Psalm 53 proclaims a God who will deliver his people from those who abuse their power and influence, and live lives of practical atheism. A fool is a person from a community of believers who rebels against God recklessly without fear of divine judgment. God will not forget His people or their plight. Let us explore this psalm a bit more, looking at its genre, movements, background, and theology.

Genre

The literary genre of this psalm is hard to nail down, but a few different but complimentary proposals are suggested. It clearly reads as a wisdom psalm, with its emphasis on the contrast between the foolish who rebel against God and those God protects (53:4). Others see in this contrast a liturgical–an assembly–purpose, as it proclaims God’s past and present deliverances (53:5–6). Some offer the description of prophetic, in that there is a proclamation about God’s judgment on evil and deliverance of his people.

However we map the psalm, the wisdom of God’s prophetic word finds its perfect place in the assembly of God’s people where it is proclaimed.

Movements

One can read Psalm 53 with profit by pausing to reflect on its three progressions. First, Psalm 53:1–3 calls attention to those who have rejected God both in their knowledge and in how they live. In the second movement, Psalm 53:4–5 calls on those who are taking advantage of God’s people to live in the terror of the God who will put them to shame. Finally, verse 6 invokes–either as an intercession or confession–God to reverse the fortunes of Israel through divine deliverance.

Background

The ancient traditional notes in the superscription (i.e., headings) do not always provide helpful information. The organization of this section may lend us some clues from Psalm 52 to 54. They point to the scriptural historical context of David’s life when King Saul pursued him throughout the hill county in 1 Samuel 22–26 (Kidner, Psalms 1–72).

In the heading of Psalm 52, the setting is “when Deog, the Edomite, came and told Saul, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech’” (22:9–10). In 1 Samuel 22, Deog, the chief herdsman of King Saul (21:7), reports to a demoralized king that he saw David with Ahimelech the priest who inquired of the Lord on his behalf (21:1–9). This led to an inquiry by the king, the execution of 85 priests, and the desolation of the priestly city Nob by the hand of Doeg (22:11–19). The story reveals Saul’s insecurity and his unrighteous aggression toward David.

The heading of Psalm 54 relates: “when Ziphites went and told Saul, ‘Is not David hiding among us?’” (26:1). David made his strongholds in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph (23:14) after the Ziphites gave intel to Saul. Despite Saul’s aggression, David refrained from easily killing him twice, once while Saul relieved himself in a cave (24:1–22), and another while sleeping among his soldiers (26:1–25). These events reveal David’s righteousness, patience, and respect for Saul as the Lord’s anointed; in contrast, Saul is a failed king with an unjust vendetta against David, rebellious against God’s plans for the kingdom.

Interwoven between these stories, and bridging between Psalms 52 and 53, is the story of David and the death of the wealthy Calebite, Nabal, a fool. David had protected the city of Keilah from the pillaging Philistines, preserving the livestock and the shepherds (23:1–5) of the wealthy Nabal (25:1–3). When David attempted to claim a good faith reward from him, Nabal harshly denied David, “who is David?” (25:1–13). Nabal’s wife, however, remunerated David and his men (25:14–35). His wife described him as “this worthless fellow, Nabal [nabal], for as his name is, so is he. Nabal [nabal] is his name and folly [unbaleh] is within him” (25:25). The Lord struck him dead (25:36–43). There is a play on his name. Nabal is nabel, that is, he is stupid, senseless, foolish—an idiom for godless as in Psalm 53:1.

As these three stories are connected in 1 Samuel 22–26 (Deog, Nabal, Ziphites), it seems it likewise fits the pattern across Psalm 52–53 (Deog, nabal, Ziphites). These all tell a story of God’s people acting as practical atheists who will be judged by God.

Theology

There are a few theological takeaways to consider. First, taking the liturgical context seriously, the “fool” (nabal) is not a pure atheist but a practical one (53:1). Sadly, God’s people often act as if He is not, and “have become corrupt” (53:3). 

Second, those in leadership positions can lose their fear of God to their own demise. God (‘elohim) is used seven times in this psalm with the same covenantal faithfulness as the usage of Lord (YHWH) in Psalm 14, a parallel psalm. In Psalm 53:5, God is a “consequential God” and will shatter the bones of the enemies of God’s people.

Third, it has been suggested that Paul’s quotation of Psalm 14:1–3/53:1–3 in Romans 3:10–12, was too broad of a statement about all people, and therefore had no justification to use this passage (Gerstenberger, Psalms, Part 1).

A few responses are worth pointing out: (1) the argument in both Psalm 14 and 53 argue that those who should know better, have not properly assessed God’s presence in their lives, do not do good, and so disobey him; (2) Paul’s argument in Romans 1–3 is that both gentile and Jew have no grounds for rejecting God in their knowledge—through natural theology and revealed truth in scripture, both groups are morally corrupted; and, (3) since Paul appeals to gentiles and Jews as the full complement of fallen humanity (Rom 5:12–14), Paul’s use of these psalms fits very well with his purpose.

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