We continue our very sporadic study of the psalms today, by reading Psalm 14. Let's start by reading part of verse 1.
(1) Of/for the director. Of/for David.
He has said-- a fool-- in his heart/mind,
"There is no God."
There's lots of kinds of stupid in life. You can act like an idiot when you're in love. Your brain shuts off, and you find yourself unable to think logically about anything. You see drivers sometimes doing stupid stuff-- burnouts at streetlights. I don't know if the TV show is still running, but "American's Funniest Videos was filled with people doing stupid stuff.
A different type of stupid, far more serious, is described in the book of Proverbs-- a young man, lacking sense, walks by the house of an adulterous woman at sunset. What will happen to him next? Nothing good.
This psalm is about a particular type of stupid person-- the "fool." What, exactly, makes someone a "fool"?
Let's turn to Psalm 74:18-22 (ESV). Here, the psalmist calls on God to remember what fools have said about Him:
Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs,
and a foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Have regard for the covenant,
for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, O God, defend your cause;
remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
"Foolish" people are those who scoff at God, and the idea of God. They see you placing your trust in God, being confident that God will rescue you out of all your distress, and they laugh. They mock. "God is going to save you? That's hilarious!"
And the psalmist asks God to remember their words. Don't let their words pass by; don't forget them. Remember those words.
We read another example of a fool in 2 Samuel 13:1-14. Let me say up front, that this is a dark, ugly story:
13 Now Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David's son, loved her. 2 And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. 4 And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.” 5 Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’” 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”
7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes. 9 And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Send out everyone from me.” So everyone went out from him. 10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. 11 But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 She answered him, “No, my brother, do not violate[a] me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this outrageous thing. 13 As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” 14 But he would not listen to her, and being stronger than she, he violated her and lay with her.
A fool is someone so overcome by lust, that he rapes his half-sister. He's willing to do terrible things to her-- violate her. He's willing to be known throughout the nation as a fool. He doesn't care.
One more story, from 1 Samuel 25 (ESV). This story is about three people: David, Abigail, and Nabal. And "Nabal" is actually the Hebrew word for "fool" that we've been reading. "Nabal" is "nabal"-- a fool:
25 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah.
David and Abigail
Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; he was a Calebite. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
9 When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 And Nabal answered David's servants, “Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters.
Nabal knows exactly who David is. He knows that David has been chosen by God to be Israel's next king. He knows that God is with him. He knows, also, that David is on the run from Saul. And, despite knowing all of that, and hearing of the good that David has done for him-- he doesn't just reject the idea of helping David. He mocks him, and belittles him. This is a special kind of stupid-- this is being a fool. Nabal continues, in verse 11:
11 Shall I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to men who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David's young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16 They were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, for harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”
18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs[a] of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has returned me evil for good. 22 God do so to the enemies of David[b] and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”
23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal[c] is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent. 26 Now then, my lord, as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, because the LORD has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal. 27 And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord. 28 Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the LORD, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live. 29 If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the LORD your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling. 30 And when the LORD has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince[d] over Israel, 31 my lord shall have no cause of grief or pangs of conscience for having shed blood without cause or for my lord working salvation himself. And when the LORD has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”
Abigail is the complete opposite of a fool. She has wisdom-- she understands who God is, and what He will do for his people. He will fight for them, and protect them. And she also shows her wisdom, in protecting David here. David didn't have the right to kill Nabal for what he did, and Abigail protects not just her foolish husband here, but also David. David doesn't need that bloodguilt on his own head.
So who is the fool? In the OT, the fool is a particular type of stupid-- the worst kind of stupid. It's a dark, wicked kind of stupid. The kind that mocks God, and taunts his people. The kind that rapes your half-sister. The kind that rejects God's anointed king. The kind that needlessly exposes yourself to God's wrath.
So let's take Psalm 14 from the top:
He has said-- a fool-- in his heart/mind,
"There is no God."
They have acted corruptly.
They have done shameful/vile deeds.
There is no one doing good.
A fool is someone who decides, in his heart/mind, that there is no God. And if there is no God, there is no one to fear. If you find yourself wanting to sin-- to act corruptly, to do something shameful-- how do you decide whether or not you should do it? If you're Amnon, and you desire your half-sister, how do you make your decision? What she wants isn't important. What's best for her isn't important. You have no concern about how the world will react, when they hear. You have no concern for what your family might do to you, when they find out what you've done. She's not some orphan-- she's got brothers, and they are going to want to kill you. All that this fool can think about, is how badly he wants her.
