The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt; their acts are vile.
There is no one who does good.
The LORD looks down from heaven
upon the sons of men
to see if any understand,
if any seek God.
All have turned away,
they have together become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
Will the workers of iniquity never learn?
They devour my people like bread;
they refuse to call upon the LORD.
There they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is in the company of the righteous.
You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
yet the LORD is their shelter.
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When the LORD restores His captive people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!
-Psalm 14 (BSB)
I suspect anyone reading this might be quick to judge the “fool” in this passage. After all, if you are a friend of mine or looking up Psalm 14, there is a strong probability you’re a believer. We might even subconsciously conclude that the “fool” in this passage is nothing like us.
However, as I look at the language longer and meditate on the words, I wonder how many times in my life I have been that fool. I wonder how many times in a day that I am that fool.
Verse two says, “The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.”
Do I always have His understanding at the forefront of my thoughts? Am I constantly, in every waking moment and with every breath, seeking God?
No. I fall short.
This translation of verse three reads, “All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
So, I might be quick to think, “Well, even if I might not be directly focused on God in every moment, at least I’m not turning away from God. It’s not like I’m turning my back on God or abandoning Him.”
But as I studied it more, I found that one of the literal translations isn’t “turned away,” but it means “turned to the side.” Another translation for “corrupt” is more accurately “worthless.”
I think we have all been in a conversation with someone at some point, and we start to lose interest, or we don’t really like the topic, and what do we do? We tend to change our stance and speak with our body language. We stop facing the person directly, to convey a sense that we’re done with the conversation, no longer engaged, no longer giving our full attention.
We often do the same thing with God–we start to give our attention elsewhere, or we get distracted by other things. Suddenly, we turn aside, stop giving Him our full attention, and we lose connection. When we do, we make ourselves “useless” to God. He can’t use us and work through us when He doesn’t have our direct and undivided attention.
So, is this psalm talking about the state of the world, and nations, and society at large, when it says “all have turned away” from God? Absolutely! But I think it applies to me and you individually, just as much.
It’s a strong reminder to give God our undivided attention. That’s what relationship with Him is all about–to keep Him and His righteous Way at the forefront of our attention and activity. That’s what it means to be righteous.
The good news starts in verse five, “for God is in the company of the righteous.”
I don’t think it’s so much that God comes and starts to keep company with us when we’re being righteous. That’s a works-based view. Instead, it’s more that when we keep our company close with God, all the time, then His righteousness starts to shine forth in us.