psalm 14 chiastic structure

Read Psalm 14 at Bible Gateway.

Psa 14 paragraph divisions:

For the Leader. A psalm of David. {n}
Psa 14:1a The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” {n}
Psa 14:1b They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.
Psa 14:2a The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, {n}
Psa 14:2bTo see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
Psa 14:3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.
Psa 14:4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the Lord?
Psa 14:5 There they are in great fear, For God is with the generation of the righteous.
Psa 14:6 You shame the counsel of the poor, But the Lord is his refuge.
Psa 14:7a Oh, that the salvation of Israel {n}
Psa 14:7b Would come out of Zion! When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people, Let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad. {p}

Psa 14 chiastic structures:

Psa 14:1-4

1a) Psa 14:1a, The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God;” {n}

1b) Psa 14:1b, They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good;

1c) Psa 14:2a-b, Are there any who understand;

central axis) Psa 14:2c, Who seek God;

2c) Psa 14:3a, They have all turned aside;

2b) Psa 14:3b, They have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one;

2a) Psa 14:4 The workers of iniquity have no knowledge: eat up My people as they eat bread + do not call on the Lord.

A pair: The fool has said there is no God/ the workers of iniquity have no knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and without the revelation of God, there can be no knowledge and no wisdom. I can’t help but think back to the debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye. Bill admitted that he is ignorant of how consciousness arose from matter. Because he has denied the revelation of God, he has no knowledge. Of course, a five-year-old who knows that God created him, knows more than Bill Nye.

B and C pair: This corruption of the heart and mind leads to corrupt works. In fact, this is the boat God found all of us in, for the whole earth came together at Babel to deny God as Creator and God. Therefore they rebelled against Him. Rebellion is sin. There was no one exempt. Are there any who understand? No, they have all turned aside.

Central axis: to seek God is the purpose of our existence. He created us to be in a relationship with Him. The one who is seeking Him, has not denied His existence. He is at the threshold of wisdom.

Psa 14:5-7

1a) Psa 14:5a, They [the workers of iniquity] are in great fear;

1b) Psa 14:5b-6,They would shame the counsel of the poor but God is with the generation of the righteous/ is his refuge:

1a) Psa 14:5b, For God is with the generation of the righteous;
central axis) Psa 14:6a, You would shame the counsel of the poor;
2a) Psa 14:6b, But the Lord is his refuge;

central axis) Psa 14:7a, Oh, that the salvation of Israel; {n}

2b) Psa 14:7b, Would come out of Zion, when the Lord brings back the captivity of His people;

2a) Psa 14:7c, Let Jacob rejoice + Israel be glad. {p}

A pair: The foolish deniers are in great fear/ the people of God are in great joy. If God does not exist, what are they afraid of? They are in fear, because their heart knows God exists, even when their foolish mind denies they believe it.

B pair: The foolish deniers would shame the counsel, or wisdom, of the poor. I think “poor” here thematically connects to the “poor in spirit” of Isa 61 and Mat 5. What is the counsel of the poor in spirit? That God exists, that we have come short of Him, and we need Him to save us by His grace if we are to be saved. The proud deniers shame the poor in spirit for believing this. Again, I cannot help but think back to the debate. But while the foolish in heart would shame the poor, the very salvation that the poor have trusted in would come out of Zion. In fact, the word “salvation” in the central axis, is “yeshua.” Yeshua of Israel would come out of Zion; it is He who will bring back His people from captivity! No matter the circumstances we face today, we can rejoice and be glad!