Most people in the world, even if they aren't Christians, believe that there is a God. Or, they aren't quite sure. And that knowledge-- or even that uncertainty-- puts a brake of sorts on their wickedness. You can't act however you want, because you have this gut feeling that there is a God, and that there will be a day of judgment. And even if you go through life, expecting in the end to go to hell (like some of my coworkers), you have enough common sense to not make it any worse for yourself than it needs to be.
The true atheist, is the worst kind of stupid.
Verse 2-3:
(2) Yahweh from the heavens has looked down on the humans to see if there is anyone having insight/wisdom-- someone seeking God.
(3) Everyone has turned aside;
together they have become corrupt;
there is no one doing good.
What is worse/more, there isn't even one.
The truth is, God exists. And God is looking down from the heavens, and He is searching for a particular kind of people. He's looking for people with wisdom. "Wisdom" is basically "skill in living." People who know how to get through life intelligently, with an understanding of who God is, and how life with God, in the world, works. Wise people, working from this understanding, spend their life looking up. They are seeking God, and his righteousness, and his kingdom, and his honor.
But the psalmist goes on to say here, that there aren't people like this. There is a road that leads to God, that God himself walks on. And everyone has turned aside, and gotten off that road. Everyone is corrupt; no one is doing good. And this is true for everyone-- no one is doing good.
Verse 4-6:
(4) Don't they know?-- all the ones doing evil,
the ones eating/consuming my people [as] they have eaten/consumed bread,
Yahweh, they haven't called upon?--
(5) There they shall tremble a trembling,
for God is with the class/group of the righteous.
(6) The plan of the poor/afflicted you (plural= the evil ones) would put to shame,
although Yahweh is his refuge.
Fools don't realize how things are going to end for them. The day is coming, while they are in the act of feeding on God's people-- God's righteous ones-- that God will come in judgment against them. Their fork will be in their mouth, they'll be chewing on the righteous, and in that moment, they will find themselves trembling, shaking. In that moment, God will show up. They'd told themselves that nothing bad would happen to them-- that God doesn't even exist. But just because you say that to yourself, doesn't make it true.
(7) Who shall give from Zion, the salvation/deliverance of Israel?
When Yahweh returns the fortunes/assets of his people, may Jacob rejoice;
may Israel be glad.
The psalmist ends by asking a rhetorical question. Who is it, who will save Israel? Who will rescue them from their enemies? --From fools?
Yahweh. God will do this. And on that day, the psalmist hopes-- wishes-- that Israel will look at what God has done for her, and rejoice.
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There's more than one way to think about this psalm. And part of this, is that there is a tension within it. In verses 1-3, who does the psalmist say is righteous? Who is it who is wise, who does good, who goes through life seeking God?
The psalmist says, "No one." Everyone is wicked, and has turned aside, and does truly terrible things.
The apostle Paul, reading this psalm (actually, the slightly longer version found in the LXX and some Hebrew manuscripts), hears the truth in it. Everyone is wicked-- both Jew and Gentile. Everyone is in need of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Let's read Romans 3:9-18:
9 What then? Are we Jews[a] any better off?[b] No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Everyone, apart from Jesus, is a sinner. Everyone is quick to shed blood, to act corruptly. No one fears God. No one is righteous. Everyone needs to repent, and give their allegiance to Jesus as Savior, and Lord, and King. And when we look at the world, we understand that Jesus is the only real solution to the world's problems.
The tension comes in, when we read verses 4-7. Let's reread them:
(4) Don't they know?-- all the ones doing evil,
the ones eating/consuming my people [as] they have eaten/consumed bread,
Yahweh, they haven't called upon?--
(5) There they shall tremble a trembling,
for God is with the class/group of the righteous.
(6) The plan of the poor/afflicted you (plural= the evil ones) would put to shame,
although Yahweh is his refuge.
(7) Who shall give from Zion, the salvation/deliverance of Israel?
When Yahweh returns the fortunes/assets of his people, may Jacob rejoice;
may Israel be glad.
The psalmist, after acknowledging that no one is righteous, then goes on to talk about two different groups. In one camp, are the fools-- evil doers, who eat God's people. In the other camp, is God's people. People who are poor and afflicted; people who have made God their refuge, trusting in Him; people who are in the group of the righteous. And we like to think, that this includes us.
How do we put this together? What do we do with this tension? Commentators deal with this tension differently.
Some talk about how the psalmist uses slightly exaggerated speech, in talking about how no one does good. Obviously, based on verses 4-7, some do good; some are righteous. But the psalmist, looking around the world, feels like he's the only one left (1 Kings 19:10), even though that's not quite literally true (1 Kings 19:18). And when we look around the world today, at the rioting, and chaos, and idiocy, we find ourselves thinking the same thing. Where did all the wise people go? When did it happen, that we became the only sensible people left?
