1. A Journey Through The Psalms
Wisdom From God
A Journey Through The Psalms

2. Psalm 14 – Who’s The Fool? Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 are nearly identical.
They remind us that without God’s incredible grace and mercy we are each sinners and therefore depraved.
Sin proceeds from bad to worse and draws many into its web of deceit.
How should we live in such a world?

3. Who’s The More Foolish?
We’ll answer this question!

4. The Words Of A Fool
14:1a – “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”
Fool = NABAL – has connotation of a leaf that fades, falls, and then decays.
Speaks of moral degeneracy.

5. Thought Process Of A Fool
In his heart – the seat of the emotions and/or the intellect. This is the result of conscious decision making.
No God – words “there is” are supplied and not in the original. The fool says, “No God”. It is a harsh proclamation.

6. The Natural Path Of Atheism
14:1b – “They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.”
Failure to believe in God makes personal morality/situational ethics the only standard for right and wrong. Society becomes a god. Culture becomes a god.
Society is fickle. Culture is fickle.

7. God Responds To The Fools
Vs. 2-3 – “The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; the is no one who does good, not even one.”

8. Considering God’s Perspective
God is considering mankind’s situation from His own perspective.
God is perfectly holy. He is perfectly pure. How do we appear to Him?
Revelation 4:8 – “And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, The Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.’”

9. What Does God See?
He sees the “sons of men” – meaning all who have descended from Adam. All mankind.
He sees that there is a general failure to seek after God.
That becomes the source of all other problems.
There is therefore no understanding.

10. Mob Mentality
verse 3 – “They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
The result of mass atheism is mass degeneracy.
So…do we care that atheists are becoming ever more bold?

11. God Questions The Fools
Verse 4 – “Do all the workers of wickedness not know, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?”
Question: Are you so ignorant that you have no understanding concerning right and wrong?
The result: persecution of God’s people.

12. The Reality Of Persecution Of Christians
CNN article in 2015 said persecution against Christians reached modern high levels that year, rising to what they called, “a level akin to ethnic cleansing.”
I’m recently hearing the word “genocide” being tossed around concerning Christian treatment in some countries.

13. Consuming God’s People
God sees them destroying His people with no more thought than they give to eating bread.
This stems from their failure to “call upon the Lord.”
Yet God is the refuge for His people
Psalm 18:2 – “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

14. Gladness In God’s Salvation
Psalm 14 incorporated into Paul’s teaching at Rome.
Romans 3:10-12 – “…as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”

15. Universal Depravity Of Man
All have sinned
There is none righteous
All have turned aside
So what does all this have to do with Christians?

16. God’s Answer From Zion
Verse 7 – “Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores His captive people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.”
God knows where His children are. Those who come back to Him will be restored.

17. Romans 3:21-25
But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed….”

18. Oh – God IS!
Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”