The Foolish and the Righteous

(1) The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
(2) The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
(3) They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
(4) Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD.
(5) There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous.
(6) Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.
(7) 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.
--Psalm 14 KJV Bible

Psalm 14 is a psalm of David. The psalm must have resonated strongly with David because he later revisited these thoughts in Psalm 53. The latter is almost identical to the former, except for differences in Psalm 53's verses 5 and 6.

In Psalm 14, David laments the moral foolishness and corruption of the whole human race. David longs for the establishment of the righteous kingdom of the Lord on the earth.

The "fool" referenced in verse 1 is one who is morally perverse, not mentally deficient. David is describing one who believes there is no God and behaves as if there is no goodness. This one practices a practical rather than a theoretical atheism.

Verses 2 and 3 are David's comment on the immorality of the generation. The Apostle Paul quotes these verses in his letter to the Romans, in agreement with David on the universal and perennial sinfulness of mankind (Romans 3:10-12).

In verse 7 David longs for the establishing of the Messiah's kingdom on the earth, when God's Holy Spirit will be upon all, and God's Word will depart from none. The prophet Isaiah foretells it and the Apostle Paul echoes Isaiah's words (Isaiah 59:20-21; Romans 11:26-27).

Lord God, it is so tempting at times to just go with the flow of prevailing society--to practice a practical atheism. Help me to hold fast against the current. Give me the strength to be righteous in the midst of fools.

-

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