PSALM

Chapter 14

Holy Bible

Good News Bible (GNB) version

Chinese Holy Bible [sorry, not ready yet]

Chinese (GNB) version [sorry, not ready yet]

Some Explanations

[Holy Bible]

For the director of music. Of David.

1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, and who seek God.

3 All have turned aside, they have together becomes corrupt, there is no one who does good, not even me.

4 Will evildoers never learn - those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD?

5 There they are, overhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the rightesous.

6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge.

7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoyce and Israel be glad?

[GNB version]

HUMAN WICKEDNESS (Psalm 53)

1 Fools say to themselves, "There is no God!" They are all corrupt. and they have done terrible things; there is no one who does what is right.

2 The LORD looks down from heaven at human beings to see if there are any who are wise, any who worship him.

3 But they have all gone wrong; they are all equally bad. Not one of them does what is right, not a single one.

4 "Don't they know?" asks the LORD. "Are all these evildoers ignorant?" They live by robbing my people, and they never pray to me."

5 But then they will be terrified, for God is with those who obey him.

6 Evildoers frustrate the plans of the humble, but the LORD is their protection.

7 How I pray that victory will come to Israel from Zion. How happy the people of Israel will be when the LORD makes them prosperous again!

Some Explanations:

versus 1-3

　

The true atheist is either foolish or wicked - follish because he ignores the evidence that God exists or wicked because he refuses to live by God's truths. We become atheists in practice when we rely more on ourselves than on God. The fool mentioned here is someone who is aggressively perverse in his actions. To speak in direct defiance of God is utterly follish according to the Bible.

versus 3

No one but God is perfect; all of us stand fuilty before him (see Romans 3: 23) and need his forgiveness. No matter how well we perform or how much we achieve compared to others, none of us can boast of his or her goodness when compared to God's standard. God not only expects us to obey his guidelines, but he wants us to love him with all out heart. No one except Jesus Christ has done that perfectly. Because we all fall short we must turn to Christ to save us. (Romans 10: 9-11) Have you asked him to save you?

versus 3,4

David applies these observations to his enemies when he says the evidoers "devour my people as men eat bread". They have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one." By contrast, David said, "Though you probe my heart, ... you will find nothing" (17: 3)

This is a clear distinction between those who worship God and those who refuse to worship him. David worshiped God, and under his leadership Israel obeyed God and prospered. Several hundred years later, however, Israel forgot God, and it became difficult to distinguish between God's followers and those who worshiped idols. When Isaiah called Israel to repentance, he, like David, spoke of people who had gond astray (Isaiah 53: 6). But Isaiah was talking about the Israelites themselves. Paul qupted Psalm 14 in Romans 3: 10-12. He made the image of straying sheep even more general, referring to all people. The whole human race - Jew and Gentile alike - has turned away from God.

versus 5

If God is "in the company of the righteous," then those who attack God's followers may be attacking God. To attack God is utterly futile (see 2: 4, 5, 10-12). Thus, while we may feel we are losing the battle, there can be absolutely no doube that our ultimate victory is in God.

Source from <<Life Applicatin Bible>> (The New International Version)

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