David wrote this psalm and G. Campbell Morgan gave a title to this psalm as “The thought of the whole psalm is the safety of godliness, and the peril of ungodliness.”
Devotional Portion: Psalms 14:1
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.
David is looking at the people who denied the existence of God and he calls them as fools. “From the italics in the New King James Version we can see that what the fool actually says is, “No God.” “That is, ‘No God for me.’ So his is a practical as well as theoretical atheism. Not only does he not believe in God, he also acts on his conviction.” (Boice)
David in his psalms always try to picturise the existence of God- through the creation, and human conscience. People who deny the existence of God are emphatically admitting that they are fools. Romans 1:22 says, “professing to be wise, they became fools.”
Why is a God-denying person a fool?
- He is denying the sovereign power of God!
- He is blind to what is evident before them,
- He is taking glory in the creation than praising the Creator,
- He believes whatever they build/invent has a creator and believes they evolved from a smaller microorganism.
David Guzik in his study of this psalm comments:
There are many powerful arguments for the existence of God; among them are these:
- The Cosmological Argument: The existence of the universe means there must be a creator God.
- The Teleological Argument: The existence of design in the universe means there must be a designer God.
- The Anthropological Argument: The unique nature and character of humanity means there must be a relational God.
- The Moral Argument: The existence of morality means there must be a governing God.
The fool has said in his heart
John 3:20 says, “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”
When we speak with one who denies God, we should not only – or even primarily – speak to his head, but also to his heart. “Let the preacher aim at the heart, and preach the all-conquering love of Jesus, and he will by God’s grace win more doubters to the faith of the gospel than any hundred of the best reasoners who only direct their arguments to the head.” (Spurgeon)
Reflection: Acknowledge who God is.
