Godlessness: In Great Terror (Psalm 14, 53)

““Godlessness” is the functioning lifestyle and inner habit of a person who does not believe God exists or live in reference to Him.”

From these passages, we will see that foolishness apart from God is widespread and can only lead to great terror, fear and death. On the other hand, God makes glad the those who seek him, and promises to restore them. In Christ, God makes good on his promises to save his people that He might be their refuge and joy.

(A) The Foolish are Godless (Ps 14:1-4, 53:1-4)

Both Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 begin by mentioning “the fool”. What sort of person do we associate with “the fool” today? When have you felt foolish recently? We think the fool is a person who is not very smart intellectually, uneducated or is not very street-smart. We could also think the person who is a fool is gullible, easily persuaded or tricked, one who falls prey to phone scams or phishing links. We could also o A person who is careless and gets into silly circumstances often. In many of these circumstances, we find ourselves “foolish” or silly, but let us see what the psalmist and the Bible focus on about “the fool”.

The psalm tells us that the fool “says in his heart” (Ps 14:1). The Bible often refers to the heart, and the heart is the centre of a person’s being, the centre of everything and the heart is where a person loves, desires motivations or affections lie. In our world, people do use the phrase “follow your heart” to encourage us to follow our desires or wants. Jesus Himself told the people that, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). Therefore, the main thing about the fool that the Bible wants us to know about is his heart and affections. Being a fool is not so much about outward actions, capabilities, outsmarting the next guy, scoring straight As in your exams but about what a person believes in his or her heart and what a person loves.

The fool also says in his heart “there is no God” (Ps 14:1b). The fool believes that God does not exist and lives as if there is no God. He seems to live apart from God and makes life decisions without consideration for God. The fool does not believe that God will call people to account for their deeds and thinks that God is not interested in human affairs.

Ps 14:2 also picks up on a similar theme, to show us that God looks for those who seek after Him. Fools, therefore, do not act wisely and do not seek after God. Psalm 10:4 tells us that it is “in the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.” Wisdom in the Bible is seeking after God and at the heart of folly is prideful self sufficiency. Fools are not ignorant, but arrogant

The fool does not call upon the LORD (Ps 14:4b), and does not worship God nor recognise God as God. He commits idolatry, de-gods God and rebels against God’s rightful rule as creator.

From these verses, we have a profile of the fool. Foolishness here is all about the heart’s posture toward God. The fool is an atheist. Seeing that the Bible describes folly as one’s heart’s posture towards God, does that sometimes describe us, especially those of us who confess to be Christians? Are we living like the fool? We might be Christians in our confession, but our lives are no different from the fool’s. Functionally, our lives could be no different than the fool’s.

How has God been present in your life this past week? Have you lived apart from God? If so, know that Psalm 14 tells us that this is folly. Have you gone a whole day busy at work, frustrated, angry at how busy or difficult work was but all the while never ever praying to God for help? Or perhaps, you have served in ministry in practical ways like singing in the choir but never prayed or asked God to bless the ministry or service. It could also look like “reading” the Bible for days without ever praying to God through his word. Or at the start of the year, you could plan your year and make resolutions, but never remembering God. How does your life look like today? Are you living without God just as the fool does?

But foolishness has consequences. The psalmist describes it as corruption (Ps 14:1c, 3). The fool is said to do abominable deeds (Ps 14:1c) and no one does good, not even one (Ps 14:1c, 3). There is no good that comes out of folly, out of godlessness and all have turned aside and fallen away from God. Together they have become corrupt, indulging in a collective foolishness, almost as if they encourage each other’s folly (cf. Rom 1:32).

The fools also oppose those who follow God (Ps 14:4a). The fools gain another name here: evildoers. They do evil deeds. They oppose God’s people and the description given is one of eating bread. This is a picture of consumption at the expense of God’s people, they “eat up” God’s people, and better their own lives by taking advantage of God’s people. They treat God’s people cruelly.

Therefore, we see here that foolishness leads to all kinds of evil and corruption in deeds. Denying God’s existence and living our lives apart from God leads to serious consequences. In Mark 7:20-23, Jesus says that it is “out of the heart that comes evil thoughts, sexual immorality, …foolishness”. So we see that there is a connection between our posture towards God and the outcome in our actions. Out of foolishness and denial of God flows all kinds of evil.

Paul uses these verses in Rom 3:9-12 to make a point. Paul’s point is “all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin” (Rom 3:9). Just as Ps 14:1-3 described, all are under sin, under the power of and enslaved to sin, such that we can’t help but sin. Paul uses these verses to explain our sinful condition. By nature, all of us are fools and “under sin”. Being sinful and foolish is not so much what we do with other people first and foremost but what we do with God. Sinners do not understand and do not seek God. None of us did, and we are all foolish for it. We have all rebelled against God.

Psalm 14 is a song that God’s people sang, lamenting about the state of the world that they lived in. They sang about the rampant foolishness and sinfulness of all around them. Those who have no knowledge and understanding of who God is. They are singing about godlessness and how it is everywhere.

