PSALM 14. First Part. (C. M.) By Nature all Men are Sinners.
I
Fools in their hearts believe and say,
‘That all religion's vain,
‘There is no God that reigns on high,
‘Or minds th'affairs of men.’
II
From thoughts so dreadful and profane
Corrupt discourse proceeds;
And in their impious hands are found
Abominable deeds.
III
The Lord, from his celestial throne,
Look'd down on things below
To find the man that sought his grace,
Or did his justice know.
IV
By nature all are gone astray,
Their practice all the same;
There's none that fears his Maker's hand,
There's none that loves his name.
V
Their tongues are us'd to speak deceit,
Their slanders never cease;
How swift to mischief are their feet,
Nor know the paths of peace!
VI
Such seeds of sin (that bitter root)
In every heart are found;
Nor can they bear diviner fruit,
Till grace refine the ground.
Several verses of this psalm are cited by the apostle, Rom iii. 10,
&c. to shew the universal corruption of human nature; wherefore I
have brought more of the apostle's words, there used, into the fourth
and fifth stanzas here, and concluded this part of the psalm agreeable to Saint Paul's design.
Note, The second part of this psalm speaks only of persecutors and
the enemies of the church; therefore I have divided it from the former.
