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.
Verse 3. "They are all gone aside." Without exception, all men
have apostatized from the Lord their Maker, from his laws, and from
all the eternal principles of right. Like stubborn heifers they have
sturdily refused to receive the yoke, like errant sheep they have
found a gap and left the right field. The original speaks of the race
as a whole, as a totality; and humanity as a whole has become
depraved in heart and defiled in life. "They have altogether
become filthy;" as a whole they are spoiled and soured like
corrupt leaven, or, as some put it, they have become putrid and even
stinking. The only reason why we do not more clearly see this
foulness is because we are accustomed to it, just as those who work
daily among offensive odours at last cease to smell them. The miller
does not observe the noise of his own mill, and we are slow to
discover our own ruin and depravity. But are there no special cases,
are all men sinful? "Yes," says the Psalmist, in a manner not to be
mistaken, "they are." He has put it positively, he repeats it
negatively, "There is none that doeth good, no, not one." The
Hebrew phrase is an utter denial concerning any mere man that he of
himself doeth good. What can be more sweeping? This is the verdict of
the all-seeing Jehovah, who cannot exaggerate or mistake. As if no
hope of finding a solitary specimen of a good man among the unrenewed
human family might be harboured for an instant. The Holy Spirit is
not content with saying all and altogether, but adds the crushing
threefold negative, "none, no, not one." What say the
opponents to the doctrine of natural depravity to this? Rather what
do we feel concerning it? Do we not confess that we by nature
are corrupt, and do we not bless the sovereign grace which has
renewed us in the spirit of our minds, that sin may no more have
dominion over us, but that grace may rule and reign?
Verse 4. Hatred of God and corruptness of life are the motive forces
which produce persecution. Men who having no saving knowledge of
divine things, enslave themselves to become workers of iniquity, have
no heart to cry to the Lord for deliverance, but seek to amuse
themselves with devouring the poor and despised people of God. It is
hard bondage to be a "worker of iniquity;" a worker at the
galleys, or in the mines of Siberia, is not more truly degraded and
wretched; the toil is hard and the reward dreadful: those who have no
knowledge choose such slavery, but those who are taught of God cry to
be rescued from it. The same ignorance which keeps men bondsmen to
evil, makes them hate the freeborn sons of God; hence they seek to
eat them up "as they eat bread," —daily, ravenously, as though
it were an ordinary, usual, every-day matter to oppress the saints of
God. As pikes in a pond, eat up little fish, as eagles prey on
smaller birds, as wolves rend the sheep of the pasture, so sinners
naturally and as a matter of course, persecute, malign, and mock the
followers of the Lord Jesus. While thus preying, they forswear all
praying, and in this act consistently, for how could they hope to be
heard while their hands are full of blood?
Verse 5. Oppressors have it not all their own way, they have their
fits of trembling and their appointed seasons of overthrow.
There —where they denied God and hectored against his people;
there —where they thought of peace and safety, they were made
to quail. "There were they" —these very loud-mouthed,
iron-handed, proud-hearted Nimrods and Herods, those heady,
high-minded sinners— "there were they in great fear." A panic
terror seized them: "they feared a fear," as the Hebrew puts it; an
undefinable, horrible, mysterious dread crept over them. The most
hardened of men have their periods when conscience casts them into a
cold sweat of alarm. As cowards are cruel, so all cruel men are at
heart cowards. The ghost of past sin is a terrible spectre to haunt
any man, and though unbelievers may boast as loudly as they will, a
sound is in their ears which makes them ill at ease.
"For God is in the generation of the
righteous." This makes the company of godly men so irksome to the
wicked because they perceive that God is with them. Shut their eyes
as they may, they cannot but perceive the image of God in the
character of his truly gracious people, nor can they fail to see that
he works for their deliverance. Like Haman, they instinctively feel a
trembling when they see God's Mordecais. Even though the saint may be
in a mean position, mourning at the gate where the persecutor
rejoices in state, the sinner feels the influence of the believer's
true nobility and quails before it, for God is there. Let scoffers
beware, for they persecute the Lord Jesus when they molest his
people; the union is very close between God and his people, it
amounts to a mysterious indwelling, for God is in the generation of
the righteous.
