Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19960204.htm

PSALMS: DIARIES OF GODLY OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
Psalm Fourteen: Overcoming An Unrealistic Outlook About People Who Let Us Down
(Psalm 14:1-7)
  1. Introduction
    1. One of the challenges of life is the discovery that a person we once admired has deep cracks in his armor! It could be a political figure or a Christian we have come to respect. Sometimes the problem takes on added dimensions where one is even mistreated by a party we had once admired!
    2. One's normal response to this discovery tends to be extreme: either he glosses over the sin and pretends that it doesn't exist, or he gets so disillusioned by it that he gives up on the institution that houses such a party! Well, how may we handle this discovery to come away with a realistic, productive outlook?
    3. Psalm fourteen is a strong dose of spiritual quinine for us to take to get us back on track with this problem.
  2. Overcoming An Unrealistic Outlook About People Who Let Us Down, Psalm 14:1-7.
    1. To begin with, like David, we ought to view every human being in himself as being totally depraved!
      1. David claimed that a fool denies the existence of God in practical living: he is corrupt and does vile deeds as a result of putting accountability to God out of mind, Ps. 14:1a,b,c.
      2. However, according to David, EVERY HUMAN BEING is a fool in this way, Ps. 14:1-3:
        1. Having clarified the practical atheism of a fool, David reveals that every man is in this group, 14:1d.
        2. He goes on to say that God views every man as being totally depraved, Ps. 14:2-4: (a) From God's perspective, no man really understands righteousness and accountability to Him, 14:2a. (b) No man in God's perspective really resorts to God for help like he should, Ps. 14:2b. (c) All men have turned aside from righteousness as God sees it, Ps. 14:3a. (d) From God's view, men have mutually corrupted one another, Ps. 14:3b. (e) The result is that no man practices good, not ONE, Ps. 14:3c!
    2. Additionally, if man does not obtain God's cleansing from sin, he becomes a persecuting party!
      1. If he does not receive God's forgiveness and transformation, every man will persecute those whom God has graciously justified and blessed instead of calling on the Lord for blessing himself, Ps. 14:4.
      2. Such sinners seek to put to shame the plans of the justified to bring them down to their own unblessed level, but God is the refuge of His own and always thwarts the works of these persecutors, Ps. 14:6.
      3. As a result, God has such sinners in the dread of fear itself as God perpetually shields His justified ones from their persecutors and brings upon the persecutors defeat instead, Ps. 14:5.
    3. In view of this tragic but universal depravity of the human race, David turns his hope toward God's installation of His Messianic Kingdom on earth as the real hope of joy for the justified, Ps. 14:7!
Lesson: To avoid an unrealistic reaction to seeing sin in another party by either glossing over it, failing to accept chinks in an icon's armor or of "dethroning" an icon and discounting all institutions with which he is associated, (1) recognize t hat all men are desperately lost apart from Christ, and that (2) left to himself, man corrupts himself and others. (3) Realize also that if he refuses to be justified by God, (a) instead of calling upon the Lord for blessings, (b) he will persecute the godly by trying to thwart the godly one's plans! (4) However, God is the refuge of the godly, so the godly must (a) cleave to God for protection and deliverance from such persecutors and (b) remain optimistic by hoping in God's kingdom to come rather th an trusting in any supposed innate "goodness" in man!