Psalms 53:1-3

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.

The folly of unbelief

There were Atheists in David’s days, practical Atheists at least, as there have been in all days, and probably ever will be, and the general bearing of this psalm teaches us pretty clearly the judgment which David formed of them. David at once goes off into a description of the abominably wicked lives of those who said so; the man who says there is no God is declared by David to be a fool, a man wanting in judgment, in clearness of head, in powers of reasoning; this is an imputation upon his mind, his intellect: but the matter does not rest there, for David does not proceed to deplore the weakness of the Atheist’s faculties, but the rottenness of the Atheist’s heart; he says they are corrupt, altogether become abominable. He clearly sees the cause of the man’s infidelity in his wicked course of life. He would not leave off sinning, that were too great a sacrifice, but at length a light opens upon his mind, but it is a light such as in swampy places sometimes tempts a traveller from the right way--no light of the sun, no guiding star. And what is the light? It is this, that after all perhaps all this about God is a cunning fable, an invention of priests, a mere bugbear to frighten children. And to a man who is determined to sin this is right comfortable doctrine. It is easy to believe true what we wish to be true. And what could a man who has become corrupt and abominable wish to be truer than that there should be no God? This is evidently David’s judgment upon the matter. But the man is a fool who says there is no God! His wickedness is lost in his folly. For what folly is his who says there is no God! There is the argument unanswerable, “Who hath made all these things?.. . The heavens declare the glory of God,” etc. And equally unreasonable is the denial of God’s moral government. A kind of denial this which is alluded to in the psalm, “and yet they say, Tush, God shall not see it.” Yet this view also may, I think, without much difficulty, be convicted of folly; for let us consider, is it possible to think of God as being otherwise than perfect? Surely not--an imperfect God is no God at all; if perfect, then He must be perfect in goodness, in holiness and truth. Can He smile equally on the false and the true, the murderer and the saint? is it conceivable that St. John and Judas Iscariot should be equally pleasing to their Maker, differing from each other merely as two stones of different colour differ? Surely all this is monstrous; it is not merely contrary to the Bible, or to the inventions of priests, but it is utterly opposed to the plainest dictates of reason. Therefore I find no difficulty in agreeing with the expression of the text that he who in this way denies God by making Him only the Creator and Preserver, and not the righteous Ruler and Judge, gives evidence thereby of his folly. There is, however, one other manner in which a man may deny God. He may allow all that I have contended for hitherto, and may agree with me that it is contrary to sound reason to deny it; but he may still refuse homage to that God whom we worship as revealed to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that there are such persons, that there always have been such; and we know that the leaders of such a party have accounted themselves as clearsighted beyond others, men of great freedom of thought, not slaves to vulgar prejudices, but rather men who have risen above all vulgar prejudices into an atmosphere of their own. Well, men may be wise in their own conceits without being really wise, and it seems very possible that these infidels may after all be of the class of David’s fool. If this be so, it will not take long to show it. For--

1. The holiest and wisest men have found in the revelation of God in Christ the satisfaction of all their spiritual wants.