Verse 6. Notwithstanding their real cowardice, the wicked put on the
lion's skin and lord it over the Lord's poor ones. Though fools
themselves, they mock at the truly wise as if the folly were on their
side; but this is what might be expected, for how should brutish
minds appreciate excellence, and how can those who have owl's eyes
admire the sun? The special point and butt of their jest seems to be
the confidence of the godly in their Lord. What can your God do for
you now? Who is that God who can deliver out of our hand? Where is
the reward of all your praying and beseeching? Taunting questions of
this sort they thrust into the faces of weak but gracious souls, and
tempt them to feel ashamed of their refuge. Let us not be laughed out
of our confidence by them, let us scorn their scorning and defy their
jeers; we shall need to wait but a little, and then the Lord our
refuge will avenge his own elect, and ease himself of his
adversaries, who once made so light of him and of his people.
Verse 6. Natural enough is this closing prayer, for what would so
effectually convince atheists, overthrow persecutors, stay sin, and
secure the godly, as the manifest appearance of Israel's great
Salvation? The coming of Messiah was the desire of the godly in all
ages, and though he has already come with a sin-offering to purge
away iniquity, we look for him to come a second time, to come without
a sin-offering unto salvation. O that these weary years would have an
end! Why tarries he so long? He knows that sin abounds and that his
people are down-trodden; why comes he not to the rescue? His glorious
advent will restore his ancient people from literal captivity, and
his SPIRITUAL seed from spiritual sorrow. Wrestling Jacob and
prevailing Israel shall alike rejoice before him when he is revealed
as their salvation. O that he were come! What happy, holy, halcyon,
heavenly days should we then see! But let us not count him slack, for
behold he comes, he comes quickly! Blessed are all they that wait for
him.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS
Whole Psalm. There is a peculiar mark put upon this Psalm, in
that it is twice in the Book of psalms. The fourteenth Psalm and the
fifty-third Psalm are the same, with the alteration of one or two
expressions at most. And there is another mark put upon it, that the
apostle transcribes a great part of it. Romans 3:10-12.
It contains a description of a most
deplorable state of things in the world—ay, in Israel; a most
deplorable state, by reason of the general corruption that was
befallen all sorts of men, in their principles, and in their
practices, and in their opinions.
First, it was a time when there was a
mighty prevalent principle of atheism got into the world, got
among the great men of the world. Saith he, "That is their principle,
they say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'" It is true, they did
not absolutely profess it; but it was the principle whereby all their
actings were regulated, and which they conformed unto. "The
fool," saith he, "hath said in his heart, There is no
God." Not this or that particular man, but the fool—that is,
those foolish men; for in the next word he tells you, "They are
corrupt;" and verse 3, "They are all gone aside." "The
fool" is taken indefinitely for the great company and society of
foolish men, to intimate that whatsoever they were divided about
else, they were all agreed in this. "They are all a company of
atheists," saith he, "practical atheists."
Secondly, their affections were
suitable to this principle, as all men's affections and actions are
suitable to their principles. What are you to expect from men whose
principle is, that there is no God? Why, saith he, for their
affections, "They are corrupt;" which he expresseth again (verse 3),
"They are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy." "All
gone aside." The word in the original is, "They are all grown sour;"
as drink, that hath been formerly of some use, but when grown vapid—
lost all its spirits and life—it is an insipid thing, good for
nothing. And, saith he, "They are altogether become filthy" —
"become stinking," as the margin hath it. They have corrupt
affections, that have left them no life, no savour; but stinking,
corrupt lusts prevail in them universally. They say, "There is no
God;" and they are filled with stinking, corrupt lusts.
Thirdly, if this be their principle and
these their affections, let us look after their actions, to
see if they be any better. But consider their actions. They be of two
sorts; 1. How they act in the world, 2. How they act toward the
people of God.
1. How do they act in the world? Why,
consider that, as to their duties which they omit, and as to the
wickednesses which they perform. What good do they do? Nay, saith he,
"None of them doeth good." Yea, some of them. "No, not
one." Saith he, verses 1, 3, "There is none that doeth good, no,
not one." If there was any one among them that did attend to what was
really good, and useful in the world, there was some hope. "No,"
saith he, "their principle is atheism, their affections are corrupt;
and for good, there is not one of them doeth any good—they omit all
duties."
What do they do for evil? Why, saith he,
"They have done abominable works" —"works," saith he, "not to
be named, not to be spoken of—works which God abhors, which all good
men abhor." "Abominable works," saith he, "such as the very light of
nature would abhor;" and give me leave to use the expression of the
psalmist—"stinking, filthy works." So he doth describe the state and
condition of things under the reign of Saul, when he wrote this
Psalm.
2. "If thus it be with them, and if thus
it be with their own ways, yet they let the people of God alone; they