“His captive people”
[Psalms 14]
At the end of the year 2005, I meditated on Psalms 14 during the last Wednesday, December 28. In 2005, I meditated on the words of Psalms 119 for several months under the theme of ‘I will run toward the Lord's Word’ and meditated every Wednesday from Psalms 1 to Psalms 14. In the midst of that, I thanked God by meditating on Psalms 14 on the last Wednesday prayer meeting. I thanked the Lord for allowing me to meditate on the words of the Book of Psalms throughout the year 2005. Of course, there are many things that can be regretted as I look back on this year, but God has given me a heart of thanksgiving for His grace. And even if there were regrets, I decided to give a different perspective and thank God with faith. So I was able to finish this year 2005 with peace of mind and gratitude.
That’s right. We only need to change our perspective to faith. For example, if we look at Exodus 14:3, the Bible says that Moses and the Israelites were “hemmed in by the desert.” It was Pharaoh king of Egypt who thought that way, and with that thought he brought his army and pursued Moses and the Israelites. At that time, the thoughts of the Israelites were the same as the unbeliever Pharaoh. In their thought that they were hemmed in by the desert, they called that place “graves” (v. 11). However, Moses' perspective was different. He never saw the desert as graves. Rather, he saw it as a place of salvation, experiencing the power of God. Listen to what Moses said: “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” How this perspective is so different from the Israelites’ perspective? In this way, the perspective of faith is very different from the perspective of unbelief.
When we look at Psalms 14, the psalmist also was hemmed. In other words, he became a captive (v. 7). To whom he was in captivity was by the fool (v. 1). Here the word “the fool” in Hebrew is “nabal.” In the story of David, the husband of Abigail (later becoming David's wife) was named “Nabal.” In Psalms 14, when David was in captivity by the fools, he sang this song of Psalms 14. And he sang in verse 1, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ In that sense, there are so many fools in this world. And we can also say that we are surrounded by the fools. Here, “the fool” is a practical atheist (Park). The practical atheist, not the theoretical atheist, acknowledges God with words, but denies Him with deeds. Apostle Paul says that this kind of man is “detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed” (Tit. 1:16). Then in Psalms 14, who were the fools who surrounded David? The Bible mentions in five ways:
First, the fools are those who don’t do good.
Look at Psalms 14:1, 3 – “The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God " They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. … They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.” David says, “There is no one who does good” twice. The fools may say,'God is so Good' with their lips, but they deny God's goodness by not doing good in their lives. Even though they have tasted the Lord’s goodness (34:8), they are evil because they have already abandoned all good things. They are corrupt and they have committed abominable deeds (14:1). Here “corrupt” refers to moral corruption, that is the extreme sinful nature to the extent that it cannot be recovered by its own self (Park).
Second, the fools are those who don’t even seek after God.
Look at Psalms 14:2 – “The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.” The fools confess with their lips that they know God, but they really don’t know God and don’t even seek after Him. They don't even feel the need to know God. Despite God looking down from heaven and seeing, none of the fools want to know God and seek after Him.
Third, the fools have all turned aside.
Look at Psalms 14:3 – “They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.” This refers to those who have been derailed from knowing God (Park). They don’t even have a heart to seek God. They don’t only seek God but other things as well. They seek the world before God. Even if they seek God, they do so without eagerness and they don’t so continually. Also they don’t seek God according to the Word of God (heresy). They seek Him timely (not repenting when they need to repent) (Park).
Fourth, the fools are those who persecute God’s people.
Look at Psalms 14:4 – “Do all the workers of wickedness not know, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon the Lord?” The fools persecute God’s people without hesitation and think this unconcernedly. They are the evil does who never learn (v. 4).
Fifth and last, the fools do not call upon God.
Look at Psalms 14:4 – “Do all the workers of wickedness not know, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon the Lord?” Although they have sinned against the people of God, they don’t cry out to God and repent their sins.
What does Psalms 14 say what God will do to His people who are captivated by the fools and thus are in their miserable condition? The Bible Psalms 14 says three things:
First, the Bible says that God is with His captive people.
Look at Psalms 14:5 – “There they are in great dread, For God is with the righteous generation.” Although it seemed that God wasn’t with the captive David and His people who were persecuted by the fools, for sure Immanuel God was with them. Even if we don’t think and feel like God is with us when we are surrounded by the fools, God is will us. When it’s God’s time, we will be able to realize it and feel it.
Second, the Bible says that the Lord is our refuge.
Look at Psalms 14:6 – “You would put to shame the counsel of the afflicted, But the LORD is his refuge.” Although there are times when the fools hate God’s people and try to frustrate and put to shame their plans and sometimes actually make their plans to fail, the Lord is their refuge. The Lord is refuge of “the afflicted” (v. 6), those who believe in God and who suffer and are persecuted because they try to live righteously.
Third and last, the Bible says that God will save His people.
Look at Psalms 14:7 – “Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.” Although God’s people, who are captive to the fools and are in miserable situation, God will save them in His time. And when God saves His people, God will destroy the wicked (Park). God’s salvation is to restore His captive people (v. 7). At that time, God’s people will rejoice (v. 7). Our sorrow will be temporary and the joy will be eternal.
As in the days of the Exodus, we, like the Israelites, are now passing through this wilderness-like world to the promised land of Heaven. We are being guided by Jesus who is the true Moses. In the midst of that, we may be hemmed in the wilderness like Moses and the Israelites. Even if we look at the north, south, east and west, we can feel the crisis of not seeing a solution and being trapped. At that time, we shouldn’t think of the crisis as a burial place in discouragement and dissatisfaction, looking at the ground like the Israelites who resemble the king of Egypt Pharaoh, who was an unbeliever. In the midst of that, we shouldn’t commit sins of complaining Moses and God. Rather, like Moses, we should look up to the heaven, to the Lord and we need to use that crisis of being trapped as an opportunity to reveal the power of God's salvation. We must trust and rely on God who is with us and our refuge and our Savior. Therefore, I hope and pray that we all can experience the power of God’s salvation.
Desiring to experience the work of God's salvation when I am surrounded by the fools,
James Kim
(Striving to be a wise man, not a foolish man)