Psalm 53

This will be a very short post, because Psalm 53 is almost identical to Psalm 14. The only major difference is verse 5 of this psalm.

With that in mind, I’m linking to my comments on Psalm 14 for you to review. You may click here for that article.

1. Verse 5 (the major difference in these two psalms) seems to be a celebration of a victory in battle. In fact, the wording seems to indicate a reversal of fortunes in this particular battle. Since David wrote both psalms it is highly likely that he simply took the words of Psalm 14 and applied them to this victory. If that is the case, it teaches us something of how we should study the Bible. We may not take a passage out of context, but we may look at a passage in a different light because of a “life event.” We need to be careful not to mis-apply, but we may see a different context after life throws us a curve. We also need to be careful not to overuse this principle. Remember that David was writing by inspiration, so it was actually God Who chose to use the words of Psalm 14 in this way.