2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
2 The LORD H3068 looked down H8259 from heaven H8064 upon the children H1121 of men, H120 to see H7200 if there H3426 were any that did understand, H7919 and seek H1875 God. H430
2 Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, That did seek after God.
2 Jehovah from the heavens Hath looked on the sons of men, To see if there is a wise one -- seeking God.
2 Jehovah looked down from the heavens upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
2 Yahweh looked down from heaven on the children of men, To see if there were any who did understand, Who did seek after God.
2 The Lord was looking down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who had wisdom, searching after God.
The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained?
Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.
A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 14
Commentary on Psalms 14 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 14
It does not appear upon what occasion this psalm was penned nor whether upon any particular occasion. Some say David penned it when Saul persecuted him; others, when Absalom rebelled against him. But they are mere conjectures, which have not certainty enough to warrant us to expound the psalm by them. The apostle, in quoting part of this psalm (Rom. 3:10, etc.) to prove that Jews and Gentiles are all under sin (v. 9) and that all the world is guilty before God (v. 19), leads us to understand it, in general, as a description of the depravity of human nature, the sinfulness of the sin we are conceived and born in, and the deplorable corruption of a great part of mankind, even of the world that lies in wickedness, 1 Jn. 5:19. But as in those psalms which are designed to discover our remedy in Christ there is commonly an allusion to David himself, yea, and some passages that are to be understood primarily of him (as in Psalm 2, 16, 22, and others), so in this psalm, which is designed to discover our wound by sin, there is an allusion to David's enemies and persecutors, and other oppressors of good men at that time, to whom some passages have an immediate reference. In all the psalms from the 3rd to this (except the 8th) David had been complaining of those that hated and persecuted him, insulted him and abused him; now here he traces all those bitter streams to the fountain, the general corruption of nature, and sees that not his enemies only, but all the children of men, were thus corrupted. Here is,
To the chief musician. A psalm of David.
Psa 14:1-3
If we apply our hearts as Solomon did (Eccl. 7:25) to search out the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness, these verses will assist us in the search and will show us that sin is exceedingly sinful. Sin is the disease of mankind, and it appears here to be malignant and epidemic.
In singing this let us lament the corruption of our own nature, and see what need we have of the grace of God; and, since that which is born of the flesh is flesh, let us not marvel that we are told we must be born again.
Psa 14:4-7
In these verses the psalmist endeavours,