I kind of like this explanation. I think, if there wasn't a NT, that's how I'd explain it.
But when we add in the NT, it puts a wrinkle into this. When we look at ourselves apart from Jesus, and we look at the world, we know that there is no one righteous. I have no desire to argue with Paul. I think that Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, saw the world for what it truly is-- and that the psalmist, in verses 1-3, correctly diagnosed the world's condition. Apart from Jesus, the world is a dark, wicked, evil place.
And the only reason there are two camps now-- the righteous, and the wicked-- is because God loved the world, and sent his son Jesus to die for us-- for our sins. God made a way for us to become right with God-- to be forgiven, to become part of his people, to become part of his family. And when we look at ourselves, we know that our righteousness, is not fundamentally our own. We are able to live rightly, and please God, because we have been freed from slavery to Sin, and given the Holy Spirit, who enables obedience. In none of that, can I point to myself, and pat myself on the back. That's all God.
So the reason there are two camps, is because of Jesus. We are God's righteous people through Jesus. We have made God our refuge; we trust Him.
The world looks at us, and they think that we are the fools. They see us being eaten like bread, and shake their head at all this "God" talk. They think we are throwing away our lives.
But we have placed our trust in God. We have made him our refuge-- our refuge is not guns, or power, or money, or people. God. And we live in confidence, knowing that there will be a day when God comes, and rescues us.
Let's reread verse 7:
(7) Who shall give from Zion, the salvation/deliverance of Israel?
When Yahweh returns the fortunes/assets of his people, may Jacob rejoice;
may Israel be glad.
The psalm ends with this note of confidence, and with a prayer. On the day God rises up, and helps his people, the psalmist's hope is that Jacob will rejoice, and that Israel will be glad.
When God helps his people, it's amazing thing. And one day, we will all rejoice, and be filled with joy, because of how good God is to his people.
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For an application today, let's think about the psalm as a whole, from the perspective of Jesus' disciples.
When we look around the world, what we see, in many places, is that it's filled with evil, foolish people. And the type of evil we see, is not the type that only happens behind closed doors, and doesn't affect us. This type of foolishness is hurting God's people-- that actively works to take advantage of them, and feed on them like bread.
When you have no fear of God, at all, and all you care about is yourself, you will act in ways that destroy the fabric of society.
This could rattle us, and make us wonder what God's doing. We could cry out to God, and ask Him to rescue us. Lots of psalms do just this. There's nothing wrong with that.
But this psalm is different. This psalm is sung by people who see the big picture. There is a day of judgment coming, and on that day, God will rescue us. It's not a question of "if," but of "when."
So when we suffer at the hands of fools, we endure. We patiently, steadfastly, trust in God. We understand that God sees what's going on from the heavens. He sees it all. And one day, He will make things right.
In the meantime, what do we do? Part of the answer, is that we advance God's kingdom. We proclaim the good news of Jesus to the world. And what we find, is that some evil doers repent, and enter in to God's kingdom, submitting to Jesus as King. We, as a church, shine like lights in our community, and reveal the truth about God and righteousness to everyone around us.
The other thing we do, is what this psalm does. We look forward to the day of judgment, and we find ourselves saying, "Come Lord Jesus."
When we celebrate the Eucharist, we say, "Come Lord Jesus." And we prepare our hearts to worship God in that day. One day, when God returns the fortunes of his people, we will rejoice at our salvation.
Translation:
(1) Of/for the director. Of/for David.
He has said-- a fool-- in his heart/mind,
"There is no God/Elohim."
They have acted corruptly.
They have done shameful/vile deeds.
There is no one doing good.
(2) Yahweh from the heavens has looked down on the humans to see if there is anyone having insight/wisdom-- someone seeking God.
(3) Everyone has turned aside;
together they have become corrupt;
there is no one doing good.
What is worse/more, there isn't even one.
(4) Don't they know?-- all the ones doing evil,
the ones eating/consuming my people [as] they have eaten bread,
Yahweh, they haven't called upon?
(5) There they shall tremble a trembling,
for God is with the class/group of the righteous.
(6) The plan/counsel of the poor you (plural= the evil ones) would put to shame,
although Yahweh is his refuge.
(7) Who shall give from Zion, the salvation/deliverance of Israel?
When Yahweh returns the fortunes/assets of his people, may Jacob rejoice;
may Israel be glad.
