◄ What Does Psalm 14:2 Mean? ►

The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.

Psalm 14:2(NASB)

Verse of the Day

When Adam sinned, a curse came upon God's perfect creation. Adam, who was made in the image and likeness of God, disobeyed the Lord, and from that point forward, he and his progeny were endowed with a fallen sin nature. Because Adam disobeyed the Lord, every member of his race is born in sin - is born a sinner - which means that every one of us is estranged from God and in need of salvation.

When Adam disobeyed the Lord and ate of the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he was endowed with an understanding of what was good - without the ability to do good. And he was given a knowledge of evil, without the capacity to resist what is wrong and do those things that pleased the Lord. When Adam sinned, he died spiritually and was imputed with a sin nature.

God sits on His throne in the heavens and He alone is good and true. He looks down on all the children of men to see if any of Adam's descendants are wisely seeking after the Lord, but there are none to be found. As descendants of fallen Adam, we are all fallen creatures in a fallen world. We are all sinners and we all fall short of God's righteousness and glory, for we are imputed with sin, and inheritors of a sin nature that is hostile towards the God Who made us.

The eyes of the Lord run to and fro, searching throughout the whole earth, to see if there is someone whose heart is fully devoted to Him. The Psalmist tells us, "the LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand - any who seek after God." He looked to see if the thoughts of anyone are perfect toward Him - but the sad thing is that He found none - not even one.

The Psalmist understood how destructive the sin nature had become in the heart of man. He understood that because of man's disobedience, every man's character is deeply flawed and irreversibly polluted. He knew that man had become an abomination in the sight of the Lord, and there is no-one that does good - no not even one.

Paul picks up this same theme in his Roman epistle and even quotes this Psalm by writing, "there is none righteous, not even one. There is none who understands, There are none who seek for God. All have turned aside, and together they have become useless. There is none who does good - not even one."

Paul continues to quote from this same Psalm, when he writes, "their throat is an open grave, and with their tongues, they keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under their lips and their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood and destruction and misery are in their paths - and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes."

This is indeed a terrible indictment upon humanity, and were it not for the grace of God, every member of the human race who were originally made in God's own perfect image with an eternal soul, a mind to think, and a will to choose, would remain under His eternal condemnation and be damned forever.

It is only as one considers the shocking depths of depravity to which man has sunk, through sin, that the inestimable unfathomable grace of God begins to be recognised. For while we were yet hopeless sinners, dead in trespasses, wallowing in sins, and bitter enemies of God - Christ died for us.

God loved us long before we loved Him. God loved us so dearly that He purposed to send His only begotten Son - the eternal Son of the most high God, to come to earth, be born into the human race, and live a sinless life, so that He would be qualified to give His life as the ransom price for the sin of the world - to offer up His sinless soul and shed His sinless blood as the full and final payment for the sin of the whole world - so that WHOSOEVER believes in Him would not perish but have ALL their sin forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life.

Knowing the tremendous price that God the Father had to pay in sending the Son of His love to become our Kinsman-Redeemer... and knowing the terrible agony the Lord JESUS would have to endure and the incredible sacrifice He would have to make in order to redeem the human race, should cause each one of us to glorify Him with every fibre of our being - every moment of the day - and to spread abroad the glories of His holy name, without fear or favour.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, when I consider the depth of depravity to which humanity has fallen and the amazing redemptive price You paid to redeem my life from the pit of destruction, I can only praise and thank You with all my heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. May I never become indifferent to my great salvation or complacent in my Christian walk. May I live each day to Your praise and glory for You alone are worthy of all my praise and honour, not only in this world but throughout the eternal ages to come. Thank You heavenly Father, in Jesus' precious name, AMEN.