Psalm 14

Psalm 1 tells us God’s eyes are on the righteous and the way of the ungodly will perish.  Psalm 14 tells us God’s eyes are on mankind and the way of the righteous will be blessed.

Psalm 14 is interesting in that it is duplicated in Psalm 53.  One wonders why, and it would seem there is no answer except that the Spirit of God desired it for some profit to those who would read.  All Scripture is profitable!  But with that obvious answer, one wonders still why this song that so strongly emphasizes the sinfulness of man.  After all, the Apostle Paul drew heavily on this in Rom. 3:9-18 when he was declaring the depravity of mankind.  Rom. 3:10-12 (quoting Psalm 14:1-3/53:1-3) stress the depravity of man’s character before speaking of the depravity of his words and deeds.  

So again, why duplicate this song?  Is it because we will tend to forget how sinful we are and need the reminder?  Perhaps.  But actually this Psalm is meant to be encouragement to God’s people.  It ends with a prayer (v7) for God’s salvation from the workers of iniquity around them.  So perhaps it is repeated because God’s people often find themselves in this situation, where they are in the minority.  That is the world today, where Christ has left His church until He comes for them.  And it was the world in which the righteous of Israel found themselves.  We may forget our depravity; so let us be reminded that apart from the grace of God these Psalms describe us!  But also, we may lose hope, forgetting the promised refuge of God as we frequently fret about the evil that surrounds us.  Let us be encouraged!

Let us note a few things from this Psalm.  Verse 1 (“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’”) speaks of practical atheism more than intellectual atheism (using intellectual rather loosely).  In the end, what the fool does is to doubt God’s faithfulness to His people.  In that sense he says, “NO GOD!  I can get away with taking advantage of these do-gooders.”  He is indeed a fool.  In fact, God is not absent.  He is actually in heaven looking down upon mankind looking to see if there is anyone who seeks Him.  He finds there are NONE that do good, a phrase repeated with emphasis in v6.  

In vs. 7 there is a question as to what is meant by “captivity”.  This is said to be “of David” (although the inscriptions are not part of the inspired text).  What captivity was he talking about?  1) Egypt?  No, of course not.  That is long past.  2) Babylon?  Not likely.  David knew nothing of that.  3) Some captive situation in David’s day?  Again, not likely.  We know nothing of that kind of event in the stories of the Writings.  4) Some symbolic situation that seemed like captivity?  Some hold to this idea and it could be the case, though if there is a literal captivity we are better to lean that way.  The application to our own lives is symbolically presented for we certainly depend on God’s providential care as have His people in every age.  He is always with “the generation of the righteous” (v5).  Though the earth shames God, “the counsel of the poor,” yet He is ever their refuge.

May I suggest one other possibility?  Perhaps David knew Deut. 32.  As I read the Prophets it appears to me we often underestimate how well they knew the books of Moses, especially Deuteronomy.  Moses was told by God that Israel would certainly be rebellious to the point of God removing them from the land and casting them to the nations.  But then He promised not to destroy them completely but to bring them back.  Could it be that this prayer for salvation from captivity has in mind the ultimate salvation of God’s people?  In that case what he would be praying for is the work of God that revolves around the greater Son of David, the Messiah.  And it will happen at a time when the workers of iniquity will be at their strongest in attacking God’s people as if they had no Refuge!

Let us not be shocked by the wickedness of the wicked.  When we are it is an indication we have forgotten the depth of our own sinfulness.  And when we forget that, we cannot begin to fathom the awesomeness of God’s grace.  But not only that: let us not be dismayed by the wickedness of the wicked.  Let us cry out to God to save us.