An Ancient Atheism – Psalm 14
Psalm 14 – For the director of music. Of David.
1 The fool says in his heart,
Psalm 14 New International Version – UK (NIVUK) Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
‘There is no God.’
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God.
3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on the Lord.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
for God is present in the company of the righteous.
6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
An Ancient Atheism – Psalm 14
The “New Atheism” of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchins is not so new. We find it thousands of years ago in Psalm 14 from the Bible.
God Dismissed: Verse 1
The fool says in his heart “there is no God” – not a mind problem but a heart problem.
Humanity Assessed: Verses 2&3
“The Lord looks down…” – God assesses us, not the other way around.
Reality Revealed: Verse 4
God is here, present with His people. He is near, not absent.
God Rescues: Verse 6&7
A promise – “when” not “if”.
A promise fulfilled in Jesus: Salvation coming out of Zion.
