1.0 The Statement

Psalm 14 teaches about the degenerate and unrighteous men, primarily refer to humanity as a whole and not merely to a period of extreme moral decay in Israel. This is confirmed using Psalm 14:1-3 in Romans 3:10-12. 

• Psalm 14:1-3 “The Fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is non who does good. 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.”
• Romans 3:10-12 “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.”

Psalms 14 deals with the Character and Conduct of “Atheists” and adds to the teaching the messages of Psalm 10 and Psalm 12. Psalm 10, Psalm 12, and Psalm 14 present the vivid teaching of the ungodly – their Proud Attitude (Psalm 10), their Deceitful Deeds (Psalm 14) and now their Corrupt Deeds (Psalm 14). All that they are, say, and do come from their Arrogant (and Ignorant) belief that “there is no God.”   

Psalms 14 is reflected in Psalm 53 with two changes: Psalm 53 uses the Name “God” (Elohim) instead of Jehovah (LORD) and the teaching in Psalm 14:5,6 is combined in Psalm 53:5 with slight variation and emphasis.  

Psalms 14 is committed to the care of the Chief Musician, the Director of Music. There are fifty-five Psalms committed to the care of the Chief Musician of which the first one is Psalm 4. It was King David who introduced Music and Song into the National Worship, and the Chief Musician appears to have been the Director of Music with a special Collection of Psalms in his care (1Chronicles 6:31, 32; 1Chronicles 15:16-22; 1Chronicles 25:1, 7).

Psalms 14 – The Historical Reason or Occasion for the writing of Psalm 14 is not clear. Some Expositors feel that Psalm 14 belongs to that period in David’s Life between his taking of the Stronghold of Jebus (1Chronicles 11) and the Return of the Ark of the Covenant from its Captivity (1Chronicles 15-16). This may be the Captivity referred to in Psalm 14:7.

Psalms 14 – There is a close resemblance between Psalm 14 and Psalm 53. Some believed that Psalm 14 is the Earlier and the Original and that Psalm 53 (with “Maschil”) is a Revision with a slight modification made to adapt Psalm 53 to the Public Service of the time. There are thirteen “Maschil” (Psalm of Wisdom and Instruction) Psalms, of which Psalm 32 is the first.

Psalms 14 – Titled “Jehovah” (The LORD) is predominant whereas in Psalm 53, it is the title “Elohim” (God) which occurs frequently. Psalm 14 has Seven Verses of which the Sectioning is Psalm 14:1-4 (the depravity of man) and Psalm 14:5-7 (Manifestation of The LORD {Jehovah} as the Refuge of His People).  

Prophetic Anticipation – Psalm 14 finds the Oppressed Remnant of the Last Days encouraging themselves in the remembrance of Divine Deliverance in the Past History of the Nation of Israel. The Remnant of Israel expressed their intense longing for the Messiah (Christ) as of their Salvation. The universal corruption of those days accompanied by the practical denial of God parallels that of the Antediluvians.

1.1 The Depravity of Fool

Psalm 14:1,3 (KJV) “The Fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good…….They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10-12).

1.1.1 The Fool

Psalm 14:1a(KJV) “The Fool has said in his heart, there is no God.” The term “Fool” does not mean the Person is deficient in intellect. In the Hebrew Language, there are three basic words for “Fool:”

• “Kesyl,” the dull, stupid Fool.
• “Ewiyl,” the unreasonable and perverted Fool.
• “Nabal,” the brutish (rough) Person who is like a stubborn animal. Nabal was the name of the man who was brutish, who refused to help David – 1Samuel 25:25b (KJV) “Even Nabal; for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him.”

The word “Fool” (Nabal) is also derived from a verb which denotes “To fade and wither.” As the Autumnal Leaves wither and fall into decay and worthlessness so it shows forth the decadence and worthlessness of the Person without God.

This word “Fool” (Nabal)refers to Character rather than understanding. The word “Fool” in Latin means: “Bellows,” suggesting that the Person is “full of hot air.”  The LORD’s indictment on the deprave Person and called him “Fool” (Nabal).

