THE FOOL (PSALMS 14)
A college student was in a philosophy class, where a class discussion about whether or not God exists was in progress. The professor had the following logic: “Has anyone in this class heard God?” Nobody spoke.
“Has anyone in this class touched God?” Again, nobody spoke.
“Has anyone in this class seen God?” When nobody spoke for the third time, he simply stated, “Then there is no God.”
A student did not like the sound of this at all, and asked for permission to speak. The professor granted it, and the student stood up and asked the following questions of his classmates: “Has anyone in this class heard our professor’s brain?” Silence.
“Has anyone in this class touched our professor’s brain?” Absolute silence.
“Has anyone in this class seen our professor’s brain?” When nobody in the class dared to speak, the student concluded, “Then, according to our professor’s logic, it must be true that our professor has no brain!”
What makes a man a fool, according to the psalms? Is he a fool because his I.Q. and grades are low? Is it because his thinking and speech are slow? Is it because he cannot relate to or work with people or that he has a poor self-esteem or self-image?
People are Liable for Their Foolish Conclusion
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. (Ps 14:1)
A woman’s husband had been slipping in and out of a coma for several months, yet she had stayed by his bedside every single day. One day, when he came to, he motioned for her to come nearer.
As she sat by him, he whispered, eyes full of tears, “You know what? You have been with me all through the bad times. When I got fired, you were there to support me. When my business failed, you were there. When I got shot, you were by my side. When we lost the house, you stayed right here. When my health started failing, you were still by my side... You know what?”
“What dear?” she gently asked, smiling as her heart began to fill with warmth.
“I think you’re bad luck, get the heck away from me.”
Man is a fool because he thinks he has no need for his Creator, Caregiver, Counselor and Contributor. The fool, or simply “nabal” in Hebrew without the article (“the”), leaves his mark 18 times in the Hebrew text of the Bible, five times in Psalms, more than any other book, and this is the first mention of a fool in the Psalms. As one suspects, it is also the name of Abigail’s foolish and feeble husband who attempted to confront David’s army (1 Sam 25:25). Abigail fell at David’s feet and said: “May my lord pay no attention to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name-his name is Fool, and folly goes with him” (1 Sam 25:23-25). In the book of Psalms, the major mark of a foolish man is that he denies God’s existence (Ps 14:1, 53:1), reviles or provokes his name, (Ps 74:18) and mocks God – meaning rebuke and shame Him - all day long (Ps 74:22).
The Bible is not surprised or alarmed by the surplus of atheists. It anticipates a world of atheists, people who dispute, deny and doubt God’s existence, those who think the world happens by itself, by chance or by evolution. The fool is one who thinks the world of his ruling, discovery and theory and the worst about His revelation, design and truth. Why is he a fool? Because man, who is so inadequate in knowledge, limited in understanding and shallow in thought has the audacity and the most to say about the things they know least about. How can mortal, finite, lowly and insignificant created human beings understand God, who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent? But the fool, who is fragile in body and proud at heart, rejects revelation, God’s teachings and biblical wisdom.
The Bible is quick to praise man and reward man but is also quick to point to his folly. Whenever Psalms speaks of man’s vulnerability, the psalmist calls him not the regular “man” or “ish” in Hebrew, but “Adam” (v 2), to remind him who he is, where his place is and where he came from – the “dust” of the ground (Gen 2:7). Yes, man is powerful and peerless but he is a mere mortal. Adam is but a breath (Ps 39:5), a vanity or emptiness (Ps 39:11), and alike the beasts that perish (Ps 49:12, 20). Ps 144:4 says that “Adam” is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.
Theologically, the heart of “Adam” is evil from childhood (Gen 8:21). Job says “Adam” (man) is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward (Job 5:7) and that man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble (Job 14:1). The LORD knows the thoughts of Adam and He knows that they are futile (Ps 94:11). They are liars (Ps 116:11), senseless and without knowledge (Jer 10:14).
The word “looked down” (v 2) can also be translated as “looked forth” or “looked out” but why is it “looked down” instead of the other more neutral translation? It is because the word when it is associated with God, it always come with the word “from heaven” or his “sanctuary oh high” (Ps 14:2, Ps 53:2, Ps 102:19, Lam 3:50).
People are Liable for Their Flawed Condition
2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. 3 All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Ps 14:2-3)
In the book, The Day America Told the Truth, James Patterson and Peter Kim asked 2,000 participants their response to this question: “What are you willing to do for $10 million?” The answers:
3 % would put their children up for abortion.
4 % would have a sex-change operation.
6 % would changer their race.
7 % would kill a stranger.
10 % would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free.
16 % would leave their spouses.
16 % would give up their American citizenship.
23 % would become prostitutes for a week or more.
25 % would abandon their church.
25 % would abandon their entire family.
(James Patterson/Peter Kim The Day America Told the Truth 66 NY/Prentice Hall Press/91)
The word “corrupt” in verse 3 occurs three times in the Old Testament, twice in the Psalms and once in Job, and it is translated as “corrupt” in NIV and “filthy” in KJV. The Chinese translation of “dirty” reflects man’s filth. Corrupt makes one think of corrupt politicians and their money, filthy has to do with morality. Corrupt has to do with man’s conduct, business and dealings, but filth has to do with man’s core, his nature and character. The theological term for the descent of man is “the total depravity of man.”