2. Then in estimating the reality of the revelation which God has made to us in Jesus Christ, it is necessary to observe the wonderful power that the revelation has had; how it has broken up kingdoms and formed others, how it has reduced whole nations to its dominion and then civilized and informed them; how it has unquestionably been the mainspring, the chief mover of all the history of the world since the time that Christ came. Once more, it is to be noted that if Christ be not “the way, the truth, and the life,” at least there is no other; either God has revealed Himself in Christ, or He has not revealed Himself at all; for there is no other religion in this world which any one will pretend to substitute. David, as I have already observed, passes abruptly from the speech of the fool’s heart to the state of his heart” “corrupt are they, and become abominable in their wickedness.” What are we to learn from this part of the text? Surely this most true and valuable lesson, that the denial of God generally proceeds from the heart more than from the intellect. I do not say that this is so in all cases; for when systematic attempts are made to destroy the faith of mankind, it is not to be wondered at if in some instances the belief of simple men should be disturbed; but depend upon it, the fear of a future judgment, and the wish to get free from the thought of it, is the root of much unbelief. And yet doubts and fears do sometimes trouble the mind; the best of men have sometimes felt them; it may be that to experience them is part of our appointed discipline in this world: if, then, any person should be so tempted and tried, I should remind him of our blessed Lord’s promise, “He that will do the will of God shall know of My doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of Myself.” You see that our Lord gives an essentially practical rule for strengthening our faith; He does not say, shut yourself up in your study and go carefully through all the evidences and weigh them with an unbiased mind--but go and do God’s will. And so when He heard the Pharisees disbelieving, He did not say, how can ye believe who will not look into evidences, but, “how can ye believe which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour which cometh of God only?” Here was the defect: the Pharisees were well read in the law, men of acute minds, cultivated intellects: if Christ were the Messiah, why could not they, who were actually looking for Him, recognize His true character? because they were seeking their own glory, seeking honour one of another, and not that which comes of God. What a strange reproof was this to those who piqued themselves upon their wisdom! Christian brethren, let us do God’s will, and then we shall know of the doctrine that is of God. (Bishop Harvey Goodwin.)

Cause of infidelity

In Scripture the fool and the sinner often mean the same person, and infidelity is therefore usually found connected with great depravity. Its progress is gradual; it begins by opposing those doctrines that impose restraint upon a man’s favorite vices, and from denying these it proceeds to deny others, and, finally, all the rest. This subject is very important to the age in which we live, Europe being deluged with impiety. What, then, are the causes of infidelity? And we name--

1. Vice. It is not the difficulties of Scripture, but its forbidding of their sin that men dislike. All experience proves this. At first conscience remonstrates, but, unable to secure obedience, conscience is soon silenced, and the sinner seeks to justify those propensities which he declares himself unable to subdue. For it is necessary that men should reconcile their conduct to their opinions, or else there will be continual misery through self-reproach. And they soon succeed in the endeavour, for when a man studies to deceive himself he always can do so. His wishes, not his reason, decide upon the truth. The libertine hates the purity of religion; the dissolute, its temperance; the proud, its meekness; the gay worldling, its piety. But if they cannot get rid of the authority of religion, the thought of the future will make them tremble. Hence they labour to destroy that authority, so that conscience may have no more ground for her reproaches. They represent death as an eternal sleep, and, that men may indulge unrestrainedly the passions of brutes, they labour to show that his end is as theirs. Another proof that infidelity springs from vice is that it usually keeps pace with the passions. When these are strong it is strong. It flourishes in prosperity, but loses its confidence in adversity. Many instances might be adduced in proof that to the infidel the approach of death is terrible. Such is one chief source of infidelity. (S. Smith, D. D.)

Theoretical Atheism

We cannot converse with any human being without instinctively judging of his intellectual capacity. We cannot help assigning him a place either amongst those superior or inferior in intellect. But sometimes we meet with those who will believe what, to all others, is absurd; or disbelieve what, to all others, is evident. Such a man we designate as a fool. And they, also, deserve to be so regarded who, when convinced of the truth of a physical or moral law, yet act as if they knew that which they believe to be certainly false. They will learn wisdom neither from observation or experience. The profligate, the inebriate, the frivolous, are of these fools. The former class may be termed theoretical, the latter, practical fools. In proportion to our respect and reverence for a powerful understanding is our contempt for him who says “there is no God.” Now, such denial of the existence of God may be either theoretical or practical. It is theoretical when we affirm that no such being exists, but practical when, admitting His existence, we act, in all respects, as though we believed that He did not exist. Let us speak, at present, of the first of these errors--the theoretical. It may show itself in either of two forms.

I. That of absurd credulity. For surely it is such credulity to believe an assertion when no evidence is brought forward to sustain it, and especially when, from the necessity of the case, the evidence, if it did exist, is beyond the reach of the human understanding. Now the Atheist declares to us that there is no God. What is the proof of his assertion? There is none. It is no proof to say that nothing exists but what manifests itself either to the senses or to consciousness. How does he know but that, among the truths which have thus far escaped his notice, one may be the existence of God? See this argument drawn out at length in Foster’s Essays.

