I. (14:1–4) The Godless Devour God’s People. These godless are Gentiles (“the children of man,” v. 2; as opposed to “my people,” v. 4) who have not been given the light and “do not call upon the Lord” (v. 4). Some, however, may suggest that verse 3 narrows the focus to those in Israel who have “turned aside,” but the words themselves do not require this reading. These verses use a number of terms we normally encounter in Wisdom Literature (such as Proverbs): “fool” (Ps. 14:1), “understand” (v. 2), and “knowledge” (v. 4).

There are three Hebrew words for fool (kesil, ʼewil, and nabal), and each speaks of moral orientation rather than intellectual ability; they figure prominently, of course, in the book of Proverbs.134 The term used here in verse 1 denotes someone who stubbornly rejects wisdom; the word lies behind the name Nabal. In 1 Samuel 25:25 (“as his name is, so is he”) we get close to a definition, as Nabal has just rudely rebuffed David. As in Psalm 10:4, the saying of the fool, “there is no God,” is less concerned with philosophical atheism but rather asserts that God, if he exists, takes no interest in human affairs and will not call people to account for their deeds. The result of this denial is that these fools are corrupt and do abominable deeds, and thus none of them does good. Now, people do all manner of evil all the time, and that hardly seems a warrant for a psalm of complaint; but the specific deeds in view are those of harming God’s people (“eat up my people”; 14:4).

Verses 2–3 present us with God’s perspective on these godless: he “looks down from heaven” to assess “the children of man” (i.e., all humankind, not just Israelites) to see if any “understand”—another term used in Proverbs (maskil) for the spiritual perception that enables one to lay hold of God’s grace and live by his instructions (e.g., Prov. 15:24, “prudent”; Ps. 2:10, “be wise”); it is further explained by “seek after God.” God finds instead that they (namely, these Gentiles in view) have “all turned aside” from the proper path for a human, that of knowing God and honoring his people.

The person speaking in 14:4 may be God or it may be the pious Israelite; either could speak of “my people.” The question expresses surprise, or perhaps disappointment, that the search for one who understands has been fruitless. To “eat up my people” is to consume their wealth and freedom and possibly even their lives (in Mic. 3:1–3 it is Israelite rulers who do so). To “call upon the Lord” is to rely on the God of the covenant for life and well-being (cf. Pss. 18:3, 6; 118:5). The people who do not do this are Gentiles—God’s grace, given to Israel, is also for them.

Paul adapts 14:1–3 LXX for his argument in Romans 3:10–12 as part of his contention that “all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin” (Rom. 3:9). In that passage Paul uses excerpts from Psalms 14; 5; 140; 10; Isaiah 59:7–8. In light of the OT story that Paul has summarized in his letter, it is no surprise that most of these texts focus especially on wickedness among God’s own people due to their unfaithfulness to the covenants; the exception is Psalm 14:1–3, which refers to Gentile oppressors. That is, we read of what a Jew would have considered the expected situation in which the Greeks are under the power of sin, but with the horrifying realization that the Jews as well (who had the advantages of Romans 3:1–8 but failed to embrace them) are under the power of sin.135

II. (14:5–6) The Lord Is the Refuge for the Poor. In the face of such threats (Ps. 14:4) the faithful must remember that God is their refuge and will protect them and defeat the evildoers.

The “generation of the righteous” designates the people of God. The term “righteous” in the OT, like other moral terms, can be used in what we may call a wider sense (the people of God as a whole, to whom he has given his righteous instruction) a narrower sense (the faithful within the people, who embrace God’s grace for themselves), or a moral exemplar sense (those members who are particularly noteworthy for their conduct). One can discern only from the context which is most in view. But the psalm is adaptable to the case in which the “righteous” are the people as a whole when oppressed by Gentiles, or more specifically in which the faithful within the people are the ones whose faithfulness is being suppressed; the Gentiles would “shame the plans of the poor” (God’s people portrayed as weak and vulnerable). In either case, the Lord sides with his people and will be their “refuge” and send “terror” upon the oppressors.

III. (14:7) Prayer for Community Salvation. In light of both the situation and the assurance the singing community prays for God to rescue them and promote their well-being; their prayer concludes with firm hope (“when,” not if). The “salvation” prayed for, the deliverance mentioned in verses 5–6, is to “come out of Zion” because the Lord dwells in a special way there, namely, in his sanctuary, where his people gather in his presence.