This psalm is almost identical to Psalm 53. It laments the loss of faith in divine rule, with associated corruption and oppression. The opening verse strikes the tone:
Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is no one who does good.
However, the song concludes with a strong plea for the restoration of the people.
For more on this subject, see Psalm 14: The Justice blues.
🎶
As for music, the dark theme seems to have deflected the interest of composers, as settings are very few.
As if to raise the bar even higher, Psalms for All Seasons in 14A offers us an interesting but challenging song in 5/4. For those not comfortable with this difficult rhythm, even though this one is constructed in regular bars of 2+3, it may be better to think of it as a chant without bar lines.
Easier refrains may be found in The Emergent Psalter and the responsorial setting in PFAS 14B, the latter with verses sung to a standard easy tone.
Psalms in the South 