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Psalm 14:1 – “No God”

I think many of us know Psalm 14:1 by heart: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” But apparently I did not know the meaning of this verse by heart. Actually the two words, “there is” are not in the Hebrew text. The verse should more accurately be translated: “The fool says in his heart, ‘No God.’” It’s not that the fool does not believe in God’s existence but that for him/her God is unnecessary. As Lawson writes,

“The term is a synonym for sinner, and it describes everyone who has no place for God in his or her life. The fool’s problem is that his heart refuses the knowledge of God. To be sure, he is not an intellectual atheist, denying the existence of God, but a practical atheist, living as if there were no God (Pss. 53:1; 74:18,22; Isa. 32:6).”  [Holman Old Testament Commentary: Psalms 1-75, p. 75]

August 2, 2006 - Posted by spurgeon | Atheism, Biblical Quotes, Doctrine, Exegesis, Great Quotes, Sinfulness, Unbelief, Wickedness of the heart | | 6 Comments

6 Comments »

  1. Hi tony Are you sure your in the right place?This is for atheist not religious people.Shame on you.You are wasting your time.i do not need your god.I am a very happy and healthy 70 year old with a good mind.My power comes from me not outside myself.I am sorry you are such a sinner.I fine most religious people to be weak.i love atheist people,they are strong and responsible.Not a begging bone in thier body.Your going to teach your children to be weak like you.What a waste.Good luck in life you will need it. shirley

    Comment by shirley | August 18, 2006 | Reply

  2. Shirley,

    I am saddened to hear this. No doubt in the coming few years your health will begin to fail. This is a good reminder that in ourselves we will ultimately fail (myself included). Living daily by faith in the sovereign God is the source of all my strength to succeed as I do in this world. I am confident, bold, aspiring and intellectually successful. And there are many more Christians that are superior in intellect and success. Shirley, please reconsider your conclusions and keep an open mind to those that differ and especially those who are pleading with you to consider differently. True and enduring strength is found in weakness.
    Please consider downloading and reading the free book, Come Unto Me from the right column of this blog for more information on the bible’s message.

    Praying for you,

    Tony

    Comment by spurgeon | August 18, 2006 | Reply

  3. [...] 14:1 – “No God” Jump to Comments From “The Shepherds Scrapbook” by Tony S. [...]

    Pingback by Psalm 14:1 – “No God” « The Journeymen | January 20, 2007 | Reply

  4. Hi! I stumbled across this page, by what I thought was an accident. Tony, your words are extremely inspiring. And Shirley, your heart seems to be very strong. God loves you, and is waiting for you. I will be praying for you.

    Your friend, in Christ,

    Cat

    Comment by Cat | April 15, 2007 | Reply

  5. There is a grammatical matter that is generally overlooked in comments on this (and its parallel in Psalm 53): “The fool” is singular. The next part is plural, with “they” supposedly refers to the fool as its precedent. Whether in English or in Hebrew, there must be agreement in number between a term and and it precedent. This is not the case in these verses.
    There is only one term that qualifies as a plural, and that is the Hebrew translated as “God,” and that word is “elohim.” It is the plural of “elohe.” But why would “elohim” be considered corrupt and not doers of good?

    Comment by Kenneth Bonnell | March 1, 2009 | Reply

  6. Kenneth, could it be that the fool has said in his heart that Elohiym are corrupt and do evil?

    Comment by Montana Rowe | April 6, 2009 | Reply


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