"The Fool Hath Said In His Heart, There Is No God"
Last Updated on May 24, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 172
Context: In this psalm, virtually identical with psalm 53, the poet passes judgment on the person who denies God in his heart, the sincere atheist: he is a fool, one lacking in wisdom and common sense, a dunce. Unbelievers, he says, are evil, have committed sin, and possess no good. God has searched the earth for any who are wise and desire Him, but He has found every living person morally corrupt. The wicked voraciously devour God's people, who stand in terror of them. They do not comprehend that God will utterly destroy the unrighteous. The psalmist begins his poem with a description of the fool and ends it with a petition that God quickly deliver Israel from iniquity:
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
. . .
Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
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