Psalms 14:2

Psa 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, [and] seek God.

Ver. 2. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men] As opposed to the children of God, so some take it, as Gen 4:26; Gen 6:2. As a judge he looketh down, he vieweth, he taketh cognizance, ere he proceedeth to sentence. Thus he dealt with the old world, with Sodom, with Egypt, &c., to teach us not to be too hasty. No more haste than good speed, saith one. The celestial spheres, the higher they are in situation the slower in their proper motion; and the supreme judge of all useth much forbearance.

And that did understand and seek God] These only are they whom God looketh after; not the rich, but the righteous. And because knowledge is the ground of all goodness, as folly is of wickedness, Psa 14:1, therefore is it here said, "any that did understand and seek God." Lo, these are these precious ones whom God regarded; such as are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, Rom 15:14. "The Father seeketh such to worship him," Joh 4:23.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ver. 2. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men. As from a watchtower, or other elevated place of observation, the Lord is represented as gazing intently upon men. He will not punish blindly, nor like a tyrant command an indiscriminate massacre because a rumour of rebellion has come up to his ears. What condescending interest and impartial justice are here imaged! The case of Sodom, visited before it was overthrown, illustrates the careful manner in which Divine Justice beholds the sin before it avenges it, and searches out the righteous that they perish not with the guilty. Behold then the eyes of Omniscience ransacking the globe, and prying among every people and nation,

to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. He who is looking down knows the good, is quick to discern it, would be delighted to find it; but as he views all the unregenerate children of men his search is fruitless, for of all the race of Adam, no unrenewed soul is other than an enemy to God and goodness. The objects of the Lord's search are not wealthy men, great men, or learned men; these, with all they can offer, cannot meet the demands of the great Governor: at the same time, he is not looking for superlative eminence in virtue, he seeks for any that understand themselves, their state, their duty, their destiny, their happiness; he looks for any that seek God, who, if there be a God, are willing and anxious to find him out. Surely this is not too great a matter to expect; for if men have not yet known God, if they have any right understanding, they will seek him. Alas! even this low degree of good is not to be found even by him who sees all things: but men love the hideous negation of "No God, " and with their backs to their Creator, who is the sun of their life, they journey into the dreary region of unbelief and alienation, which is a land of darkness as darkness itself, and of the shadow of death without any order and where the light is as darkness.

Ver. 2. To see if there were any that did understand... seek God. None seek him aright, and as he ought to be sought, nor can do while they live in sin: for men in seeking God fail in many things: as, First, men seek him not for himself. Secondly, they seek him not alone, but other things with him. Thirdly, they seek other things before him, as worldlings do. Fourthly, they seek him coldly or carelessly. Fifthly, they seek him inconstantly; example of Judas and Demas. Sixthly, they seek him not in his word, as heretics do. Seventhly, they seek him not in all his word, as hypocrites do. Lastly, they seek him not seasonably and timely, as profane, impenitent sinners do; have no care to depend upon God's word, but follow their own lusts and fashions of this world. Thomas Wilson, 1653.

Ver. 2-3. What was the issue of God's so looking upon men? They are all gone aside, that is, from him and his ways; They are altogether become filthy; their practices are such as make them stink; There is none that doeth good, no not one; of so many millions of men as are upon the earth, there is not one that doeth good. There were men of excellent parts then in the world, men of soul, but not one of them did know God, or seek after God: Paul therefore hath laid it down for a universal maxim, that the animal, natural, or intellectual man, receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, and so are rejected by him. William Greenhill.

Ver. 2.

1. Condescending search.

2. Favoured subjects.

3. Generous intentions.

Ver. 2. What God looks for, and what we should look for. Men usually are quick to see things congruous to their own character.

Ver. 2-3. God's search for a naturally good man; the result; lessons to be learned therefrom.

Psalms 14:3*

Ver. 2-3. See Psalms on "Ps 14:2" for further information.

Ver. 2-3. God's search for a naturally good man; the result; lessons to be learned therefrom.

