In Psalm 51 David is repenting with a broken heart because of his awful sin with Bathsheba. He had committed adultery and attempted to cover it up with murder. It is encouraging indeed to find that the blood of Christ, God's Son, was sufficient to cleanse David from all sin. This Penitential Psalm gives the Scriptural route for a wayward Christian to return to the fellowship of God. We would all do well to constantly pray, "Create in me a clean heart, O God." David knew he was a sinner, and in this Psalm he confesses his sins. True confession of sin involves repentance. There is a vast difference between repentance and confession. Confession is admitting that we have committed sin; while repentance involves godly sorrow for sin and a willingness to turn from that sin.
In Psalm 52 we see David trusting in God and confident of the fact that he would be delivered from his boastful enemies.
In verse 1 of Psalm 53 we read, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." Those who advocate that there is no God, or that "God is dead" should note this great verse carefully. How can anyone observe the beauty of nature and say there is no God? The budding of the flowers and trees, the clouds and the rain-- everything about us--speaks of God. Truly, only a fool could say there is no God.
Although there are many who claim to believe there is no God, this is generally based upon bitterness because of failure in some area of life. The person has a "chip" on his shoulder against God. Therefore, he mentally decides to disclaim the very existence of Deity. The Bible calls this man a fool. God never speaks of mentally deficient people as fools. The fool is always a person who is arrogant and self-sufficient.
In Psalm 54 David cries to God when the Ziphites told Saul where David was hiding; and in Psalm 55 David is betrayed by his friends. This Psalm, like Psalm 41, seems to belong to the time of Absalom's rebellion, referring specifically to Ahithophel.
