Episode Details

Psalm 14: The Fool and the God Who Looks Down

The fool has said in his heart — notice, in his heart, not aloud — "There is no God." It is a private verdict, a secret policy decision made in the boardroom of the self. And from that single silent resolution, everything else follows: corruption, abominable works, a world where none does good, no, not one. The psalmist does not argue with the fool. He does something more devastating: he shows us God leaning over the balcony of heaven, looking down on the children of men to see if there were any — any at all — who understood and sought Him. The image is almost unbearably intimate, like a father scanning a crowded playground for his child. And what He sees is desolation. "They are all gone aside." Yet the psalm does not end in that desolation. It ends with a longing so fierce it feels like a prophecy: "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!" It is the cry of someone who has seen the worst and still believes the best is on its way.

00:00 The Fool Hath Said in His Heart
00:12 The Lord Looked Down from Heaven
00:22 All Gone Aside, None That Doeth Good
00:32 Have the Workers of Iniquity No Knowledge
00:42 The Lord Is His Refuge
00:50 Oh That Salvation Would Come