Sin completely touched and enveloped every aspect of his life – his attitude, belief – knowledge, facts and analysis. Man is totally depraved, indifferent and hostile to God. He is bad, blind, beastly and barbaric to one another. He has descended on a slippery slope he has no way of getting out or climbing up. The much-derided and -maligned Wikipedia says total depravity is “The doctrine of total inability teaches that people are by nature not inclined to love God with their whole heart, mind, or strength, as he requires, but rather all are inclined to serve their own interests over those of their neighbor and to reject the rule of God. Even religion and philanthropy are destructive to the extent that these originate from a human imagination, passions, and will. Total depravity does not mean, however, that people are as bad as possible. Rather, it means that even the good which a person may intend is faulty in its premise, false in its motive, and weak in its implementation; and there is no mere refinement of natural capacities that can correct this condition.”
Dismissing and denying God’s existence is no major surprise to the Creator. A world that wants to shut God out of the picture and exclude His mention from the modern world is not news to Him. He expected it due the fallout, but man did not. A new universe free of moral values does not shock Him. In the name of progress and diversity, the politically correct politicians, media and ACLUs of the world want nothing more than to remove the Ten Commandments, Christmas and any vestiges of Christianity or the mention of God from the nation, the city and schools. Man has nothing more urgent to do than to shut God out and to free himself. The world wanted God to butt out of their lives long before they said it. They don’t want morality, guilt or absolutes; all they want is a humanistic, neutral and liberated society.
A society free of God is not a better world; it is an ugly society. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death.” There are merely two schools of thought about change in society. One is that society will get better, and the other is it will get worse. No one believes society will remain stagnant. Every politician promises a better society until they find out they are part of the problem.
Man can get by, advances along and makes progress, but his knowledge is the very thing that marks his descent into hell. In all the advances man has made, he cannot advance the longevity of his life or the morality of the soul. Man is attracted to power, pleasure, fame and comfort. Humans have drive, motivation and impetus and even incentive to seek fortune and fame, but never to seek God. Unlike corrupt files, sadly there is no fix, troubleshooting, recovery, repair or reconfiguration for corrupt or filthy man.
People are Liable for Their Future Choice
4 Will evildoers never learn--those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD? 5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. 6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge. 7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! (Ps 14:4-7)
A four year old was at the pediatrician for a check up. As the doctor looked down her ears with an otoscope, he asked, “Do you think I’ll find Big Bird in here?” The little girl stayed silent.
Next, the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked, “Do you think I’ll find the Cookie Monster down there?” Again, the little girl was silent.
Then the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he listened to her heart beat, he asked, “Do you think I’ll hear Barney in there?” “Oh, no!” the little girl replied. “Jesus is in my heart. Barney’s on my underpants.”
But all is not lost for foolish man. Man still has a chance to make a choice, to make a U-turn, to stand with God and be on His side. Where do troubles come from? It has always to do with the presence of evildoers (vv 4, 6), troublemakers and lawbreakers. God is not our enemy; evil is. God is our ally, refuge and help. One might say that the persecution of the righteous can be traced to wicked people. One need not look further than society and politicians today. They pass laws to exclude Christianity, calling Christian as hateful, the Bible as hate literature for its moral views and Christians speaking out against sin as hate crimes.
The word “righteous” (v 5) is so rich in the Psalms that no exposition can do justice to it. The righteous are consistently contrasted with the wicked in the Psalms. The righteous are people who trust in God (Ps 32:11, 64:10, 97:12) - who is the essence of righteousness (Ps 7:9, 11:7, 116:5, 119:137, 129:4), His commands (Ps 37:31) and His ways (Ps 145:17). They want nothing to do with evil people (Ps 1:5-6).
The righteous man have many troubles, mostly at the hands of the wicked, but the LORD delivers him from them (Ps 34:19, 37:39 ,55:22). The Lord blesses the righteous and surrounds them with favor as with a shield (Ps 5:12). He makes the righteous secure (Ps 7:9). The eyes of the Lord are on them (Ps 34:15). The LORD loves the righteous (Ps 146:8). The righteous are blessed, favored, secured, guarded and loved by God.
The righteous is everybody’s favorite punching bag. They are the most hated group in society (Ps 34:19). The wicked plot against the righteous (Ps 37:12), lie in wait for the righteous (Ps 37:32), lined up verbal attacks against them (Ps 31:18), band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death (Ps 94:21), because the righteous are not envious of the wealth of the wicked (Ps 37:16).
A righteous man is wise in mind and speech (Ps 37:30), and the righteous will have the last laugh (Ps 52:6). He will flourish like a palm tree (Ps 92:12) because there is a God who judges the earth (Ps 58:11).
Conclusion: The greatest jeopardy in life is to bet against God’s existence. When man rejects God, he rejects his biblical commands, moral values and he gambles on his own future, destiny and eternity. Man is merely cocky, never clever. A truly clever person can control his life, death and fate, so man is merely clever is his own eyes. The Bible exalts wisdom and understanding but not cleverness or smartness. Man is only smart and clever but he is not truly wise or understanding. He has abilities, talent, potential and vigor that help him get by for many years but he cannot conquer diseases, death and disasters.
Do you trust in vulnerable man or in Almighty God? Do you have godly belief and spiritual conviction? Are you jealous of evil or zealous in doing good?
Victor Yap
Other sermons in the series and other sermon series:
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