Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor— Will ye shame the counsel of the afflicted?—"Will ye now shame, or laugh at the poor oppressed people, for making God their refuge? Psalms 14:7. O that I could once see them back again in their own land!" This great event, probably, gave the author spirit to hope; and therefore in the view of it he proceeds exultingly, When the Lord, &c. See Mudge; who begins the 6th verse with the last clause of the 5th, thus: Yes, God is in the generation of the righteous: If the Psalm, however, is to be understood of Absalom, this last verse must refer to David's wish for his restoration to Jerusalem again, after his sad expulsion from thence by his son. See 1 Chronicles 16:35.
REFLECTIONS.—However outward sins may shock the conscience, no man can truly be emptied of himself, or be led to self-despair, till God opens to him the plague of his heart, and makes him see the desperate wickedness of a fallen nature. This is here done to the discerning sinner.
1. The heart of the fool is laid open. The fool, or the sinner, for sin is the foolishness of folly, hath said in his heart, There is no God. Though they are abandoned indeed who avow atheism in principle, yet the hardened sinner feels it his interest that there should be no God, secretly wishes that there may be none, and would fain persuade himself that there is none; no God to judge, no hell to torment. Note; (1.) If the thoughts of multitudes were as open as their countenances, they would startle at each other as monsters. (2.) All sin in practice, proceeds from a measure of atheism in principle.
2. The ways of men correspond to their nature: they are corrupt, or they do corrupt, they are such in themselves, their nature utterly defiled, being conceived and born in sin, and their inward arts very wickedness; and they corrupt others, provoke, stir up, and draw out the corruption which is in the hearts of sinners like themselves. They have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good; their practice corresponds with their principles; for who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? And,
3. This is the case by nature universally; not in one place, or one age, but uniformly the same in every place, in every man, in every age; so God testifies on the view of all mankind, when the Lord looked down from heaven. The fool said, There is no God, or he careth not for it; he hideth away his face, and will never see the evil: but God's eyes are upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand the ways of truth and righteousness, and seek God, the knowledge of him and his will. But what a fearful account does the God of truth who cannot lie, the God of omniscience who cannot err, give of the state of man! They are all gone aside with universal apostacy; they have forsaken the path of duty and holiness; they are all together become filthy, or putrid; loathsome and offensive to the Divine purity, as a dead carcase in our nostrils. There is none that doeth good, no not one; not a single exception can be found among all the sons of men: they are one man's children; and, as descendants of a fallen parent, a seed of evil doers. Note; (1.) By nature there is no moral difference between one man and another; though in outward transgression there may be much, in inward apostacy there is none. (2.) If there be any good wrought in us, or done by us, we are indebted for it solely to the saving grace of God.
4. The Psalmist concludes with a devout wish: O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! especially that Redeemer who should turn away ungodliness from Jacob, and bring a cure for the desperate disease of human corruption: when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people by the powerful agency of his Son, manifested to destroy the works of the devil, and to set the captives of sin free; then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad; his faithful people shall rejoice in their present salvation begun; and their joy shall by and by be full, when he shall appear to destroy all his enemies and theirs, and complete their final salvation in eternal glory.