Knowing God – Psalm 14

“To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.”

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.” Psalm 14:1

Romans 1:28 says, “Even as they [people who suppress truth in unrighteousness – see Romans 1:18] did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.”

Psalms 107:17 says, “Fools are afflicted because of their transgression.” Proverbs 13:19 says, “It is abomination to fools to depart from evil.” Proverbs 27:22 says, “Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them.”

I heard a preacher say, “A man’s morality impacts his theology.” When a person wants to sin, he or she is apt to adopt a different theology or philosophy than that which is in the Bible. In other words, move the goal posts so that his or her conscience is not bothered by his or her lifestyle.

Saying to oneself that there is no God and that His Word does not apply to you does not change the fact that God exists and that He says in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “If we go astray in our doctrine, eventually our life will go astray as well. You cannot separate what a man believes from what he is.” Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “

Sinners are “fooled” because they lack discernment. For example, in Genesis 34:7, Shechem thought nothing of raping Jacob’s daughter and afterwards asking for her hand in marriage. When “Jacob’s sons heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious, because Shechem had done an outrageous thing in Israel by sleeping with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.” They put Shechem to death.

Hebrews 4:12 says that “The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” God’s Word helps those who receive it to discern right thoughts from wrong ones. Psalm 119:130 says that the entrance of God’s words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.

“The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside. They have together become corrupt. There is none who does good, no, not one.” Psalm 14:2-3

God is an eye-witness, “The Lord looked down from heaven.” Was there anyone who wanted to know God? God could not find one. And why were they corrupt? They refused to retain God in their knowledge! They did not want to know their Creator and Savior.

In Genesis 1:31, after God created the world, He looked, and it was very good. However, by Genesis 6:5, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continuously.” Genesis 6:8 says, “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” In this regard, Noah was a type of Christ.

In Noah’s day, humankind was about to be destroyed, but God expressed grace through one man named Noah. In Romans 5:12-15, God saves humankind from His wrath on sin via the grace of one Man named Jesus Christ. “Just as through one man sin entered the world... much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.” Romans 5:18 adds, “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.” And Romans 5:20 concludes, “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” There is more grace in the One Man Jesus Christ than there is sin in the entire race from Adam until the last person born.

“Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call on the Lord? There they are in great fear, for God is with the generation of the righteous. You shame the counsel of the poor, but the Lord is his refuge.” Psalm 14:4-6

In Psalm 14:4-6, the Lord describes four traits of wickedness.

The first trait is pleasure in iniquity. Iniquity is being unequal or unfair in your relationship with others. Taking in much and returning little!

The second trait is to devour God’s people with as much veracity as a hungry person eats bread. Psalm 52:7 describes a person who relies on wealth and wickedness rather than God. “He trusts in his great wealth and grows strong by destroying others.”

The third trait of wickedness is not to “call upon the Lord.” Evangelist D.L. Moody said, “Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.” In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says, “If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” How many of us fail to realize what a sin it is not to pray to God for ourselves and others? In 1 Samuel 12:23, Samuel said to the people of Israel, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.”

The fourth trait of wickedness is to shame the counsel of the poor. Wicked people mock the poor for relying on God, but God is their refuge and strong tower. The fool oppresses the poor because he is convinced that God does not exist.

“O, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.” Psalm 14:7

In the Bible, Zion primarily refers to Jerusalem and the site of the Temple Mount, but later, “Zion” expanded to symbolize the spiritual “City of God” or the heavenly kingdom.

Salvation did come out of Zion when Jesus Christ, God’s Son, gave His life there as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Jesus brings us, who believe in Him, from captivity back to paradise.

Thus, Psalm 14:7 has a prophetic fulfillment in Christ, but also it had a prophetic fulfillment for David and for the people of Jerusalem in his day. David believed that by God’s grace his throne would be restored to him and that the people of Israel would have cause to rejoice and be glad.

The triumphs of Zion’s King JESUS will be the joy of both Jew and Gentile believers in Him. Upon His second coming, Christ will destroy the one who thought to take His throne, namely Satan. Then, we who believe in JESUS shall be as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:8 “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” Amen! Hallelujah!