II. Absurd incredulity. Its unbelief is as unreasonable as its belief. For--

1. The idea of power, of cause and effect, is the universal and spontaneous suggestion of the human intelligence. We cannot imagine an effect without a cause. And that the Creator, shown to be infinite in power and wisdom, is also a holy God. We have ample proof that He loves virtue and hates vice. Socrates, from an observation of the works of creation and Providence, arrived at very nearly this conception of the Divine character. Now, the Atheist, in the face of all this evidence, affirms that there is no God. But this is to deny the existence of the elementary principles of human intelligence. And this Atheistic belief is absurd because it wholly fails in the purpose for which it is intended. He would seek to get rid of the idea of immortality and of future moral retribution. But we do exist, whether there be a God or not: why, then, may we not continue to exist? And there is a moral government, with its penalties and rewards, now: why may it not continue to be? Even if there be no God, that government is; why, then, may it not be carried on through eternity? Such is the absurdity of Atheism. It asserts that which cannot be known by any finite intelligence, and it denies that which cannot be disbelieved without denying the essential laws of human thought, and this for a reason which would remain unaffected whether Atheism be true or false. (F. Nayland.)

Practical Atheism

We may not be theoretical Atheists, but yet we may be such in practice. Now, many are so. They admit the existence of God, bat they live as if they denied it, and thus they are guilty of practical Atheism. To show this, let us--

I. Unfold the conception we have formed of God. We all conceive of Him--

1. As a person. We cannot have the idea of qualities as existing without a subject in which they exist.

2. And to God we ascribe self-existence. He must be the cause of causes, or else there must be an infinite succession of causes, which is absurd.

3. To this conception we add on the idea of eternity, both in the past and in the future.

4. And also infinite and absolute power.

5. Omniscient wisdom, as contrasted with the limited wisdom of even the greatest of men.

6. And every moral attribute in infinite perfection. “He is a rock, His way is perfect: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.”

7. And He is not only the Judge, but the Father of us all. This shown not only in His providence, but yet more in our redemption.

II. How important to us, then, must be the fact of His existence. No other fact is comparable to it. It is by far the most practical truth that we can conceive. And what must be the condition of the man who believes in the existence of such a God, and yet suffers not this belief to exert any practical influence upon his conduct? What folly can be compared with his? And yet, are not many of you chargeable with it? Some pass whole months without even thinking, in any devout way, of God. Others, under the influence of passion, or fear of being thought precise, will knowingly disobey God. The reason of all such practical Atheism is that they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. Hence are they given over to their evil ways. Think what must be the end of this. But God, in the Gospel of His Son, is offering to us reconciliation. “I will,” saith He, “take from you the heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh.” Give Him now your hearts. (F. Nayland.)

Unkindness of scepticism

The Philadelphia Inquirer tells this story of the late Washington McLean: One terribly snowy, sleety day in Washington, he was sitting in the Riggs House reading-room, looking out upon the dreary scene on Pennsylvania Avenue. Presently, in came Colonel Bob Ingersoll, the great agnostic. As he entered the apartment he held out his hand, saying, “Hello, Wash., how do you do?” Mr. McLean took his hand, and, as he did so, said, “Bob, I wish you could have been here a little while ago. I saw a scene out there that made me wish I was twenty years younger. A poor, old, crippled soldier was limping across the Avenue, when a young, lusty fellow ran by him, and, as he did so, kicked the crutch from him, and tumbled him down into the slush.” “The villain,” said Ingersoll, “he should have been sent to the penitentiary.” “Do you really think so?” said McLean. “Why, certainly!” replied the colonel. “What else could I think? And yet, Bob,” said McLean, “that is what you are doing every week in the year. Here are poor, old, infirm Christians, with nothing to aid or support them but their belief in religion, nothing to keep them out of the mire of despair but faith, and yet you go about kicking the crutch from under them worse than even this fictitious fellow did to this fictitious soldier.” Very true, with the one exception that our faith is a living thing, and can never be knocked away. (Sword and Trowel.)