Psalm 14

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 14:1-7

Right views of God's government. I. In considering God's moral government of the world, we should be careful to TAKE THE RIGHT STANDPOINT . Much depends on the way we look at things. We may be too near or too far off; we may lean too much to the one side or to the other. Here the standpoint is not earth, but "heaven." This is the perfect state. Here we take our place by the side of God, and look at things in the light of his truth. If we have the Spirit of Christ, the true Son of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 14:1-7

Conflict between God and the wicked. The psalmist beans by lamenting the extent and the power of the atheism which reigns among men ( Psalms 14:1-3 ). But the righteous who have to suffer much on account of it, must not therefore despair; fools shall certainly bring destruction upon themselves ( Psalms 14:4-6 ). He closes with the prayer that God would send deliverance to his people ( Psalms 14:7 ). I. ATHEISM . ( Psalms 14:1-3 .) 1 . Atheism in the thought and in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 14:2

The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men . Corruption having reached such a height as it had, God, is represented as looking down from heaven with a special object—to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. To see, i.e; if among the crowd of the "abominable" doers spoken of in Psalms 14:1 there were any of a better spirit, and possessed of understanding, and willing to seek after God. But it was in vain. The result of his scrutiny appears in the next... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 14:3

They are all gone aside . Haccol ( הַכֹּל ), "the totality"—one and all of them had turned aside, like the Israelites at Sinai ( Exodus 32:8 ); they had quitted the way of righteousness, and turned to wicked courses. The expression "denotes a general—all but universal-corruption" ('Speaker's Commentary'). They are all together become filthy; literally, sour , rancid— like milk that has turned, or butter that has become bad. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. St. Paul's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 14:4

Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? The exclamation is put in the mouth of God. Can it be possible that none of these evil-doers is aware of the results of evil-doing? Do they think to escape Divine retribution? The "wonder expresses the magnitude of their folly" (Hengstenberg). Who eat up my people as they eat bread . Reducing men to poverty, robbing them, and devouring their substance, is called, in Scripture, devouring the men themselves (see Proverbs 30:14 ; Isaiah 3:14 ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 14:5

There were they in great fear . "There"—in the midst of their evil-doing, while they are devouring God's people—a sudden terror seizes on them. Psalms 53:5 adds, "Where no fear was," which seems to imply a panic terror, like that which seized the Syrians when they were besieging Samaria ( 2 Kings 7:6 , 2 Kings 7:7 ). For God is in the generation of the righteous. God's people cannot be attacked without provoking him; they ere in him, and he in them; he will assuredly come to their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 14:6

Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his Refuge. The sense is obscure. Some translate, "Ye may shame the counsel of the poor ( i.e . put it to shame, baffle it); but in vain ; for the poor have a sure Refuge," and the ultimate triumph will belong to them. Others, "Ye pour contempt on the poor man's counsel," or "resolve," because "the Lord is his Refuge;" i.e. ye contemn it, and deride it, just because it rests wholly on a belief in God, which you regard as... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 14:7

Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! The salvation of the "righteous generation" ( Psalms 14:5 ), the "true Israel," is sure to come. Oh that it were come already! It will proceed "out of Zion," since God's Name is set there. The ark of the covenant had been already set up in the place which it was thenceforth to occupy (see 2 Samuel 6:12-17 ). David's reign in Jerusalem is begun. When the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people; either, when the Lord turneth... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 14

This purports to be one of David’s psalms, and there is no reason to doubt the correctness of the superscription. Yet we are entirely ignorant of the time and the circumstances of its composition. There is nothing in the psalm that throws any light on this point, and conjecture would be vain. It would seem to have been composed under the influence of an affecting conviction of the depth and extent of human depravity, and in view of prevalent impiety and neglect of God; but such a state of... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 14:1

The fool - The word “fool” is often used in the Scriptures to denote a wicked man - as sin is the essence of folly. Compare Job 2:10; Psalms 74:18; Genesis 34:7; Deuteronomy 22:21. The Hebrew word is rendered “vile person” in Isaiah 32:5-6. Elsewhere it is rendered “fool, foolish,” and “foolish man.” It is designed to convey the idea that wickedness or impiety is essential folly, or to use a term in describing the wicked which will, perhaps, more than any other, make the mind averse to the sin... read more

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