Psalm 53: none that doeth good

Those of you who read Dignoscentia on a regular basis know that I use the NJB (New Jerusalem Bible) most of the time, and I also refer to the KJV (King James Version). This psalm proves the usefulness of having at least two good translations of the Bible in your home. In my case, the NJB (which usually clarifies things) confused me here, while the KJV helped set things straight.

Verse 2 troubled me. In the NJB, it says, “God looks down from heaven at the children of Adam…” Then the psalmist goes on to describe these children of Adam as those who are “faithless”, “turned sour”, “evil-doers”, “devouring my people”, etc. This is confusing at first sight! I couldn’t help exclaiming, “What about Enoch?” when I read this. Noah, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, and others who did some wrongs but constantly sought God, sprung to mind as well. They were children of Adam, and yet were being lumped together with the evil-doers here. How could this be?

I turned to my trusty KJV, and in there, verse 2 reads, “God looked down from heaven upon the children of men…” Now, things made sense. You see, in the Bible, there is a distinction among the children of God, and children of men. We are born children of men, and we become children of God when we accept Jesus Christ into our lives and choose to obey God’s Law. The children of men, on the other hand, reject God, and stay away from the saving light of God’s Word, which is the Truth. Also, contrary to what some Christians may believe today, I also believe that when the children of God stray from God, they become children of men once more, and unless they right their relationship with God, they cannot enter heaven. “Once saved, always saved” may sound catchy, but it’s not Biblically correct.

The phrase “children of men” is explained a little better by a passage from Genesis 6:2: “… the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” This sets up a clear distinction between those who belonged to God, and those who were worldly. It’s not that the men belonged to God, and the women to the world. No, what this passage refers to is quite simple. Godly men, who should have stayed close to God and married women who also believed in God, strayed away, attracted by worldly women who did not believe in God, and married them instead, corrupting their own relationship with God, and angering Him, as detailed in verse 3 of that same chapter. As a matter of fact, I encourage you to read the entire 6th and 7th chapters of Genesis, and for some extra information, refer to this article as well.

When we return to this psalm after this background reading, we see the clear (and historical) distinction the psalmist makes between those who belong to God, and those who do not, and, what’s worse, who wrong God’s own. Their fate is laid out in verses 5 and 6. I might add that verse 6 is both historical and prophetic, referring to Jesus Christ’s Second Coming as well as to the Jewish return to Israel – repeated several times throughout history. We, as Christians, are part of the extended family of Israel, grafted in, as Paul states in one of his epistles, and therefore also partake of the wonderful “joy” and “happiness” that is to be experienced at that glorious time.