When we see the brokenness of this world or face brokenness ourselves, we are tempted to think that the world needs to “act better”, “do more good”, “be kinder/more compassionate, etc”. We think that we can solve this sinfulness and foolishness by strategising and coming up with better plans. But we realise when we read these verses that the main issue here isn’t what about what people do to other people. It is about what people do with God.

This is one of the hardest truths for all of us to believe in. At some level, we are all tempted to believe that we are “good” and basically good people. We don’t harm others, we try to help, to be kind, we give of ourselves to service of others, we provide for our families, etc. This is one of the hardest truths to share/hold out with non-Christians in evangelism. Many will reject and turn away from this important truth in the Bible.

Sin and folly are about godlessness. Without God, there is no enduring/highest good no matter how good or wise or “not foolish” we think we are. What do we do with and about God? Do we spurn Him in the week when we are done with service and sermon on Sundays?

(B) God Restores and Makes Glad the Righteous (Ps 14:5-7, 53:5-6)

The psalmist describes the godless for us. They are in great terror filled with fear and dread, trembling and afraid (Ps 14:5a) where there is no terror (Ps 53:5a). This fear and dread will grip them when there is nothing to fear. Godlessness leads to one fearing when there is nothing to fear. Can you imagine shaking in fear at nothing?

Lev 26:36 describes the punishment from God for disobedience to his law — “The sound of a driven leaf shall put them to flight”. They are fearing nothing when there is really no terror.

Have you feared at nothing before? Just feeling fearful or in dread of something? Sometimes we fear even against our own rational thoughts or conclusions. We know that there is nothing to be feared, but we feel queasy, and the “what-ifs” continue to race through our minds: What if my loved ones died? What if the plane crashes during take off or landing? What if I get a poor performance review and I get sacked? What if I get a chronic illness? What if I fail my exams? What if all my ministry in church leads to nothing and only conflict, and all my plans fail?

We are paralysed and in great terror at nothing because there is no consideration for God in that moment. We don’t think that God is for us nor with us. We are left to sort out all of our what-ifs which we can never do because we are not God. Psalm 14 tells us that great terror is a symptom of godlessness. Our fears are a great barometer of what we do with God.

Both psalms also give us reasons for the fear that the foolish will feel. From Ps 14:5b-6, we read of how God is with the righteous and a refuge for them. For this group of people, He is present with them, by their side. He comforts them when they are shamed by the evildoers or fools.

God takes care of his people against the godless God protects them even as the godless opposes or devours them. He is their refuge, and they are kept safe, away from danger, a shelter from the storm. The footnote of Ps 14:6 says “for”, telling us that the godless oppose the righteous precisely because the LORD is his refuge. Hence, the godless are not neutral but actively oppose God and his people.

Ps 53:5b also shows us a God who judges and rejects the godless. Just as they have rejected God, God rejects them and allows them to be put to shame. Their plans to shame the poor will be turned back to them, with the shame being on them instead. God “scatters the bones” or utterly destroys those who are opposed to his righteous. He claims final victory over them, the godless cannot win against God.

Godlessness has severe consequences for God will not only protect his people from the opposition that they face, but also judge and defeat the godless. That is why the godless is in great terror because God himself is opposed to them, as they are towards him

But God, the LORD, will also act on behalf of His people. The psalmist longs for salvation to come out of Zion, the place where God’s temple was, where God dwells (Ps 14:7, 53:6). It is clear that the psalmist is not looking for anyone else to save but God alone as he says “when the LORD”. It is not an “if the LORD” but “when the LORD”. The psalmist is confident in the certainty of God’s deliverance.

He also refers to God as the LORD, the covenant-making God who keeps his word. He will not fail or renege on his promises. The LORD will restore the fortunes of his people. The word for fortunes can mean captivity, probably referring to a time when the people of God are taken as prisoners of war by the godless. But the point is that God will restore them, bring them back to where they once were. God will redeem them out of their captivity.

And at the end, there will be a celebration when God redeems his people (Ps 14:7b, 53:6b). There will be rejoicing and gladness among God’s people when he does so.

Today, we read Psalm 14 and 53, both of which lays out distinct categories: the Godless and the Righteous. These psalms were songs sung by God’s people as they lamented the general godlessness of mankind. Today we might observe the same godlessness in our world or even in our churches and individual lives.

But God sent one out of Zion who restores the fortunes of his people. We might not be in physical captivity, but God saves us today out of the grip of sin. Eph 2:11-22 tells us that we are no longer “under sin” if we have trusted in Christ. In His time, God sent Christ that Gentiles who were “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” can “be brought near by the blood of Christ”.

In Christ, God is redeeming all, sinners (Jews and Gentiles) to himself. May God help us to not turn aside from Him but repent of our godlessness. We can trust him today as Christ has come, and when he comes again, we will be full of joy and gladness.