Psalms 53:1-6: a reflection

1The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity. There is no one who does good. 2God looks down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there are any who understood, who seek after God. 3Every one of them has gone back. They have become filthy together. There is no one who does good, no, not one. 4Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on God? 5There they were in great fear, where no fear was, for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you. You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them. 6Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back his people from captivity, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

This psalm opens with a sobering description of a certain kind of folly: The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. The folly named is not merely an intellectual denial; it is a settled orientation of the heart, a living as though there is no God. It is possible to deny God not only with the mouth but in the heart, in the way one lives, as though God does not see, does not matter, will not judge. The fool lives by this denial, whether or not he ever says it aloud; his life is ordered as though God were not there. To live as though there is no God, in heart and in practice, is the folly the psalm exposes.

Notice where the fool's denial lies: in the heart, in the way he lives. The psalm does not say the fool argues there is no God; it says he has said it in his heart. The denial is practical, a living as though God does not see or matter, whether or not it is ever spoken. One can profess belief in God with the mouth and yet live as though there is no God, ordering one's life without reference to him, as though he does not see one's deeds or will not judge them. This practical atheism, living as if God were not there, is the folly named. It is not only the atheist who lives as though there is no God; anyone can, in the heart and in practice, live as though God does not matter.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can live as though there is no God, in practice, even while professing belief. We can profess faith in God, yet live as though he does not see our deeds, does not matter to our choices, will not judge, ordering our lives as though he were not there; this is the practical folly the psalm names. To live as though there is no God is folly, whether or not we ever say it. Do not live as though there is no God, ordering your life without reference to him even while professing belief; live as one who knows God sees, matters, and judges. Live as one who knows God is real, sees your deeds, and matters to your choices, rather than living in practice as though there is no God, as the fool says in his heart there is no God; for the folly named is not only the atheist's denial but the practical living as though God were not there, and we can profess belief yet live by that folly if we order our lives without reference to God.

Lord, this psalm opens with a sobering description of a certain kind of folly: the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. The folly named is not merely an intellectual denial; it is a settled orientation of the heart, a living as though there is no God. It is possible to deny you not only with the mouth but in the heart, in the way one lives, as though you do not see, do not matter, will not judge. Show me where the fool's denial lies: in the heart, in the way he lives. The psalm does not say the fool argues there is no God; it says he has said it in his heart. The denial is practical, a living as though you do not see or matter, whether or not it is ever spoken. One can profess belief in you with the mouth and yet live as though there is no God, ordering one's life without reference to you. This practical atheism, living as if you were not there, is the folly named. Anyone can, in the heart and in practice, live as though you do not matter. Take that to my heart, for I can live as though there is no God, in practice, even while professing belief. I can profess faith in you, yet live as though you do not see my deeds, do not matter to my choices, will not judge, ordering my life as though you were not there; this is the practical folly the psalm names. To live as though there is no God is folly. Keep me from living as though there is no God, ordering my life without reference to you even while professing belief; help me live as one who knows you are real, Lord, see my deeds, and matter to my choices, rather than living in practice as though you were not there.