Folly of the Godless Versus God's Final Triumph

Psalms 14:1-7 

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 The fool has said in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt,
They have done abominable works,
There is none who does good.

2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

3 They have all turned aside,
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one.

4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call on the LORD?

5 There they are in great fear,
For God is with the generation of the righteous.

6 You shame the counsel of the poor,
But the LORD is his refuge.

7 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD brings back the captivity of His people,
Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad.

As we see also in (Psalm 53:1–6), the corruption of all mankind through Adam at the Fall from grace by the last exercise of free will is apparent.  There now is none who does good (as repeated in Romans 3:10-12) because of the total depravity, including of our will, which we have inherited.  God sees from His heavenly throne that none really seek Him nor really understand His word and will, and seek in their corrupt state to earn salvation at best, or at worst just continue to pursue unrighteousness in all its corrupted forms, from lying to adultery to homosexuality to stealing and killing, all the while denying God and His righteous holiness intended for us to imitate.  We work in willful ignorance of God’s word which gives wisdom and knowledge, tearing each other apart for selfish gain.  We do not instead call on God for our righteousness and pursue holiness when He reveals Himself.  Only Christ can change this by regeneration of the heart with a burning desire to follow God’s word embedded into our hearts by saving grace in reconciliation.  The unrepentant and unrighteous have an inner fear as they observe the righteous, knowing but not admitting their guilt and just judgment they inevitably will face.  They know that God is with those righteous in Christ and set out to slander, ridicule, and outright attack (and sometimes murder) them.  Here we see that God is the counsel and refuge of these who are so treated by a world bent on rushing towards Hell and destruction.  David prayed here that the LORD would bring salvation to deliver His chosen people out of the captivity of sin and judgment, that these would find joy and gladness in Him and His righteousness given freely by grace to the undeserving.  The ungodly know only folly, but God’s triumph is in Christ to deliver us from so great a death (2 Corinthians 1:10) by Christ alone, through grace alone, in the righteousness of Christ alone in which the redeemed stand and bow down in humble gratitude.  The gospel message begins with the bad news here of the utter depravity of all born in sin, unable to work their way to Him.  This bad news is what the good news is for, to offer what cannot be achieved in our moral effort, true righteousness which allows us entrance into His favor and an eternal presence before Him.  No false gospel based on our ineffectual efforts is able to deliver us, only grace by the works Christ has done once for all whom He calls (Romans 6:10, Hebrews 9:12, 10:10, John 6:44, 64-65, John 10:26-29).  This is the grace on which we stand that delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10) which King David looked forward to, as others before and after him through God’s prophets (1 Peter 1:10-11, Hebrews 11:1, 13, 39-40).  The gospel remains unchanged.  Salvation from our well-deserved judgment is by God-given faith alone in Christ and His works alone for God’s glory and not our own (Romans 3:20, 24, 28, 5:1, 8:30).  God has triumphed in Christ and we in Him (1 Corinthians 15:56-57)., and has defeated the folly of the ungodly who deny Him.  Amen!