Lloyd Cain
Prophetically, Psalm 14 sets forth the apostate condition of the nation of Israel in the days on earth just prior to the coming of the Messiah in power to deliver His people. This desperate condition will of course not be limited to Israel but evidently will be the character of the world as the days of Noah are repeated and once again God will have presented a proof that the human heart has not changed in its desires or in its ways. Practically, for us it is one of the strongest indictments of the human race, succinctly revealing the depraved character of the heart. This accounts for A.G. Clarke’s apt entitling of the Psalm as The Ruined Race. It deals with the declaration of the fool, the desire of the Father, the description of the foolish, and the deliverance in the future. It seems relatively easy to divide the psalm into three parts.
THE PROFESSION OF THE FOOL (14:1)
The atheistic declaration out of the heart of the fool is "There is no God." The consequence of this conclusion is the corruption of man’s ways as outlined in the rest of the psalm. If God is not, then there is no responsibility, no accountability, and hence no absolutes to which man references himself and his behaviors. He walks in the ways of his heart and in the sight of his eyes, not knowing that for all these things God will bring him into judgment (Ecclesiastes 11:9). Similarly, the person who does not deny the existence of God but says in his heart, "No God for me" is, in his rebellion, exhibiting practical atheism.
THE PROPHECY OF THE FINAL DAYS (14:2-6)
Graciously, the Lord looked down from Heaven upon the children of men. The searchlight from Heaven was shining and seeking in vain for any that sought God. If, as is the case, the grace was great that gazed upon a world that grieved God at this heart, how much greater was that grace that was seen when the Lord "came down from heaven" to give His life for those who had rebelled against Him. The light from Heaven that shined in its search for any that understood, was superseded by the shining forth of the grace of God that carries with it salvation for all men and teaches the recipients of the message to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and live soberly, righteously and godly, in this present age (Titus 2:11-14). The Gospel is the great transformer of human lives. The depths of depravity are changed for the desire for direction from God and His Word. God’s will that man "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly With his God" can be realized in the regenerate soul (Micah 6:8). It should be noted that even within this description of depravity, there is reference to the reality of a faithful, righteous remnant. These last are those whom the apostate world "eats up as if they were bread." They are the poor, the persecuted, and the protected. They are those with a reverential fear of God for "God is in the generation of the righteous" and He is their Refuge, the Hiding Place for His own.
THE PRAYER FOR A FUTURE DELIVERANCE (14:7)
Like the Church today that looks with anticipation for the Blessed Hope, the faithful Jewish remnant in the Tribulation period will also cry, "0 that the salvation of the Israel were come out of Zion’. They will long, but they will also look, for God has said that He has not cast off His people forever. As in the days of the birth of the Lord, when the godly Simeon, looking for the Lord’s Christ, said, "Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy Word, for mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation," so these believing Jews on the earth at this time will look for that same One, Who will bring deliverance to the nation. His people will be brought back to the land that is theirs. Jacob shall then rejoice and Israel shall be glad for Christ shall return. He alone will restore the nation and He alone will reign.