A Lament over Widespread Corruption (Ps. 14:1-7)

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Their deeds are loathsome and corrupt; not one does what is good. 2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if even one is wise, if even one seeks God. 3 All have gone astray; all alike are perverse. Not one does what is good, not even one. 4 Will these evildoers never learn? They devour my people as they devour bread; they do not call upon the Lord. 5 They have good reason, then, to fear; God is with the company of the just. 6 They would crush the hopes of the poor, but the poor have the Lord as their refuge. 7 Oh, that from Zion might come the salvation of Israel! Jacob would rejoice, and Israel be glad when the Lord restores his people!

The ungodly believe that God does not intervene in human affairs, but the Lord (Yahweh) is constantly looking down from heaven on these foolish men to see if even one possesses the wisdom to seek Him.  These foolish and evil men ignore the sovereignty of God and seek to slander His people.  The rich and powerful who do not believe in God devour the resources of the poor like they would eat a sumptuous meal.  Everyone has gone astray, and no one does good (Rom. 3:10-12).  The ungodly should fear because God is with the righteous and is the refuge of the poor.  May the deliverance of the people of God come from Zion.

Almighty God, let not our actions be those of the ungodly, and let not our minds lack wisdom or our hearts lack truth.  Shower us with your grace that we may see the light of your salvation and walk in it.  This we pray through Christ our Lord.  Amen!

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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.