Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad! Psa 14:7
(verse 6 of the 44 H1523)
I like doing this blog :) it gets me studying so much better than I have in the past! I used to be a lot better about my scripture knowledge, its nice to be getting better about it again because one of the things I always feel a little personal conviction about it when people say one of those verses everyone "knows" but I have no idea what book it's even from. Someone could misquote that thing, say it supports whatever they are pushing and I wouldn't know it; and that's not a good place to be. I say this because Psalm 14 is one of those passages that gets quoted kinda often. Take verse one for example:
The fool [fn] says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
Its one of those verses that encourages you not to be an atheist, so it comes up a lot. (by the way "the Hebrew word for fool in this verse "denote one who is morally deficient.") The rest of the psalm goes on to talk about the abundance of evil in the world, that when God looks down to see if there are any seeking Him "All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one." (verse 3). To me, this puts us all on a level playing field. To realize hope fully you have to get off of your own prideful pedestal! You're human, you sin, you do things that hurt others, mess up, feel hatred and anger, lash out at others in your pain, want to inflict harm out of anger. You might be able to control yourself, practice patience and be getting better as you go but the truth is that we have all sinned. None of us have passed the test with flying colors and have therefore won our salvation on our own awesomeness. In order to progress we need to admit that, because within that we admit we need help just as much as the next guy. We might be able to see his problems and discern that he's blowing it big time in his life by some sin or another, but we shouldn't condemn him for it. We're not perfect either. Get your heart right and you can find what is offered by God.
In the next three verses of the psalm, David reveals an answer to this. "Will evildoers never learn," he wonders in verse four, "Those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the Lord?" Verse four isn't just another description of the fools he's been describing, its another clue to what we can do to not be fools. He's already mentioned one, in verse three: Seek God. Now we have a few more: Treat people with respect and don't use them for your own survival (consuming them); call on the Lord; and also, there is the opportunity for change by learning. There is hope! You're not just doomed to being a sinner.
Verse five says, "There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous." This implies that, deep down, these men know the truth and it frightens them. Verse six goes on, "You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge." Hope again, because when we are no longer on the side of doing evil we will feel the attack that it is. The Lord is our refuge, not just a place to hide but a place to heal and strengthen to get through another attack when it comes.
Finally verse seven, is a hopeful plea that someday the salvation for Isreal will come out of Zion (Zion--God's abode, from which He revealed His purposes of mercy, as He now does by the Church (compare Psa 3:4 20:2 ), and which He rules and in which He does all other things for the good of His people ( Eph 1:22 ). When that happens, David hopes that the nation will rejoice. But it doens't have to be a hoped for joy any longer; we can rejoice in it now because we know what came later, that God sent his Son from Zion to be that salvation. What better reason to rejoice :)
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