Psalms 53
Psalms 53:1-6 (NLT)
1 For the choir director: A meditation; a psalm of David. Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!
2 God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.
3 But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!
4 Will those who do evil never learn? They eat up my people like bread and wouldn’t think of praying to God.
5 Terror will grip them, terror like they have never known before. God will scatter the bones of your enemies. You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them.
6 Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel? When God restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.
Complete belief, not just that there is a God but in His purposes and passions is a necessity for the ability to do good. For a world in denial of God and His established righteousness and truth there is absolutely no hope for successful attempts at doing good. Corruption in the heart disables any capacity for goodness. It may appear to be setting off on a path of virtue, but the heart’s denial of God renders it incapable of remaining on a path to goodness that only comes from above.
There is a place of undefeated protection and virtue that is only accessed through complete submission to the work of Jesus on the Cross. Once He becomes the One we acknowledge and take on as our example, tutor, and guide there will be an accompanying transformation to a capacity for goodness not self-generated but provided exclusively by the Father. As He remains mthe only Source of true goodness, the wide path of the world’s self-confident bantering