Psalm 14

Psalm 14 (NIV)

For the director of music. Of David.

1 The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven
on the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 All have turned aside,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Will evildoers never learn—
those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on the LORD ?
5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is their refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Observation
What are some of the key idea or word that has been repeated throughout the Psalm?

David here describes the atheistic fool. In biblical terms, a fool is a person with heart trouble, not head trouble.

Verse 1 –3 give the characterization of the wicked.

Q: What are the characteristics of the wicked or fool?
A: He believes that there is no God, and leads a corrupt life, v1.

Q: What does Heart refer to in Biblical language?
A: It refers to the center of the human spirit, from which spring emotions, thought, motivation, courage and action. [...]

No one who does good, mankind in general is corrupt. Here the reference is to those who take no account of God and do not hesitate to show malice toward “the company of the righteous”

V3 turned aside, from God and goodness.

Contrasting words are used
a. The fool (v1) and The Lord (v2)
b. Evildoers (v4 and v6) and the company of the righteous (v6)
c. “frustrate the plans of the poor..” (v6) and “restores the fortunes of his people”(v7).

Interpretation
Background:

A testimony concerning the folly of evil men. This psalm has many links with psalm 10; psalm 12. It shares the view of psalm 11 that the righteous Lord is on the throne, and it stand in contrast with psalm 15, which describe those who are acceptable by God. Psalm 53 is a revised duplicate of Psalm 14.

As a practical atheist, living his life as if there were no God, he is separated from the wisdom revealed in God’s Word. As a result he is corrupt, spoiling whatever he does. He actions are vile, that is, he does abominable things that the Lord hates. Without faith no one can please God, so there are none who do good. (v1)

The psalmist pictured the Lord looking to see if anyone had understanding, that is, any were seeking God. The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord. Since the fool refuses to accept this fact, he has no understanding. (v2)

Q: What is the theme?
A: Knowing that the human race is foolish and corrupt, and that the Lord will destroy such people for their actions, the psalmist longed for the establishment of the Lord’s kingdom on earth.

Q: What is the key verse?
A: Verse 7

Application
No one can escape from the judgment of God. How then shall we live? We have to live every single moment of our live believing that God exist. We should not procrastinate but proactively seize every opportunity to share the good news of God to family and friends who are pre-believers.

Source
• The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Walvoord Zuck
• The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan.