What if your soul weighs more than a feather? s30e146 ps53

The ancient Egyptians had a mythology that visually describes the big  point today from Psalm 53: they believed that at the moment judgement, if the cumulative bad deeds of one’s life, weighed more than a FEATHER, you were condemned and then instantly devoured, consumed by this evil creature that stood at the ready for such a moment. 

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Transcript

What if your soul weighs more than a feather? s30e146 ps53

There Is None Who Does Good

53 To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. 

1    The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; 

there is none who does good.

2    God looks down from heaven 

on the children of man

       to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God. 

3    They have all fallen away; 

together they have become corrupt; 

       there is none who does good,

not even one.

4    Have those who work evil no knowledge, 

who eat up my people as they eat bread, 

and do not call upon God? 

5    There they are, in great terror, 

where there is no terror! 

       For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; 

you put them to shame, for God has rejected them. 

6    Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! 

When God restores the fortunes of his people, 

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad. 

This is a psalm about a fool

fool. There are three Hebrew words for fool, and all speak of moral orientation rather than intellectual ability. The term here denotes someone who stubbornly rejects wisdom; ESV Study Bible.

The fool in this psalm isn’t stupid.  This doesn’t mean low IQ.

The fool here is one who, dispite all the evidence, comes to the erroneous understanding that there is no GOD

            Either He doesn’t exist, doesn’t care, doesn’t touch our world

Here the fool is the assessment of one’ posture toward God

            It is an assessed conclusion.  After committed thought this is where I end up on

Is it a surprise then that corruption, abominal deeds, and being up to no good follow?

What are abominable deeds? vile actions that after evaluation that leave one with horror or disgust.

            If you are interested in doing detestable deed, you’d best come to the same conclusion: There is no God.

So first there is an assessment of the fool and then the rest: THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD

            Compared to God; using godly judgment; using heavenly criteria

            There is none who does good. Certainly not good enough

            No one will go before the judgment seat of Christ and independently say, I’ve got this; I’m OK; I’ve earned heaven.

No one will say: I have lived a perfect life…and yes, that is the criteria.

It is NOT: do my good deed balance out my bad deeds or…

Was I a pretty good person compared to… always pick hitler and Jeff Dahlmer rather than billy graham and mother Theresa.

No, we will go cowering and remembering and regretting before God, worthy of wrath, punishment, banishment…UNLESS WE HAVE HELP.

The book of Hebrews talks the most excellent savior, better than angels, better than moses and Jesus is the high priest.

4:16 let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy

 And find grace to help in time of need.  How? By the merits of Jesus, not by the pretty good, grading on a curve that we do with ourselves.

Jesus became our salvation getter by the power of an indestructible life Heb 7:16

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand; who seek after God; who haven’t turned aside

THERE is NONE who does good not even one

            This is an advertisement to stay with the people of Israel

            To continue on the resuce mission plan that was at this point only 1000 years away

If you are on your high horse of pride today read Ps53. 

            The evil are not good enough

            The pretty good are not good enough

            Nobody is good enough—I don’t care if you are priest, pastor or president…we ALL need a savior.  All. Every one of us cannot make it.

The ancient Egyptians had a mythology that visually describes the point : they beilieved that upon the moment judgement, if the cumulative bad deeds of one’s life, weighed more than a FEATHER, you were judged, condemned and then instantly devoured, consumed by this evil creature that stood at the ready for such a moment.

I think they had at least this part correct: we are judged, we are weighed, but NO onE’s heart weighs less than a feather. 

If you go to my church this Sunday you will not find the righteous.

No, you find a church of those who agree with God about Psalm 53: Your righteousness is not good enough

            In other words: you are sinners. All of you: pastor, elders, teachers, mothers, fathers, children.

Romans 3:23 restates this in the NT: All have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God.  It is not whether you are a schooch shinier than your bad neighbor, it is whether you are as shiny as God Himself, as Jesus, as the Spirit. 

We cannot compare. We are in big trouble. The evil, the “good”, all of us cannot make it by our righteousness.  V.7 O that salvation would come out of ZION. This psalm sets up the gospel.

Come back tomorrow for the good news.