God who looks down
Psa
14:2
The LORD looks down from heaven
on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who
seek God.
There
are a variety of aspects of this verse that need considering. The
first is the opening phrase: The LORD looks
down from heaven. There is a sense here of the
Lord who is enthroned in heaven, the Lord who reigns there, who is
distinct, high and lifted up, separate, holy. The opening sense is
of God who is distant and completely different from us. He is in heaven
and we are on earth. He is superior and we are inferior. That is the
clear divine order. But when we say looks down, we
don't mean he looks on us negatively and demeans us. The Lord understands
us, He knows our frailty and He is still there for us. No, when it
says He looks down, it is simply emphasizing His position,
a place where He oversees all that happens on the earth.
The
Bible tells us that the Lord sees all that happens on the earth. A
good example of this was God coming to Moses at the burning bush,
where He says, “I have indeed seen the misery
of my people… So I have come down…” (Ex 3:7,8).
There is the same sense in the Lord's words to Satan in Job, “Have
you considered by servant Job?”
(Job 1:8, 2:3). Satan had been roaming the earth and the Lord had
looked down and seen Job. It is the Lord who reigns on high but sees
all below. Indeed in David's words, we see that the Lord looks specifically
on the sons of men, on mankind.
He's not just looking at the wonder of the earth; He's specifically
looking at mankind.
But
then we're told that He's looking at men for a specific reason. The
Lord is looking for those who are not corrupt (v.1), but who understand
what is happening, who realize how awful it is, and who turn and seek
after the Lord. There is in this, first of all a sense of the God
who longs for fellowship. As we've previously noted, John wrote that
God is love (1 Jn 4:8) and love is something that wants an object
to which to express itself. It is said that the Trinity communicated
or fellowshipped between themselves even before they created the world.
Fellowship and communication is a natural aspect of the Lord, and
so it seems in Scripture that He is constantly looking to make Himself
known to men and women, in order for them to have a relationship with
Him.
But
then comes something that is first of all quite terrible: He looks
but cannot find anyone who fits that description. First of all we
are told there is no one who does good
(v.1). Then we're told, All have turned
aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does
good, not even one. (v.3) This is the state of sinful
mankind. Every one is tainted by this thing called sin. What is even
worse, is that this includes Israel, the people called by God to be
His people. They should be righteous, but again and again they fall
away from the Lord. Will they not cry out?
The
final verse of this Psalm reveals the true state of things: 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! (v.7). Did you see it? When
the Lord restores the fortunes of his people. That
is the truth: without Him they could do nothing. This is what is incredible:
God who is perfect and holy, looks down on an imperfect and unholy
people and takes action to bring them into a right place with Him.
This was his work with Israel of old, and His work with us through
Jesus. Without Him we're lost. He doesn't just look down; He comes
down to bring salvation and blessing to us. How wonderful! Hallelujah!
Response:
Thank the Lord that He has come down to you, to be with you,
communicate with you, and love you. He is here! Worship
Him!