Psalm 14 Devotional
By Pastor Lawrence

In this wisdom meditation, David follows a pattern similar to Psalm 1 differentiating between the righteous and the wicked, however his primary focus here is on the wicked or the foolish man. By this designation he does not have in mind merely someone of low intelligence or one lacking common sense but rather a person who has little to no regard for God’s Word regardless of intellect or education. This person’s refusal to seek out God’s counsel, to heed God’s commands and to call upon the name of the Lord manifests itself through ongoing corruption, abomination and evil deeds.

When reading wisdom psalms such as this one, it is a common misinterpretation for Christians to automatically identify themselves with the wise man and to perceive the fool as the unbeliever. But if we are honest with ourselves when meditating upon such texts, we should begin to see many of the same foolish patterns in our own lives. Is there not still corruption deep down in our hearts? Do we not still have abominable thoughts unworthy of our Lord and master? Are we not still very slow at times to do that which is good returning to our old evil patterns like a dog returns to its vomit?

The words in this psalm ought to be familiar to us not only experientially but cognitively as well, for they are repeated in two other sections of Scripture. First, they are repeated verbatim with only a few slight differences in Psalm 53, and they are also quoted in Romans 3:10-12 by the apostle Paul to prove that all men, Jew and Gentile alike, fall short of the glory of God and cannot be justified in God’s sight by their own works since everyone has been ruined by the fall and everyone has played the fool. Even Christians saved by the grace of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit still wrestle with foolishness, for we still are slow to listen and to obey God’s Word. Frankly, it is a miracle that we listen to God’s voice at all and that our hearts are learning to love righteousness, for by nature we are all spiritual boneheads.

But thanks be to God for salvation in Christ Jesus! In v.7, David clearly recognizing that all Israel has played the fool and have turned away from the Lord breathes this prayer: “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.” Of course, at this point in time in redemptive history today, we have seen the answer to David’s prayer. Salvation indeed has come out Zion. Jesus has laid down his life for fools in order to give them the wisdom from heaven. He has come to restore our fortunes, spiritually speaking, which is really the most important fortune of all, and the only enduring one. He has come to restore in us the wealth and the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God that we might know and understand the mind of the Lord, searching out his judgements and delighting in his ways.

In this new dispensation in the economy of Christ, we don’t read this psalm in the same way as the original audience would have. It is not for us merely a lament and a longing for a savior out of Zion but also an act of thanksgiving for the gift of righteousness in Christ Jesus and for the gift of wisdom continually applied to us by the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, it is still a psalm of lament and confession that we are not yet fully free of our foolishness, and that we do not yet fully love God’s Word delighting in it as we should. Therefore, we can rightly use this psalm to confess our sins in addition to giving thanks for our savior. We can use it to adore the God of all wisdom as well as to petition our God for more wisdom in every area that we are lacking it, fully believing that our God gives generously to all without reproach.