My Journal and Diary
2022
July
Saturday, July 30th, 2022
Judged
The beginning line of this Psalm is, "Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'" The first few times I read this, I thought it was saying, "Those who say in their hearts, 'there is no God,' are fools."
While that might be true, David's following description of foolish atheists seems dishonest. I balked over his accusations of perversion and corruption. Are they all perverts? Do they all abuse the poor? It's just not an accurate position to take, and it certainly wouldn't help an atheist change his mind about God's existence.
But as I read and reread this psalm, I began to realize that this wasn't the point of what David was saying! Rather, many evils are done by people who think they'll never have to answer for them. He is making an observation that some individuals do "abominable deeds," taking advantage of the helpless, obstructing the ways of the poor, "confounding their plans," and seem to never face the consequences. These people think they are outside of judgment because they don't believe there is a Judge who will hold them accountable.
In that way, they are foolish. There is a God who will judge the earth. They cannot get away with their crimes.
Those crimes don't even have to be as extreme as the examples in this psalm. In verses two and three, God looks down on us all, and says there is not a single one who does good! From God's perspective, we've all gone astray. Yes, verse five says God is with the "company of the righteous," but think about it: how righteous does one have to be to qualify?
I am so thankful that Jesus intercedes for us before the Father. David's call for deliverance in verse seven has come! Because of Jesus, my lies, my disrespect of others, my selfishness, my pride, my dishonesty are all forgiven.
Are you in need of God's mercy? Are you aware of His coming judgment? Will you be foolish, or instead admit your need for proxy-righteousness?
Oh Father, may you be our refuge!
Amen