Psalm 14
Psalm 14 (a wisdom poem), along with its nearly identical twin Psalm 53, contains profound reflections on human depravity. It is more like a prophetic message than a psalmist’s lament, since God is not addressed. The life-setting of the psalm is not clear. Some think David is describing a group within Israel who were victimizing the poor (Micah 3:1; Isaiah 3:14); others suggest that the psalm reflects the hardships of Israel in a godless and hostile world.
Alternately, verses 1-3 may be seen as a description of mankind in general, and verses 4-6 as referring to the godless within Israel. It is certainly a description of humanity as a whole and not merely of a period of extreme moral decay in Israel; it is as appropriate today as it was in David’s day.
The psalm may be divided into three parts:
Part 1 (vv. 1-3)—A picture of universal godlessness.
Part 2 (vv. 4-6)—Expresses astonishment at the lack of moral understanding displayed by the wicked who leave God out of their thinking.
Part 3 (v. 7)—looks forward hopefully to the joyful restoration of God’s people.
This psalm could be dedicated to the atheist. With the denial of God’s existence often comes the moral decay described in verses 1-6 and which was used by Paul to prove the universal depravity of the human race— “As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.’” (Romans 3:10-12). While the fool may deny that God exists, the righteous find Him in the object of hopeful prayer for deliverance (v. 7).
In this psalm the word “fool” stands in opposition to the “wise” (which in this psalm is expressed with the two phrases: “any who understand” and “any who seek God” – verse 2). Human denial of God is not enough to make God keep His distance. He makes himself known in the company of the righteous (verse 5).
PRAY
Father, thank you today that you are all-powerful, all-knowing and always perfectly good. Thank you for your daily mercies to us as we struggle through such challenging times. Father, we confess that we do not seek your presence as we ought. We confess that we have settled for lesser things, when we know you desire us to have a personal, close relationship with you.