Psalm 14
1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do
abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any
who are wise, who seek after God.
3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who
does good, no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they
eat bread, and do not call upon the Lord?
5 There they shall be in great terror, for God is with the company of the
righteous.
6 You would confound the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.
7 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion! When the Lord
restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.
Scholar J. Clinton McCann says that “what Psalm 14 calls foolishness, and
what other psalms call wickedness, is essentially what our culture teaches
people to be—autonomous, self-directed, self-sufficient,” leading to the
theological conclusion that “we don’t need other people, and we don’t need
God!”
But if there’s something we’re all learning during this pandemic, it’s that we
need and rely on other people for our well-being, and we need God. We
are stronger together, and we’re stronger because of God’s help.
And when God delivers us, we are glad and rejoice!
Let us say together these words of Call to Worship based on Psalm 14,
written by Thom Shuman:
The foolish say, "There is no God!
We are alone, on our own."
We gather to declare
the glory of God in our lives.
The foolish say, "It is your life;
you are accountable to no one."
We gather, strengthened by the Spirit,
trusting that Christ dwells in our hearts.
The foolish say, "Everything I have is mine;
I owe nothing to any one."
We gather to praise the One
who calls us to serve others in love.