Briefing: We live in a world that does not acknowledge God. The current culture celebrates diversity to the extreme. Everything is acceptable, nothing is out of bounds. Wickedness runs rampant and there is no balance.

Dispatch (Assignment): Read Psalm 53.

On the Street: Psalm 53 was written by David. Verse 1 says, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.” This is a condemnation on all of society. The root of all the problems in societies can be traced back to this statement. Without people on this earth who glorify God, there is no point to human existence.

Humanity has only one hope and that is in Jesus Christ. He is the only way of salvation and the only road to the Father. Satan has spent his existence, since the garden, in an attempt to keep humanity from God. Satan will tell you there is no God, he will tell you there is more than one way to God, he will give you so much entertainment that you never think about God. Satan’s purpose is to deceive you by any means possible to keep your focus on anything but God. Without the hope of Jesus, we are doomed to destruction.

Verse two says, “God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.” God gives us everything we need to be His child. He even makes the gift of salvation simple enough that a child can understand and fully receive it.

“Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Lucky for us we are no longer judged by the system of good. Jesus came and made a way through His sacrifice on the cross so that we don’t have to live by the system of being good enough.

Verses 4-6 speak of the evildoers who want to destroy us. They are the children of this world who hate God. They hate His rules, they hate His desires for their lives, and they hate His righteousness. The children of this world are the people who have bought into Satan’s lies and deceitful tactics. These are the people who are spoken of in verse one. Keep in mind, there is still hope for these people. This is a people who just need to see the truth. They need to see that they have been blinded by Satan’s lies. We cannot afford to look at them as our enemy. We need to see them as the lost children of God who are just waiting for us to show them the light, the path, the one truth that is Jesus Christ.

In the last verse, David makes the prophetic statement, “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!” This verse looks ahead to the millennial reign of Christ found in Revelation. We are still looking for this event.

Investigational Resources: Psalm 14.

Officer Safety Principle: As long as we confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we will have enemies. But remember, He has overcome the world.

from Psalms Through the Eyes of a Cop, Volume 1
©by Charles Gilliland. Used by permission.
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