“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14:1–3, ESV)
It is noteworthy that while David has the ungodly Gentile in mind as he writes this Psalm, St. Paul quotes the passage as applying to all humanity in his letter to the church at Rome:
“as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”” (Romans 3:10–12, ESV)
Paul’s hermeneutic is worth contemplating and meditating on. are there any indicators in his epistle that informs us why he feels the liberty to cite the verse this way? What does this say about humanity at large–both Jew and Gentile? What does it say about our own spiritual condition?