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Psa 14:2. The Lord looked down from heaven — God knows all things without any inquiry: but he speaks after the manner of men. Upon the children of men — Upon the whole Israelitish nation, and upon all mankind; for he speaks of all except his people, and the righteous ones, who are opposed to these, Psa 14:4-5. If there were any that did understand, &c. — That did truly know God, namely, so as to fear, love, trust in, and obey him, (all which particulars are frequently included in the Scriptures, under the expression of knowing God,) and seek God — Did diligently endeavour to learn his mind and will, that they might do it, and to seek his grace and favour.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. (Psa 14:2) Jehovah from heaven has looked down on the sons of man, to see if there were (one) acting wisely, seeking God. While the fool denies the being of a God, Jehovah's eye is on him and his fellow-men. Yet even that omniscient eye can discern no exception to the general depravity and folly. The earnestness of the inspection is suggested by the verb in the first clause, which originally means to lean or bend over, and is peculiarly appropriate to the act of one gazing intently down upon a lower object. The force of the preterite tense is the same as in the preceding verse. The inquiry has been made already, and proved fruitless. It is no longer a doubtful question, but one definitively settled.—Acting wisely, in contrast to the atheistical folly mentioned in Psa 14:1. The test of wisdom is in seeking God, whether in the general religious sense of seeking his favour and communion with him, or in the special sense of seeking proofs of his existence. As if he had said, Even those who think there is no God, if they were wise, would seek one; but these fools take pleasure in the hideous negation. The image presented in this verse may be compared with that in Gen 6:12; Gen 11:5; Gen 18:21. See also Ps. 23:13, 14.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14:2-3 From heaven (33:13; 80:14; 102:19), the Lord sees the wicked, who stand out as vile sinners (11:3-5). The entire human race lacks wisdom and fails to live up to the glory originally given to them (10:4-11; see Rom 1–3).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

looked--in earnest enquiry.

understand--as opposed to "fool" [Psa 14:1].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. The Lord looked down from heaven] Words spoken after the manner of men. From this glorious eminence God is represented as looking down upon the habitable globe, to see if there were any that did understand that there was a Supreme Being, the governor and judge of men; and, in consequence, seek God for his mercy, support, and defence.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Jehovah looked down from heaven. God himself is here introduced as speaking on the subject of human depravity, and this renders the discourse of David more emphatic than if he had pronounced the sentence in his own person. When God is exhibited to us as sitting on his throne to take cognisance of the conduct of men, unless we are stupified in an extraordinary degree, his majesty must strike us with terror. The effect of the habit of sinning is, that men grow hardened in their sins, and discern nothing, as if they were enveloped in thick darkness. David, therefore, to teach them that they gain nothing by flattering and deceiving themselves as they do, when wickedness reigns in the world with impunity, testifies that God looks down from heaven, and casts his eyes on all sides, for the purpose of knowing what is done among men. God, it is true, has no need to make inquisition or search; but when he compares himself to an earthly judge, it is in adaptation to our limited capacity, and to enable us gradually to form some apprehension of his secret providence, which our reason cannot all at once comprehend. Would to God that this manner of speaking had the effect of teaching us to summon ourselves before his tribunal; and that, while the world are flattering themselves, and the reprobate are trying to bury their sins in forgetfulness by their want of thought, hypocrisy, or shamelessness, and are blinded in their obstinacy as if they were intoxicated, we might be led to shake off all indifference and stupidity by reflecting on this truth, that God, notwithstanding, looks down from his high throne in heaven, and beholds what is going on here below!

To see if there were any that did understand As the whole economy of a good and righteous life depends upon our being governed and directed by the light of understanding, David has justly taught us in the beginning of the psalm, that folly is the root of all wickedness. And in this clause he also very justly declares, that the commencement of integrity and uprightness of life consists in an enlightened and sound mind. But as the greater part misapply their intellectual powers to deceitful purposes, David immediately after defines, in one word, what true understanding is, namely, that it consists in seeking after God; by which he means, that unless men devote themselves wholly to God, their life cannot be well ordered. Some understand the word משכיל, maskil, which we translated, that did understand, in too restricted a sense; whereas David declares that the reprobate are utterly destitute of all reason and judgment.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(2) Looked down.—Literally, bent forward to look as from a window. (Comp. Son_6:10.)

