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For the director of music.
Of David.
1The fool says in his heart, "There is
no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no-one who does good.
2The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons
of men
to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
3All have turned aside,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no-one who does good, not even one.
4Will evildoers never learn--
those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on the LORD?
5There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is their refuge.
7Oh, 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!
In Psalm 14, David speaks of man's rejection of God and its resulting wickedness. Then he speaks of the salvation of God for those who turn to Him. The inscription reminds us that this psalm, as well as many others, was written "for the director of music." The psalms, by and large, were written so that all may join in, through music, in the worship of God.
1The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no-one who does good.
David begins the psalm by defining what is, according to the Bible, the height of foolishness. "There is no stupidity more brutish than forgetfulness of God."[Footnote #10] In verse 1, we see that the Biblical name for atheist is "fool". Contrary to popular belief, it is not those who believe in God, but those who do not believe in God that are fools. "The leading truths of natural religion are so clear that it is folly to deny them."[Footnote #11]
Some nowadays may think that they are modern, advanced thinkers when they declare that there is no God, but atheism is nothing new; and the acceptance of atheism in society, its voguishness, comes and goes like a passing fad. Sometimes, atheists are admired in society; other times, they keep quiet. And so here, the fool keeps his atheistic statements "in his heart." Certainly, at the time of David's writing, a time of God's visible intervention in the nation of Israel, it would be absurd to claim aloud that there is no God. Undoubtedly, many of those who were speaking atheism "in their hearts", were at the same time paying lipservice to a belief in God, as many do today. "Words are cheap; but what a man `says in his heart' shows whether he is a wise man or a fool, a saint or a sinner."[Footnote #12]
Atheism, being the depth of depravity, leads to other forms of depravity, and so, David notes that the atheists "are corrupt; their deeds are vile." All corruption is the result of disbelief, for how can one have a strong awareness of the presence of God, and yet still be corrupt? The corruption of the secret atheists reveal, more accurately than their words, the belief of their hearts, their belief that "there is no God."
David then says, surprisingly, "There is no one who does good." In speaking of atheists, is David speaking of all of us (after all, he states that "no one" does good)? More on this in the next section.
2The LORD looks down from heaven on
the sons of men
to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
3All have turned aside,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no-one who does good, not even one.
David now switches to God's point of view: "The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God." However, "all have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no-one who does good, not even one." God searches for a good man, but does not find him. In God's eyes, depravity, indeed atheism, is universal. David's language is unambiguous, unqualified and all-inclusive. He says: "any", "any", "all", "no-one", "not even one." We all stumble into atheism whenever we sin, for in effect, by sinning, we are saying, "There is no God" or "God is not watching." As stated above, if we truly had an awareness of the presence of God, we would not sin.
It is "the LORD" who looks down, a name that we in our denial of God do not attribute to Him. Despite our denial of God, He "looks down" and sees us in our sin, and holds us accountable for it. God is not indifferent to the goings-on of man, though atheists think He is. Disbelief in God does not cause Him to disappear.
Though He searches, God finds none who "understand": we do not understand the serious of sin, we do not understand the hatred of God for sin, we do not understand the power of God to judge sin. Also, He finds none that "seek God": "None seek Him aright, and as He ought to be sought, nor can [they do so] while they live in sin; for men in seeking God fail in many things: as, First, men seek Him not for Himself. Secondly, they seek Him not alone, but other things with Him. Thirdly, they seek other things before Him, as worldlings do. Fourthly, they seek Him coldly or carelessly. Fifthly, they seek Him inconstantly; [like] Judas and Demas. Sixthly, they seek Him not in His word, as heretics do. Seventhly, they seek Him not in all His word, as hypocrites do. Lastly, they seek Him not seasonably and timely, as profane, impenitent sinners do; have no care to depend upon God's word, but follow their own lusts and fashions of this world."[Footnote #13]
Moreover, "all have turned aside." In our natural selves, without the Spirit of God, we turn from God. As Paul points out: "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14). In turning aside, "they have together become corrupt." Sin begets sin. When immorality is hip (as it is in a large part today), many become immoral, and the moral standards of all society are lowered so that even the righteous are drawn into sin.
Finally, "there is no-one who does good", and (if by chance we do not fully comprehend this) David adds, "not even one." How can this be, with all the charitable works in the world? But think: do we do any good thing without mixed motives? Do we tithe, but for the tax write-off? Do we serve, but for the accolades of men? Do we preach, but to show off our oratorical skills? Do we evangelize, but to make points with God? Do we love, but to be loved? As Jesus said, "No one is good--except God alone" (Mark 10:17).
4Will evildoers never learn--
those who devour my people as men eat bread
and who do not call on the LORD?
5There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is their refuge.
Having established that "there is no-one who does good, not even one", David (in these verses) makes a distinction between God's people and those who will be judged by God. Those who will be judged, the "evildoers", are those "who do not call on the LORD". And so, though all sin, some call on the Lord and some do not. Those who call on the Lord, call on Him for forgiveness of sin, for forgiveness for not seeking Him, for salvation from judgment.
As for the others, those "evildoers never learn". They do not "learn", despite evidence of God's existence in the world around them, despite evidence of God's presence in the lives of His people. The evildoers "devour" God's people, often because God's people make them feel condemned for their apathy concerning God. The evildoers also, in their depravity, take advantage of the helpless and "frustrate the plans of the poor." However, as they see evidence of God's protection on His people, they are "overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous." So, those who are so defiant in verse 1, by saying "There is no God", later stand in fear, "overwhelmed with dread." Their fear of God and the evidence of the presence of God should cause the "evildoers" to reconsider their atheism, but this rarely happens. Nevertheless, God is with His people, "the LORD is their refuge."
7Oh, 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!
Consideration of his circumstance causes David to cry out for the Messiah, for Jesus Christ to "come out of Zion." David knew that the misfortunes of the people of God are temporary, and that the Messiah would come in glory to save them. David here was crying out for the "salvation of Israel". This is the salvation that the Jews of Christ's time were looking for. They were looking for Christ to overthrow the Roman government and set up His kingdom on earth. However, Christ first had a much more important mission for His first coming, that was to bring us our personal salvation. David was looking for the Messiah to bring peace to Israel; Christ first, more valuably, brought us peace with God.
David, though, longs for the time "when the LORD [will restore] the fortunes of His people." Make no mistake, the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back to earth to set up His kingdom. When He does, the salvation of His people will come once and for all, and the corruption of the evildoers will be done away with.
The mere thought of the Lord's salvation should cause us to shout with joy, so David says: "Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!" The two personalities of the people of God praise Him: "Jacob", the striver who grabs the heel of his brother, "rejoices"; "Israel", the wrestler who holds on to the angel of the Lord until he receives a blessing, is "glad."
Indeed, Lord, we praise You for Your salvation, the greatest possession that we have. We praise You that You have reached down to save us, though we have so largely rejected You. Give us, by Your Spirit, a greater awareness of Your presence, so that we may live purer lives. We pray these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
(Our study in the Psalms will continue in the next issue)
10. John Calvin, cited in Plumer, Studies in the Book of Psalms, pg. 196.
11. Plumer, Studies in the Book of Psalms, pg. 196.
12. Ibid.
13. Thomas Wilson (1653), in Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, pg. 171.
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