30 Days With the PsalmsSample

A sobering truth and a hopeful perspective

“The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man …
there is none who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:2-3 ESV).

This psalm is a song of lament about the fact that humans usually do not seek God, and oppress the few people who do want to serve Him. That is the reality we all live in, although we may not always be aware. We may have gotten so used to the fact that people around us do not believe in God, that we hardly realize what this actually means. God’s judgment is clear: people who do not seek Him have no knowledge, they have turned aside, they have become corrupt, they do no good (verses 3-4).

The apostle Paul quotes this psalm and affirms: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV). But he does not end there. He goes on: “… and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24 ESV).

Wow! God is very well aware of humanity’s corruption, and yet He offers them mercy! That is truly “amazing grace”.

You are part of humanity, and thus “have sinned”. Are you also “justified by His grace”?