Psalm 14
I concur with the proposed Sing Psalms text with “Southwell.”
Text: Sing Psalms, 2003; alt. MCPC, 2011 (SM)
1 The fool speaks in his heart; “There is no God,” he says.
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; none walks in godly ways.
2 The LORD from heav’n looks down upon the human race,
to see if any understand, if any seek God’s face.
3 They all have turned aside; corrupt they have become.
Not one of them does any good, no, not a single one.
4 Will sinners never learn? My people they devour
as if they were consuming bread; they never seek the LORD.
5 Struck down they are with dread, for God is with the just.
6 You evildoers shame the poor, but in the LORD they trust.
7 May help from Zion come, the LORD his captives bring!
And then let Jacob’s tribes rejoice; let Israel gladly sing.
Tune: Southwell (William Daman, 1579)
Commentary
Psalm 14 is titled, “A Psalm of David.”
Psalm 14 is one of the few “duplicate” Psalms — since Psalm 53 is almost identical except in a few key places.
As I say in my sermon on Psalm 53, when the fool says in his heart, “There is no God,” “That does not mean that all fools are atheists. The fool may be a professed Christian – but in his heart he says, “there is no God.” He may genuinely and truly believe that God exists, but he does not believe that God is going to do anything. The fool is a practical atheist (or at least a practical deist). The fool says, “God may exist, but his existence is irrelevant to my life.””
If we have paid attention even slightly to what God has revealed in David, and then, far more clearly in Jesus, we should be fearless. What can separate us from the love of God in the Messiah? If God brought Jesus through suffering to glory, and has now made us partakers with Jesus, then why should cross or trial grieve me? And you can see this mentality in the laments of the Psalms. Laments generally follow a similar pattern:
Help!
I’ve got a problem!
You’re my only answer!
And when you answer, I’ll give thanks to you!
I strongly recommend that you get this “lament pattern” fixed in your head – because it makes a great pattern for petitionary prayer. You can pretty much fill in the blanks!
Now, Psalm 53 is virtually identical to Psalm 14. There are only minor differences. But the context of book 1 and the context of book 2 are different. Psalm 14 is in the middle of the first collection of Davidic Psalms – most of which do not have any specific historical connections. Psalm 53 is sandwiched in between Psalms that refer specifically to David’s wilderness wanderings in 1 Samuel 20-26. And Psalm 53 opens with a reference to Nabal – “the fool” – who appears in 1 Samuel 25, and exemplifies this Psalm beautifully! In 1 Samuel 25, David encounters a woman, Abigail, and her foolish husband, Nabal (whose name means “fool”). People have sometimes wondered why this Psalm is repeated twice. The five books of the Psalms were remarkably edited to have very precise word and line counts. Apparently, Psalm 14 fit perfectly here as well – and the nabal connection fit so well in this series of Davidic Psalms, that the editor had to put it there!
One of the most significant changes from Psalm 14 to Psalm 53 is found in verses 5-6. Psalm 14:5-6 says,
“There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous. You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.”
But Psalm 53:5 says:
“There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.”
In Psalm 14 the “you” is the wicked – the one who shames the plans of the poor. But in Psalm 53, the “you” is the singular righteous one – the “my people” who have been assaulted. In other words, in Psalm 53 the song has been reworked to fit the Nabal story in the life of David.
Structure:
The SP text fits the structure of Psalm 14 beautifully. Each verse has its own stanza except for verses 5-6 which are combined in one stanza (which mirrors the ESV structure).
Translation Notes:
Any metrical translation of Psalm 14 will need to keep in mind Paul’s usage in Romans 3.
Verse 3 — ESV — “They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”
Romans 3:12 — “All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
— SP — “They all have turned aside; corrupt they have become. Not one of them does any good, no, not a single one.”
Tune Notes:
“Southwell” is used widely throughout the churches — Sing Psalms uses it here, with Psalm 14, while the BPW and the RCNZ both use it with the twin Psalm 53. The Trinity Hymnal uses it with Psalm 130, and the Psalter Hymnal (1959) uses it with Psalm 3 (the RCNZ and Sing Psalms both use it with Psalm 141 as well).
Conclusion
I have not yet preached on Psalm 14, but my sermon on Psalm 53 can be found here.
I have not been able to find any recordings of Southwell.
— Peter J. Wallace
