1 The fool has said in his heart, "There is no elohim." *
All are corrupt and commit abominable acts; there is none who does any good.
2 Yahweh looks down from heaven upon us all, *
to see if there is any who is wise, if there is one who seeks after elohim.
3 Every one has proved faithless; all alike have turned bad; *
there is none who does good; no, not one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all those evildoers *
who eat up my people like bread and do not call upon Yahweh?
5 See how they tremble with fear, *
because elohim is in the company of the righteous.
6 Their aim is to confound the plans of the afflicted, *
but Yahweh is their refuge.
7 Oh, that Israel's deliverance would come out of Zion! *
when Yahweh restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will rejoice and Israel be glad.
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Verse one in this Psalm 14 makes it a natural as a companion for the Track 1 Old Testament reading selection from Jeremiah 4. In verse twenty-two of Jeremiah 4, we read “for ׀ foolish my people , me not they have known , children silly they , and none have understanding them ; wise they do no evil , but to do good not they have knowledge .” This makes David singing, “has said the fool in his heart no elohim , they are corrupt , they have done abominable works , none who does good .” Both say the rejection of marriage to Yahweh and the subsequent receipt of His elohim Adam-Jesus within their individual souls (to lead them to acts of good) means the result for such unwed souls is to do evil and set up a Judgment by Yahweh that reflects their transgressions.
In verse two it is nice and sweet to imagine Yahweh floating on a cloud somewhere in outer space, where He “looks down” on all us tiny speck on planet earth. The verse must be read as metaphor. A viable translation of the Hebrew word “looks down” is “overhangs” or “overlooks” (from “shaqaph”). When “from heaven” (“miš·šā·ma·yim”) is understood to be metaphor for “in the Spirit,” where “heaven” is the presence of Yahweh within (not in outer space), then David is singing about the soul of a wife of Yahweh has His Spirit always “overseeing” one’s life in service to Him. When the NRSV translates “all of us,” that gives the impression that Yahweh plays no favorite and is present in all souls in human flesh. That is a false concept and not what is written. The literal English translation has David singing of “the sons of Adam” (from “bene-adam”). The “Sons of Adam” are all those souls that have been sent the “elohim” of Yahweh that is His Son, making them be reborn as “sons of men.” With Yahweh watching and His Son resurrected within a soul imprisoned in flesh, it is then “to see if there are any who understand ; who seek elohim .” This means Yahweh sends His Son’s soul into saints, who then minister to the lost souls that seek salvation and want to “understand” – where the Hebrew word here means “to be prudent” (from “sakal”).
In verse three, Yahweh inspired David to sing that those souls who “turned aside” the proposal from Yahweh to marry Him divinely and surrender one’s soul loving to His Son’s direction will be those “who have become corrupt.” From having corrupted souls, “none” of them “does good.” The ability to do “good” is totally dependent on the Son of Adam being led down a path of righteousness, which cannot be traveled without his guidance. While some may attempt to go “good” by adhering to the Law passed to the Israelites from Yahweh through Moses, their lack of “understanding” will lead them to question right from wrong, so “not one does” the right thing without the whisper of Adam-Jesus as their inner Lord.
In verse four, Yahweh has David ask the question, “have no knowledge?” This relates back to the “no not one” statement that ends line three, proving that the “no not” is referring to the “understanding” of verse two. This is “knowledge” of the Law, which is the marriage vows that must be willingly agreed to before divine union with Yahweh can take place. Those who “turn aside” this agreement do not “know” what the agreement means. When David then sang for Yahweh, “all workers of iniquity that eat up my people they eat bread.” This must be read as a double-edged sword of knowledge, where the souls led to sinful lives destroy those servants of Yahweh as their physical “bread.” They profit materially on their destruction. However, those souls married to Yahweh “eat the bread” of heaven, which is spiritual food that is fed to them by their inner “elohim” – Adam-Jesus. Those without divine wisdom (“knowledge”) are “fools” (from verse one) because they “do not call upon Yahweh.” They do not answer His call for divine marriage to their souls. They “turn aside” Yahweh for ignorance and wickedness.
In verse five, David placed a vertical bar after the word “there” (“sham”), which forces one to pause and reflect on where “there” is. It is the earth or worldly plane of existence, where their flesh feels quite at home, as dead matter waiting to return to dust and ash when its soul departs. This says those who reject Yahweh in marriage have no place other than the material realm to think they are gods. Their souls know the truth of Judgment, however, which is why those whos souls have been sold for “there” will only know “great fear.” That “fear” is the afterlife, which they keep denying, but their souls keep letting them know the guilt of their ways. They see those souls who are married to Yahweh (from David’s perspective this is those of true Israel) and see how they are led “to righteousness” unlike them, which can only be due to their advocate or assistant that guides them on that path – their “elohim” from Yahweh.
Verse six sings that it is the “righteous” “who counsel the poor” of soul, letting them know the great “shame” of not following the Law – the marriage vows between a soul and Yahweh. Once the sinners feel the “shame” an know their souls are responsible for their past sins, the ministers of truth let them know that “Yahweh” is their only “refuge.” To find that shelter, they must repent and find love in their hearts for Yahweh and His Savior.
In verse seven words that appear to be proper names confuse the meaning of this verse. The word “Israel” means “Who Retains the elohim of Yahweh,” which is the truth of the name of the people under David, who became like their leader-king-minister as a nation of people that were all “Who Retained the elohim of Yahweh.” The word “Zion” means “A Dry Place,” with the name “Jacob” meaning “Supplanter.” When this is realized, the verse says: “who gives out of a dry place the salvation who retains who retains Yahweh’s elohim the captivity of his people ; let rejoice supplanter , be glad who retains Yahweh’s elohim .”
This says a lost soul is “a dry place” that cannot offer “salvation” – the Hebrew word from which the name “Jesus” comes (“yeshuah”). The “captivity of his people” is another ‘cuts two ways’ statement, where those “dry” hold subjects “captive” to their rules; but souls married to Yahweh are replenished with living waters and “captive” to everlasting life. Therefore, David sang, “rejoice” to those who “supplant” the “dry place” of a sinner and receive the “gladness” that comes from Yahweh’s elohim as one’s Lord within.