Psalm 14 Continued…
Psalms 14:7 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!
Zion is the place on earth where God was pleased to reveal His presence, protection, and power (Psalms 3:4; 20:2; 128:5; 132:13; 134:3). The word salvation occurs frequently in the Psalms. While Christians define salvation primarily as deliverance from sin, the psalmist would have understood it primarily in its Old Testament sense of deliverance from earthly danger. David longed for the day when God would bring final victory to His people (Ezekiel 11:17). The great triumphs of Zion’s King will be the joys of Zion’s children. The second coming of Christ to finally do away with the dominion of sin and Satan will be the completing of this salvation which is the hope, and will be the joy every child of God.
Once this poem had been added to Israel’s “hymn book,” worshippers could apply its promises to any of the catastrophic situations they themselves had to live through down through the centuries. They found strength from this psalm to be sure that God would surely rehabilitate (restore the fortunes of) His people. There were civil wars in the days of the kings of Israel, and there were wars with neighboring Syria. There was the destruction in 722 B.C. of the northern capital, Samaria. There was the shattering experience of 587 B.C. when the greater part of the covenant people were taken off into exile in Babylon.
Psalm 14 can also be viewed as being descriptive of the nation of Israel in David’s day, and the priesthood in particular. There were times when the Judean community became unspeakably corrupt, and when Zion, its spiritual center, was destitute of any responsible directive influence because its priesthood was degenerate. Malachi’s criticism of the priesthood of his day (Malachi 1:6-2:9) is a case in point. David vividly pictures the Lord from His exalted heavenly throne looking down upon Israel to convince Himself that the situation of his people is sufficiently serious to demand His interference. It likewise recalls Malachi’s charge that the priesthood of the fifth century B.C. had corrupted the Levitical (priestly) covenant (Malachi 2:8). David points out the faults of the priests. They are themselves wicked men, and their conduct puts stumbling blocks in the path of the common people who look to them for spiritual leadership. They secure their livelihood from the sacrificial offerings, “the bread of God,” presented at the Temple by the people, but they actually are profane men and godless. And they will be rejected, humiliated, and destroyed by the Lord. It stands as a warning to the church of God today.
PRAY
Father, help those who lead your church today to be men of faith and courage.