Did understand.—Better, any man of understanding, in contrast with “fool,” in Psa_14:1, and certainly meaning one who regulates his conduct on the conviction of the existence of a holy and just God.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. For a while Jehovah as it were overlooked the growing corruption. At length He ‘looked down’ (Psa_33:13-14). So in the yet simpler language of the Pentateuch He is said to have ‘come down to see’ the wickedness of Babel and Sodom (Gen_11:5; Gen_18:21; and note the use of ‘look down’ in the latter narrative though in a different connexion, Psa_18:16). Are not these typical examples of human corruption in the Psalmist’s mind? ‘Jehovah looked down … to see if there were any that did understand (or deal wisely, R.V. marg., for the verb often denotes right action as well as right purpose), that did seek God.’ Cp. Psa_9:10. The use of God, not Jehovah, is significant. It is of mankind in general, not of Israel, that the Psalmist is speaking. God made Himself known through the voice of conscience, and in the works of creation, but men would not follow the light of conscience, or read the book of nature. See Act_14:17; Act_17:27; Rom_1:19 ff.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men,.... As he did when all flesh had corrupted its way, and before he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly, Gen 6:12. This is said in direct opposition to the atheistic thoughts and reasonings of wicked men, in Psa 14:1. There is a God, and he takes notice of the children of men, and of what is done by them; though his throne is in the heavens, and his dwelling there, yet he looks down from thence, and takes cognizance of all human affairs. This must be understood consistent with the omniscience and omnipresence of God; it is an anthropopathy, or a speaking after the manner of men; and denotes the exact notice which God takes, and distinct observation he makes, and the perfect and accurate knowledge he has of men and their actions; see Gen 11:5;

to see if there were any that did understand: not things natural, civil, and moral, but things spiritual as the Apostle Paul interprets the words, Rom 3:11. For though man has not lost the natural faculty of his understanding, and may have an understanding of the things of nature, yet not of the things of God, until a supernatural light is put into him; not any spiritual experimental knowledge of God in Christ, nor of the way of salvation by Christ, nor of the work of the Spirit of God upon the heart, nor of the doctrines of the Gospel, nor any true sight and sense of his own state and condition;

and seek God; that is, "after God"; as the apostle in the same place explains it; after the knowledge of him and his ways, and communion with him; after the things of God, his interest and his glory: they do not seek after him in prayer, or by an attendance on his worship and ordinances; at least with their whole hearts, earnestly, diligently, constantly, and in the first place; nor do they seek after him in Christ, where he is only to be found; nor under the influence, and with the assistance of the blessed Spirit.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The Lord looked down from heaven - The original word here - שׁקף shâqaph - conveys the idea of “bending forward,” and hence, of an intense and anxious looking, as we bend forward when we wish to examine anything with attention, or when we look out for one who is expected to come. The idea is that God looked intently, or so as to secure a close examination, upon the children of men, for the express purpose of ascertaining whether there were any that were good. He looked at all men; he examined all their pretensions to goodness, and he saw none who could be regarded as exempt from the charge of depravity. Nothing could more clearly prove the doctrine of universal depravity than to say that an Omniscient God made “an express examination” on this very point, that he looked over all the world, and that in the multitudes which passed under the notice of his eye not “one” could be found who could be pronounced righteous. If God could not find such an one, assuredly man cannot.

Upon the children of men - Upon mankind; upon the human race. They are called “children,” or “sons” (Hebrew), because they are all the descendants of the man that God created - of Adam. Indeed the original word here is “Adam” - אדם 'âdâm. And it may be questionable whether, since this became in fact a proper name, designating the first man, it would not have been proper to retain the idea in the translation - “the sons of Adam;” that is, all his descendants. The phrase occurs frequently to denote the human race, Deu 32:8; Psa 11:4; Psa 21:10; Psa 31:19; Psa 36:7; Psa 57:4; et soepe.

