Corrupted and Hopeful

Psalm 53:2–3 (ESV) God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

This is our natural condition. We cannot do good because we have become corrupt. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. Sin is not an activity before it is first a condition of our very core. 

And where does it begin?
Psalm 53:1 (ESV) The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

This is not talking about Atheism. It's talking about all of us. We want to live and act like there is no God. Why? Because inwardly we want to be our own God. We want to be in charge. Sin is our utterly futile attempts at killing God and taking His place.

Psalm 53:4 (ESV) Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?

This is the reality of the human condition. We are fallen and we are corrupt and we are evil. Even when we do good, we do it for the feeling it gives us, to achieve some semblance of moral superiority within. In fact, we can reject God just as easy by trying to be moral as by not. Morality on our own terms has a long tattered history in humanity.

The Psalm doesn't present a great picture of our condition. But this is the only way we get out - by doing what the Prodigal son did and "come to ourselves" realizing the mess we have made and how much we need the Father.

After declaring our sorry state, the Psalmist turns our attention to the only hope of our lives:





Psalm 53:6 (ESV) Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Only when we understand our condition can we look toward our salvation. We need restoration. We cannot do it, our works are as filthy rags. God must come from His dwelling to us and restore us. Then we will rejoice, not in who we are, but in what God has done for us!

Amen.