In the past two weeks I’ve had with the kids in Chapel Time, we’ve not only covered Psalm 28, but also Psalm 7 as well. We’ve established, over all that we’ve talked about, that our God – the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – is the only true God, and there are none like Him, none above Him.
I’ve more or less presented them with a choice – to reject God and to behold His terrible glory as a righteous judge who sees all and responds to all (as we’ve more or less seen in Psalm 7), or to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who, through His finished work, saved us and reconciled us to God, that we would call Him our Father – our Father, that is, who not only hears us, not only listens to us, but CARES for us (Psalm 28, also 1 Peter 5:7).
We’ll keep the pace here by jumping straight to Psalm 14, as today is the 14th of March.
Psalm 14
The Fool Says, There Is No God
TO THE CHOIRMASTER. OF DAVID.
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
We pick up from where we left off last week, shifting our focus from who God is, and who we are based on what we believe.
The one who chooses not to believe in God not only rejects God for a day, but he says ‘there is no God‘ ‘in His heart‘ – when we say something from the heart, it’s something that we don’t just say one time, but each and every day… and, for someone to say ‘There is no God‘ each and every day – that’s pretty foolish.
We would have everyone encourage themselves when they wake up in the morning, thankful for waking up, thankful for living to see another day. But imagine the fool – opening his or her eyes, and the first thing he or she says is that ‘there is no God‘…
The fool would listen to the deep yet relatable, simplified yet complicated nuances of an orchestra – beholding the beauty in the coordination of not just one, but an entire group of humans who themselves are coordinating between their brains and their muscle fibers to create the most beautiful of sounds from materials collected from the earth and shaped into instruments… He would hear music, and still say, ‘There is no God‘.
The fool would look the the contrasted details of the great cumulonimbus clouds in the blue, noontime sky; He or she would see the stars in the nighttime, shining as gems when seen from afar, yet utterly overwhelming in power when seen up close; He would see all this, and still insist – ‘There is no God‘.
And the fool goes beyond merely saying it with every breath that he or she takes, but you could see it in his or her actions: Ultimately corrupt, ultimately abominable. They do not do any good, because they insist that ‘there is no God‘.
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD?
5 There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
They don’t only say it, they don’t only do it – but they prey upon those who do believe in God, they prey upon those who have chosen to believe in Jesus Christ.
That’s right, not being content with denying the Truth, they go after those of us who believe in the Truth, to silence those of us who believe that because of Christ’s finished work, we’re able to see God as a Gracious Father, who, again, not only hears us, not only listens to us, but also cares for us.
And, why, do you ask, do they go against us? Because, until they do come to believe in Christ, they know in their hearts that the more they say ‘There is no God‘, the more they see Him as the righteous, powerful Judge… and all that leaves them with is to be in great terror.
What’s the difference between the fool and the believer?
One sees God as a Judge, the other knows God as a Father.
One lives his existence in fear – the other celebrates his life, and His love.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:18-19
Let us rejoice, let us be glad – Through Jesus Christ, we have been reconciled to the Father, and our fortunes have been restored.
Father, I pray, here and now, as I write this, for You to prepare our hearts and minds for this message. Help us all to see Your great goodness in all things, and let this continue to reinforce our faith in You.
Father, do not allow Your children to be discouraged. You are our very present Help in time of need. You are for us, and not against us. In the presence of darkness, show Yourself as the Light that loves us.
Father, thank You for this opportunity to celebrate Your Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, even to good representatives of the next generations. Let the seed planted bear thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.
And above all else, be glorified. Glorify Your Name.
In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
Until the next post, which I will be writing and publishing soon, may our Father bless us all!
135310/365000
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a comment