• Morison writes: “It is worthy of note that the corresponding word in Arabic signifies an Atheist, an unbeliever.”
• Trapp writes: “That Sapless Fellow, that carcase of a man, that walking Sepulchre…….withered and wasted, dried up and decayed.”

1.1.2 Fool’s Attitude

Psalm 14:1a “The Fool has said in his heart, there is no God.” Expositors stated that the Phrase “there is” is in the italics in the (KJV) and were not in the original but supplied by the Translators. Thus, literally what the Fool says is: “The Fool has said in his heart, No God!” This is the Position of extreme Folly, and that is why he is called “a Fool.” The Fool speaks “in his heart,” a deep Personal Conviction (“heart”), when he says, “No God.”

The reason the Person is a Fool and not merely mistaken is that he knows there is a God and yet chooses to believe and act as if there is no God. It is the gesture of defiance.

Athesim in the Modern World has become both a religion and an ideology. The Marxist state is established upon an avowed denial of any Supernatural Being or Beings.

• For Marx, Economics unlocked History.
• For Darwin, Evolution unlocked Nature.
• For Freud, our biological drives and the unconscious unlocked the human Psyche. 

Atheism in Psalm 14:1 goes beyond Psalm 10. In Psalm 10 the Existence of God is not denied as His Providence. In Psalm 14, God’s Existence is not only denied, but denied in the very depth of the man’s heart.

Fools have contrived to convince themselves – such a state of mind as indicative of that utter perversity and folly which is implied in the term “Fool” (Nabal).  The cause and consequence of their Foolish Conviction that “there is no God” affects their Character and Conduct.

Matthew Henry says “Fool cannot satisfy himself that there is no God, but he wishes there were none, and pleases himself with the fancy that it is possible there may be none. He cannot be sure there is one, and therefore he is willing to think there is none.” Thus, the Fool (Nabal) does not need or want God. He lives his own life as he pleases. His Problem is wilful ignorance rather than lack of Normal Intelligence – 2Peter 3:5a (KJV) “For this they willingly are ignorant of.”

1.1.3 Fool’s Corruption

Psalm 14:1b (KJV) “They are Corrupt.” Literally, this means that they have Corrupted (Moral Corruption) themselves – Genesis 6:12 “So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.” (Judges 2:19). To deny God means, ultimately, to deny any transcendent (superior) basis for morality, thus, a Fool is accompanied by deep moral corruption. We have no right to say that this is always so; but the tendency of the Fool to relax moral restraints is indisputable.

1.1.4 Fool’s Adominable Works

Psalm 14:1c (KJV) “They have done abominable works; there is none that does good.” The natural consequence of corruption is “abominable works.” The Acts of the Fool include ritual and ethical violations of God’s Law.

1.1.5 No Goodness in Fool

Psalm 14:1d (KJV) “There is none that does good.” Out of this practical, Fool proceeds an evil influence upon humanity, a life abhorrent to God and a complete absence of Divine Righteousness.

Someone asked the Agnostic British Philosophers Bertrand Russell what he would say if, when he died, he suddenly found himself standing before God. Russell replied, “You did not give us sufficient evidence!” Bertrand clearly contradicts the evidence of Eternal Power and Godhead, clearly seen in the Creation around us – Romans 1:20 (KJV) “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His Eternal Power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” If the Revelation of God in Nature is as clear as Paul declares it, why would any Person reject it?

Why would anyone be so foolish as to say, “There is no God?” (Psalm 13). Book of Romans answers this Question in Romans 1:18, Paul argues that people “Suppress the Truth” about God by or because of their “godlessness and wickedness.”

This Person tries to live without God. The Person, as in Luke 12:16-20, leaves God out of all his reckoning and was called a Fool by our Lord Jesus Christ. Fool indeed, living as if there is no God, “Even as he does not like to retain God in his knowledge” (Romans 1:28).