Something Worth Dying For

Psalm 53

For the choir director: A meditation of David.

1Only fools say in their hearts,

“There is no God.”

They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;

no one does good!

2God looks down from heaven

on the entire human race;

he looks to see if there is even one with real understanding,

one who seeks for God.

3But no, all have turned away from God;

all have become corrupt.

No one does good,

not even one!

4Will those who do evil never learn?

They eat up my people like bread;

they wouldn’t think of praying to God.

5But then 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.

6Oh, that salvation would come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel!

For when God restores his people,

Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.

Jan Huss was ordained a priest in the first year of the fifteenth century—not an easy time to be a devout Christian. The church at the time was riddled with corruption. Huss was a university professor and preacher, and he became known as someone who would not hesitate to speak his mind. For a while he worked for the archbishop investigating miracle claims, but sadly he determined that most of the reported events were fraudulent get-rich-quick schemes. Could anyone be trusted?

Everything was political in those days, with Huss’s homeland of Bohemia walking a tightrope of independence between the church and the Holy Roman Empire. For a while there were two popes, then three, with all of them excommunicating one another. Huss tried to stay neutral, focusing on the authority of Scripture rather than any pope. Finally Huss was called before a church council, and the authorities claimed that his teachings were heretical. Given a chance to renounce his words, Huss replied, “I would not, for a chapel full of gold, recede from the truth.” So Jan Huss was burned at the stake in 1415. Shortly before his death, he recited Psalm 53, an appropriate text for a good man in the midst of a corrupt generation.

Are you facing a difficult situation in which you must stand for what is right in the midst of corruption? Like Jan Huss, take confidence in Psalm 53, and know that God is watching over you and will strengthen you.

Are all the foes of Zion fools,

Who thus devour her saints?

Do they not know her Savior rules

And pities her complaints?

ISAAC WATTS

Fascinating Fact

This psalm is almost identical to Psalm 14.

Bible Networking

Find out what a “fool” is according to these passages: Psalm 92:5-6; Proverbs 14:7-9; and Luke 12:20-21.

Notable Quotable

“The fear of God is either an impelling motive, leading in the ways of life; or it becomes a compelling terror, issuing in destruction.”

G. CAMPBELL MORGAN