the great reversal. The scene shifts in a heartbeat. One moment, they are casually eating their lunch, devouring God's people without a care in the world. The next, they are seized by a terror that comes out of nowhere. "Where no dread had been" indicates the source of their previous confidence. It was not based on a careful assessment of the situation. It was based on their foundational premise: there is no God to fear. They feared no earthly threat, and they certainly feared no heavenly one. But when God decides to show up, He brings the fear with Him. This is not a natural fear; it is a supernatural dread, a holy terror visited upon those who thought they were untouchable.

For God scattered the bones of him who encamped against you;

The cause of their terror is now explained with a graphic image of total defeat. An army that encamps against you is an organized, confident, and menacing threat. But God does not just defeat them; He annihilates them. He scatters their bones. This is a picture of a battle that is so decisively over that there is no one left to bury the dead. Their skeletons are strewn across the landscape as a monument to their folly. This is what happens when a finite creature declares war on the people of the infinite God. The judgment is not just punitive; it is deconstructive. Their entire enterprise is dismantled, right down to the bone.

You put them to shame, because God had rejected them.

The verse concludes by bringing the application home to the people of God. "You put them to shame." The victory God wins is a victory He shares with His people. The saints are not passive spectators in this conflict; they are the instruments of God's vindication. But the ultimate reason for the enemies' defeat is not the strength of the saints, but the settled disposition of God. "Because God had rejected them." The Hebrew word here is one of contempt and despising. Their shame is the public manifestation of God's private verdict. He has looked upon their pride, their cruelty, and their functional atheism, and He has utterly despised it. Their whole project was rejected from the beginning. The final battle is simply the moment when God's rejection becomes plain for all to see.

Application

The message of this psalm is a bracing tonic against two opposite errors. The first is the error of despair. When we see the wicked prosper, when we see them devouring the church as though it were a light snack, we can be tempted to think that God is indifferent. This psalm reminds us that God sees, He knows, and His judgment, though it may tarry, will be sudden and complete. The arrogant confidence of the ungodly is a bubble, and God holds the pin.

The second error is the error of presumption. This psalm is a mirror, and when we look into it, we see our own hearts apart from grace. Every sin, every time we act as though God is not watching, every moment of prayerlessness, is a small echo of the fool's creed. We must therefore cling to the gospel, which tells us that God has not rejected us. In Christ, He has accepted us. God's own Son was encamped against on Calvary, His body was broken, and He was put to shame. He endured the ultimate rejection so that we, former workers of iniquity, might be called the people of God. Our only hope is to be found in Him, the one who called upon God and was heard.