Psalm 14

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:33:02utc

Adam Clarke's Commentary says about the title "Of David," the following: "There is nothing particular in the title; only it is probable that the word lª-Daawid , of Dauid, is improperly prefixed, as it is sufficiently evident, from the construction of the Psalm, that it speaks of the Babylonish captivity. The author, whoever he was, (some say Haggai, others Daniel, etc.,) probably lived beyond the Euphrates. He describes here, in fervid colors the iniquity of the Chaldeans. He predicts their terror and destruction, he consoles himself with the prospect of a speedy return from his exile; and hopes soon to witness the reunion of the tribes of Israel and Judah. It may be applied to unbelievers in general."

Since the content of this psalm "may be applied to unbelievers in general," there does not seem to be sufficient reason, however, to presume that it was not written by David, but that it would belong to the period of the Babylonian captivity or thereafter. There were fools in David's days. The Hebrew word for "fool" is nabal, and some people in David's lifetime were called Nabal.^¹ Strong's Dictionary defines nabal as "stupid; wicked (especially impious)."

The evangelist D. L. Moody was once handed a slip of paper just before he entered the pulpit. The note had only the word "fool" written on it. Moody read the note aloud and then commented: "I have heard of anonymous letters, in which people send a message without signing their names, but this is the first time in my life that I receive an anonymous letter without the message and only the signature." He then opened his Bible and started to preach from the text: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' "

The "fool" does not state a fact, but he rather expresses the content of his heart. What this man is actually saying is: "No God! No God!" The Adam Clarke's Commentary says: "The word is not to be taken in the strict sense in which we use the term atheist, that is one who denies the being of a God, or confounds him with matter. … There are others, and they are very numerous, who, while they profess to acknowledge both, deny them in their heart, and live as if they were persuaded there was no God either to punish or reward."

So, the fool David speaks about is a man whose life demonstrates, by his immoral conduct, that he has no personal relationship with God. The fool makes no theological statement, but a moral one, not openly, but in his heart. He is not an honest doubter who cannot bring himself to believe in God because he does not see any proof his reason can accept, but he is someone who resists the consequences and restrictions which a recognition of God's sovereignty would entail for his personal life. He demonstrates the same attitude as the kings of the earth who took their stand and the rulers in Psalm Two, who gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One and said: "Let us break their chains, and throw off their fetters."² The man who says in his heart: "No God!" tries to convince himself in order to find a legal basis for his illegal acts. The implication of his statement is that the existence of God puts man, who is created by God, under the moral obligation to live in accordance with God's will. It also implies that a recognition of this situation is a reasonable and a logical one. A person who sees reality and acts accordingly is wise and reasonable. Those who try to deny reality are fools; and if a man is a fool concerning the things that are basic to his existence, he is foolish in other respects also.

What gives this psalm such a moving character is the compassion and pity God demonstrates in His search for man who seeks Him. We read in vs. 2: "The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God." In a literal sense, of course, the omniscient and omnipresent God does not have to look for people or things; seeking implies things hidden, and for God there are no blank spots on the map of the earth. In wrongly attributing acts to God that are non-existent, David expresses God's love for man and His longing for fellowship with him. For a holy God, however, it is impossible to have fellowship with man who is sinful.

Among the whole population of this world everyone is carried away by the current of evil; there is not one individual who swims upstream. Ironically, the psalm begins with the picture of an individual who makes a statement, but this individual is sucked up immediately in the masses of those who are lost. Man who wants to maintain his individuality outside of God loses himself in the multitude. Looking down from heaven, God does not find one single exception among men. "All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."

It strikes us as strange, therefore, that immediately following those words, God speaks about some people as "My people," since that group, obviously was also included in the mass of those who had become corrupt; nobody being excepted. That is, probably, why Adam Clarke assumes that the poet is speaking about the people of Israel in Babylonian captivity. Measured with the standard of God's goodness, not even the righteous measures up. This thought is the strength of Paul's argument in Romans, when he quotes this psalm, saying: "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.' "³ Paul's conclusion is: "There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."⁴

A person becomes a member of God's people, not because he is good or because he seeks after God, but because his sins are forgiven. The second half of this psalm, therefore, beginning with vs. 4, deals with the relationship between those whose sins are forgiven and those who have not received forgiveness, nor want to receive it. The fool in vs. 1 is not only a man who keeps God out of his life, but also one who devours his fellowmen. The Bible never draws a line between loving God and loving one's neighbor. Injustice in inter-human relations can always be traced to a break with God. That is why David speaks in the same breath about "those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD." The fool does not understand that God identifies Himself with "the company of the righteous." He who abuses the image of God, attacks God Himself. Imagine the horror and astonishment of the wicked who thinks he can destroy his fellowman, when he realizes that the object of his sadism stands under the protection of the Almighty!

Vs. 6 sounds unclear in most translations. The NIV renders it with: "You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge." The RSV says: "You would confound the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge," and in the KJV we read: "Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge." The question is who are the persons addressed? TLB circumvents the question by saying: "He is the refuge of the poor and humble when evildoers are oppressing them," which links the verse with the previous one in a more logical way. The Interlinear Bible says: "The counsel of the poor You have shamed for Jehovah (is) his refuge." We would rather expect that the plans of the evildoers are frustrated, since the poor can always take their refuge in God. If the phrase can be turned around in this way, the word "shamed" would be a fitting translation. From the KJV we would deduct that the counsel of the poor would not be in accordance with the will of God, which, of course, is a possibility. A twin brother of this psalm is Psalm 53, in which we find most of the text of this psalm with only a few slight variations. The parallel verse to vs. 6 here reads there: "There they were, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread. God scattered the bones of those who attacked you; you put them to shame, for God despised them."⁵ This puts the shame on the evildoers.

The Adam Clarke's Commentary throws an interesting light upon the last verse. He says that a literal translations reads: "Who will gave from Zion salvation to Israel?" The question then is whom God will use as His instrument to save His people. In this way, the psalm becomes an expression of longing for the coming of the Messiah. Zion is the place where the ark was situated, the place God had chosen as the seat of His revelation on earth.

The KJV uses the word "captivity." We read: "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad." On the basis of this verse some commentators mean that this psalm was written during the Babylonian exile. The NIV, as well as the RSV, read: "When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!" The Hebrew word for "fortunes" or "captivity" is. We hold to it that the phrase "Of David" literally means that David wrote this poem.

¹ See I Sam. 25:3

² Ps. 2:2,3

³ Rom. 3:10-12

⁴ Rom. 3:22^b,23

⁵ Ps. 53:5