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What the Fool Says

Writer's picture: The Bald BelieverThe Bald Believer

A Devotional Thought from Psalm 14



Psalm 14

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

1  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.

2  The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men,

To see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

3  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy:

There is none that doeth good, no, not one.

4  Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge?

Who eat up my people as they eat bread,

And call not upon the Lord.

5  There were they in great fear:

For God is in the generation of the righteous.

6  Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor,

Because the Lord is his refuge.

7  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.


I read that the evangelist D.L. Moody stood before a large congregation of people with a note given him as he approached the podium. The note to Moody had only one word, “FOOL”. He read the contents of the letter then said something like this to those gathering,


“I have been given many letters in which the author has forgotten to sign his name, but this is the first time where the author signed his name and forgot to include the letter”. 

The Bible says, “The Fool hath said in his heart, there is no God” in today’s reading.


That truth is important enough to be repeated a second time in Ps. 53:1.


“The Fool hath said in his heart, there is no God”


The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that the reality of God can be clearly seen from two things, one internal and the other external.


Rom. 1:19-20
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Both conscience and creation witness to the reality of a creator. If we look within our own selves, we will recognize a hunger for God. Our conscience comes pre-programed to seek him. If we look around at the handiwork of God’s creation it also bears witness to a masterful designer which is why the Bible says,


“The fool has said in his heart, there is no God”.


Notice it isn’t just what was said but where it is being said that makes the statement so foolish. It is not just the mouth or even the mind but the heart where “there is no God” is spoken.


The truth of the matter is that many with all their heart do not want God to exist because then his authority must be recognized.

Jesus taught us this in


John 3:20 “For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”

It is worth noting that if you look at a King James Bible you will see the words “there is” in italics which means they were not in the original Hebrew Scriptures but were added for translation purposes. These words were added to help us make sense of the passage, but I wonder if there is not a message when we leave out the italicized words?


“The fool has said in his heart… no God”.


Surely, it is foolish to tell God no! Of course, it is!

He knows what is good for us and understands what can harm us much better than we could ever understand.

There is such thing as a practical atheist. There is a person who says they believe in God but live as though they didn’t. Could it be that some say with their mouths that there is a God, but they can tell him no because in their heart they do not truly believe?


The Apostle Paul quotes this portion of scripture in his epistle to the Romans chapter 3. He was inspired by God two apply this passage to all of mankind.


Romans 3:10–12
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

We are all guilty of telling God “no”, we do not naturally seek him and because of this we all need a Savior. I have been a fool but thankfully he came and saved me from my foolishness.


Let’s determine to not be fools, let’s all tell God yes, especially when it comes to accepting the saving work of his son!












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