Psalms 14

Psalms 14:1

Psalm 14: The Fool’s Creed14:1 The creed of the fool is “There is no God.” He does not want there to be a God, therefore he denies the existence of God. It is an irrational position to take. First of all, it is a claim to omniscience; it says, “I know everything. It is not possible that a God could exist beyond the boundaries of my knowledge.” Second, this attitude claims omnipresence; it says, “I am present in all places at one and the same time, and it is not possible that God could exist any place in the universe without my knowing it.” Again, this position ignores the wonders of God in creationthe immensity of the universe, the amazingly precise movement of the planets, the marvelous suitability of the earth to sustain life, the intricate design of the human body, the fantastic complexity of the human brain and the extraordinary properties of water and soil. Take for instance the suitability of the earth to sustain life. Henry Bosch has pointed out the following instances of God’s careful and marvelous design: The earth rotates on its axis at approximately 1000 miles per hour. If that had been 100 miles per hour, our days and nights would be ten times longer, and our planet would alternately burn and freeze. Under such circumstances vegetation could not live! If the earth were as small as the moon, the power of gravity would be too weak to retain sufficient atmosphere for man’s needs; but if it were as large as Jupiter, Saturn, or Uranus, extreme gravitation would make human movement almost impossible. If we were as near to the sun as Venus, the heat would be unbearable; if we were as far away as Mars, we would experience snow and ice every night, even in the warmest regions. If the oceans were half their present dimensions, we would receive only one-fourth the rainfall we do now. If they were one-eighth larger, our annual precipitation would increase fourfold, and this earth would become a vast, uninhabitable swamp. Water solidifies at 32 degrees above zero [b0F]. It would be disastrous if the oceans froze at that temperature, however, for then the amount of thawing in the polar regions would not balance out, and ice would accumulate throughout the centuries! To prevent such a catastrophe, the Lord put salt in the sea to alter its freezing point. The possibility that all this happened by chance is too small to warrant consideration. That is why the Bible says that atheists are fools. They are moral fools. It is not a question of their intelligence quotient but of their morality quotient. God’s verdict on these fools is that they are corrupt in themselves and that they act abominably. There is a close connection between a man’s creed and his conduct. The lower his conception of God, the lower his morals are apt to be. Either as cause or consequence, atheism and agnosticism are linked with a corrupt life. Barnes writes: The belief that there is no God is commonly founded on the desire to lead a wicked life, or is embraced by those who in fact live such a life, with a desire to sustain themselves in their depravity and to avoid the fear of future retribution. 14:2, 3 When the LORD looks down from heaven to see if any of Adam’s descendants act wisely by seeking after God, His findings are dismal. By nature and by practice, man is a sinner. If left to himself, he would never seek after God. It is only through the ministry of the Holy Spirit that men become aware of their need for God and His salvation. Paul quotes from the first three verses of this Psalm in Rom_3:10-12 to show that sin has affected all mankind and every part of everyone’s being. Here in the Psalm, David is not thinking of the whole human race, although the description would certainly be true; rather, he is thinking of outright God-deniers in contrast to the righteous. It is these infidels who have apostatized from the true and living God. They are morally corrupt. God Himself cannot find one of them who does good, no, not one. 14:4 Their ignorance is apparent in the way they treat God’s people. If they realized how God defends the poor and punishes sin, they would never devour believers as if it were a legitimate, everyday thing, like eating bread! If they knew the goodness and severity of God, they would not go through life without praying. 14:5, 6 When the Lord takes the part of the innocent, the unrighteous will be greatly terrified. They had always mocked the poor for their simple faith, but now they will see that the God they denied is the refuge of His own. 14:7 It will be a great day when the Messiah comes out of Zion to deliver His people. Israel’s joy will be unbounded when Christ’s Jewish saints are fully and finally rescued from captivity among the nations that deny the only true God.