Read
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
No One Can Ignore the
1 Only a fool would say,
“There is no God!”
People like that are worthless;
they are heartless and cruel
and never do right.
2From heaven the Lord
looks down to see
if anyone is wise enough
to search for him.
3But all of them are corrupt;
no one does right.
4Won't you evil people learn?
You refuse to pray,
and you gobble up
the Lord's people.
5But you will be frightened,
because God is on the side
of every good person.
6You may spoil the plans
of the poor,
but the Lord protects them.
7I long for someone from Zion
to come and save Israel!
Our Lord, when you bless
your people again,
Jacob's family will be glad,
and Israel will celebrate.
Reflect
The psalmist here is not writing about the person who denies the existence of God. That would have been unheard of in ancient Israel. But there were, then as now, plenty of people who went about their everyday lives as if God could not see what they were doing. The Hebrew word for that kind of person is “nabal” and a man of that name died for his refusal to give food to David when he needed it (1 Sam 25). His wife, Abigail, said, ‘Don’t pay any attention to that good-for-nothing Nabal. His name means “fool,” and it really fits him!’ Those who live like this live out their own rebellion. Theirs is a downward course taking them into heartless living, corruption and evil. Abigail’s husband died for his insolence.
This psalm is written like “wisdom literature,” which sees the world in black and white. Paul picks up the psalmist’s line of thought when he quotes this psalm in Romans 3:10-12. Not one of us is righteous in the eyes of God. We have all, at one time or another, acted like “fools” in this sense. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that we can be saved from this kind of living.
What irony! The oppressed fear and know God and find him to be their protector. The oppressors live as if he didn’t exist, in spiritual darkness and evil. God makes an irrevocable promise. He will one day bless his people! When that day comes, there will joy, hilarious joy!
Respond
Dear Father, keep me close to your heart. Don’t let me be influenced by all the secular messages that I hear today. Help me to know that my help comes from you, my deliverer, protector and my song. Amen.
Annabel Robinson
Annabel was born in Kew, near London, England. She committed her life to Jesus Christ at a Scripture Union camp when she was 16, and immediately found joy and peace. At Oxford she was active in the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, where she met her husband, Reid. They emigrated to Canada in 1965, where she taught Classics at the University of Regina until 2007. She has two children, Heather in Oslo and Alasdair in Calgary.