Psalm 14

Psalm 14

We continue to read the difficult psalms. They are difficult not because it is hard to understand them, but because they describe a difficult situation ‘till the last moment it is not obvious that GOOD will prevail.

Here is another, and I can say – the ultimate example.

It begins with a very straight statement: the Fool says in his heart – there is no God. Since the rest of the psalm is a farther description of the foolishness, we need to spend time on understanding the basics of it.

The word for Fool – Hebrew NaBaL – comes from a verb to fade, to fade away. It is a person who does not have own strength, he is falling down, and faints… Therefore, his decisions are not “solid,” there is not real substance in what he says or does. He is not even will to admit openly his rejection of a presence of God. He says it in his heart. At the same time, we need to remember that a heart of man is a decision-making organ. So, his plans and their execution is based on the fact that he doesn’t recognize any higher power over him. It comes from the usage of the word God in the Bible.  

Very often Christian make a little mistake thinking that God refers only to the one true God. Bible uses the same word speaking of false deities and even humans. At one time the LORD told Moses that he – Moses – is going to be god for pharaoh, and his brother Aaron will be his prophet (Exodus 7:1, note: there is no “like” in the original text). The word God in the Bible can identify any power stronger than us. Since the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit is definitely stronger than us – he is the God.

That’s the reason to point out the foolishness of a wicked man – he thinks that he is the ultimate power in this world. He “relies” on himself only.

If a person believes that he is the ultimate authority in his own life (and, as a result of absence of God, in the life of others), no wonder that his life goes south… vv. 1a – 4 pictures a terrible situation of moral collapse in society. This can happen when most people are under the spell of atheism. These verses became the background for St. Paul list of biblical proof-texts for the dominance of sin in human life (Romans 3:10-23).

Yet, even being neglected, the LORD looks down from heaven. He is searching for a single person who has an understanding, who seeks after God (v. 2). Understanding here means to be prudent or wise. That’s how Samuel describes the actions of David and his “platoon” in comparison to Saul’s commanders (1 Samuel 18:30). God is looking constantly for the people who are going to worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23).

Rejection of God can not bring comfort to a soul – as a result, they are in terror. He is with the generation of the righteous. Meaning that He leaves the wicked on their own – they are in terror because the environment they create. Proverbs picking up the theme say that the wicked falls by his own wickedness (11:5b). Following that St. Paul concludes that God simply gives up the rebels against Him to their own lust and sins (Romans 1:22-25).

The wicked still tries to attack the poor. Poor can be both an economical, social and spiritual condition (Matthew 5:3). But Living One is the refuge for the afflicted. He is the provider, provider of financial and spiritual support and safety.

Seeing that, people can testify that salvation comes from Zion – the place of the fellowship between God and man (Isaiah 2:2-3).   

The psalm ends with a sobering reality – Jacob will rejoice, and Israel will be glad. This WILL happen when the LORD restores the fortunes of His people. What does it mean? It means that His people needed to be restored… They screwed up… So, the fool(s) is everyone of us when we think of ourselves to high [feeding our own pride], or too low [dismissing the image of God]. But God is the Living One – He generously gives live to the people who walked away from Him. He is the One who gives reason to rejoice and be glad.