Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
14 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable [a]deeds;
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who [b]understand,
Who seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.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?
5 There they are in great dread,
For God is with the righteous generation.
6 You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted,
But the Lord is his refuge.7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel [c]would come out of Zion!
When the Lord [d]restores His captive people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.
We’ve seen this theme before, but it bears repeating in verse 1. David could have just left it there, but he continues until he asks in vv. 4-5 (paraphrasing), “Do they (the wicked) not know, why do they not call upon the Lord, for they are in great trouble?” We’ve all heard it said “ignorance (of the law) is no excuse”, and no one could truly say “I didn’t know”, for God has “set eternity in the hearts of men”. Beyond that, God’s Spirit pricks our conscience any time we do something we shouldn’t.
Another common refrain is “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” It seems our human nature is bent to foolishness and insanity, as we constantly push away from God, expecting things to change for the better. Yet the only way to find change is to embrace the one who created us, and knows our innermost being–better than we do ourselves.
Instead of burying our heads in the sand, or yelling like a spoiled child to drown out the voice of God, stop. Listen for the voice that has been calling every moment of every day. “For God is with the righteous generation”, not because we are righteous, but only when we trust in Jesus and his righteousness. He is indeed “looking down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any who understand, who will seek after God.” Though don’t let that make you think He is far away. God is right there next to you, just waiting for you to turn down the noise, lift up your eyes, and call out for rescue. Then, like the captive released, you will rejoice and be glad in Him.