To see if there were any that did understand - If there were one acting wisely - to wit, in seeking God. “Acting wisely” here stands in contrast with the folly referred to in the first verse. Religion is always represented in the Scriptures as true wisdom.

And seek God - The knowledge of him; his favor and friendship. Wisdom is shown by a “desire” to become acquainted with the being and perfections of God, as well as in the actual possession of that knowledge; and in no way can the true character of man be better determined than by the actual interest which is felt in becoming acquainted with the character of him who made and who governs the universe. It is one of the clearest proofs of human depravity that there is no prevailing desire among people thus to ascertain the character of God.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Lord looked down from heaven, to search out the truth. God knoweth all things without any inquiry; but this is a figure called anthropopathia, whereby Scripture oft speaks of God after the manner of men.

Upon the children of men; upon the whole body of the Israelitish nation, and upon the generality of mankind under heaven; for he speaks of all except his people, and the righteous ones, who are here opposed to these, Psa 14:4,5.

That did understand, and seek God; that did truly know God, to wit, so as to love, and fear, and trust, and obey him, (for all these are frequently signified in Scripture by this expression of knowing God) and that did diligently seek him, i.e. study his mind and will, that they might do it, and seek his grace and favour.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2, 3. The Lord looked down… to see—An anthropomorphism, simply denoting that he made special judicial inquiry; that is, that he took accurate judicial knowledge of men’s acts, such as we arrive at only by a process of close investigation.

Understand, and seek God—This was the test of character, the issue between God and men. The quotation of this by the apostle applies to the universal race, “both Jews and Gentiles.” Rom_3:9-12. They are all reckoned in sin, and as the argument is addressed to the Jews, it shows that this was the sense in which they understood the text. The same universality is expressed in the text by children of men, (Hebrews sons of Adam,) and in Psa_14:3 by the terms all, together, none, no, not one. The bearing of this upon the historical occasion of the psalm shows that it was such as could not be limited to the dominance of a corrupt Jewish party, but included the Gentile nations as well, who now held sway. As a proof of universal, and hence hereditary, depravity, it is decisive.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

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 ver. 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 verse.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Looked - God knoweth all things without any enquiry: but he speaks after the manner of men. Upon - Upon the whole Israelitish nation, and upon all mankind for he speaks of all except his people, and the righteous ones, who are opposed to these, ver. 4, 5.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The second tristich appeals to the infallible decision of God Himself. The verb השׁקיף means to look forth, by bending one's self forward. It is the proper word for looking out of a window, Kg2 9:30 (cf. Niph. Jdg 5:28, and frequently), and for God's looking down from heaven upon the earth, Psa 102:20, and frequently; and it is cognate and synonymous with השׁגּיח, Psa 33:13, Psa 33:14; cf. moreover, Sol 2:9. The perf. is used in the sense of the perfect only insofar as the divine survey is antecedent to its result as given in Psa 14:3. Just as השׁהיתוּ reminds one of the history of the Flood, so does לראות of the history of the building of the tower of Babel, Gen 11:5, cf. Psa 18:21. God's judgment rests upon a knowledge of the matter of fact, which is represented in such passages after the manner of men. God's all-seeing, all-piercing eyes scrutinise the whole human race. Is there one who shows discernment in thought and act, one to whom fellowship with God is the highest good, and consequently that after which he strives? - this is God's question, and He delights in such persons, and certainly none such would escape His longing search. On את־אלהים, τὸν Θεόν, vid., Ges. 117, 2.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

children of mankind

This phrase refers to all humans.

who seek after him

This describes those who desire to know God as if they were actually following him on a path. AT: "who desire to know him" (See: Metaphor)

They have all turned away

This describes people who have rejected God as if they had stopped walking on the right path and had gone in another direction. AT: "They have all turned away from Yahweh" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

heaven

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.