Psalm 14:1-3
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God!’
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one!”
Men, who judge only by the outward appearance, are apt to entertain a good opinion of themselves. But God, who looks at the heart, describes the whole race of mankind as immersed in an unfathomable abyss of wickedness. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9.”
In confirmation of this melancholy truth we need look no further than to the declaration in the text. It may be thought indeed that the text is spoken only in reference to a few professed infidels; but the words immediately following show that it relates to many, yes to all mankind, “All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one!”
Above all, Paul, speaking expressly upon the subject of human depravity, appeals to this very passage as decisively establishing that doctrine. “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one!” Romans 3:10-12.”
In considering the words before us we shall show,
I. The atheistic thoughts and desires of the heart.
God interprets the thoughts and desires of the heart as though they were expressed in words; and he attests the heart’s real language to be like that in the text.
1. The heart’s real language may be understood as an assertion.
The name here used for God is not Jehovah, which relates to his essence, but Elohim, which characterizes him as the moral governor of the world. The words therefore must be understood, not as declaring that there is no God, but that there is no God who interferes in human affairs.
It is true there are not many, who will deliberately affirm this in plain terms; but, alas! how many are there, whose actions manifest this to be the inward thought of their hearts! If we look around us, we shall see the great mass of mankind living as if there were no superior Being to whom they owed obedience, or to whom they were accountable for their sinful conduct. They inquire constantly whether such or such a line of conduct will tend to their comfort, their honor, or their interest; but how rarely do they examine whether it will please God! How will men gratify in secret, or at least harbor in their bosoms, those lusts which they could not endure to have exposed to the eye of a fellow-creature, while yet they feel no concern at all about the presence of their God! The language of their hearts is, “The LORD does not see us! Ezekiel 8:12.” “Yet you say: What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness? Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens, Job 22:13-14,” ignorant and indifferent about the affairs of men!
And as we thus refuse to acknowledge God ourselves, so we desire that any others should not acknowledge him. Is anyone of our companions awed by the fear of God? How ready are we to laugh at his scruples, and to propose to him the customs and maxims of the world as more worthy of his regard than the mind and will of God; and to encourage him in the hope that such compliances shall never be noticed in the day of judgment! And what is this but to use the very language which God imputes to us, “I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad!’ Zephaniah 1:12.”
2. The heart’s real language may be understood as a wish.
The words “There is” are not in the original, and may therefore be omitted; the text will then stand thus: The fool has said in his heart, No God! That is, I wish there were no God. And how common a wish is this!
When men are fully convinced in their minds that God notices every transaction of their lives, and records it in the book of his remembrance, they are still unwilling to give up their lusts, and determined to continue in sin at all events. But are they easy in such a state? No! they shrink back at the prospect of death and judgment, and wish that they could elude the summons that will be given them in the last day. Gladly would they sleep an eternal sleep, and barter their immortality for an exemption from appearing at the tribunal of God.
What satisfaction would they feel if they could be certified on unquestionable grounds, that God did not notice their actions, or that, notwithstanding he is the Governor and Judge of all—he has decreed to bestow on them the blessing of annihilation! Instantly they would exclaim, Now I may dismiss my fears; now I may take my fill of pleasure, and “drink iniquity like water”—without any dread of future consequences!
We may appeal to the consciences of all, whether such have not been frequently the thoughts of their hearts, or, at least, whether their dread of death and judgment do not justly admit of these thoughts and desires?
Such being the thoughts and desires of the heart, we proceed to show,
II. The folly of entertaining atheistic thoughts.
This will appear in a striking point of view, if we take into consideration the three following truths.
1. The thing wished for is absolutely impossible.
God can no more cease to inspect the ways of men with a view to a final retribution, than He can cease to exist. As his superintending care is necessary for the preservation of the universe, so the continual exercise of his moral government is necessary for the vindication of his own honor. How absurd then is it to indulge a wish, when it is not possible for that wish ever to be gratified, and when the indulging of it makes us act as though it would be gratified! How much better would it be it to say at once:
There is a God, and I must fear him!
There is a judgment, and I must prepare for it!
2. If the wish could be obtained, it would be an unspeakable injury to all, even in this world.
Men are led, even by the faintest hopes of impunity, to live in sin! How much more would they yield themselves up to sin’s dominion, if they could once be sure that God would never call them into judgment for it!
This, as it respects individuals, would greatly embitter this present life. The gratification of their lusts would indeed afford them a transient pleasure; but who that considers how soon such enjoyments cloy; who that knows how many evils they bring in their train; who that has seen the effects of unbridled passions, of pride, envy, wrath, malice, of lewdness, covetousness, or any other inordinate affection; who that has the least knowledge of these things can doubt, but that sin and misery are indissolubly connected, and that, in proportion as we give the rein to our lusts, we undermine our own happiness?
And what would be the consequence to the community at large? Men, even now, “bite and devour one another” like wild beasts, the very instant that God withdraws his restraint from them! Who was it that overruled the purposes of a lewd Abimelech, of a covetous Laban, and of a revengeful Esau? It was God alone; and it is the same God that now keeps the world in any measure of peace and quiet. If once the world were bereft of God’s providence, it would instantly resemble that world, where the dispositions of men are allowed to rage without control, and all incessantly to torment themselves, and all around them. Is it not then the extreme folly to entertain a wish that would involve in it such tremendous consequences?
3. It would be productive of still greater evil as it respects the world to come.
Doubtless, if there were no moral governor of the universe—then there would be no fear of future punishment in Hell. The thought of this would be a great delight to ungodly men. But they, on the other hand, entertain no hope of Heaven; their brightest prospect would be annihilation. Melancholy prospect indeed!
How much better, even for the most ungodly, to have:
a God to flee unto;
a God to pardon their iniquities;
a God to sanctify and renew their souls;
a God to bless them with immortality and glory!
They need not to wish for the cessation of his agency, or the extinction of their own existence, seeing that he is rich in mercy unto all who call upon him, and ready to receive returning prodigals.
And is it not for the interest of all, that there should be such a God? Is not the prospect of obtaining his favor, and participating in his glory better than annihilation, more especially when the terms of our acceptance with him are so easy? He requires nothing but that we should humble ourselves before him, and plead the merits of his dear Son, and renounce the ways that have been displeasing to him. The very instant we return to him in this manner, he will “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea,” and embrace us with the arms of his mercy! What madness then to wish that there were no such Being!
Inferences:
1. How great is the patience of God!
God sees, not one only or even many, but all the world:
living without God, Ephesians 2:12,
banishing him from their thoughts, Psalm 10:4,
and wishing him banished from his universe!
Yet he not only bears with them, but follows them with invitations and promises, and waits to be gracious unto them; Let us stand amazed at his goodness; and let that goodness lead us to repentance.
2. How glorious is the change that takes place in conversion!
Grace no sooner enters into the heart than it slays this vehement enmity against God, and reconciles the sinner to Him. Henceforth it becomes his one desire to walk with God, to enjoy his presence, to fulfill his will, and to live in the near prospect of participating in his glory! How enviable is such a state! Compare the wisdom of such a state with the folly which we have been exposing. Let us instantly begin to live, as we shall wish we had lived, when we come to die!
Charles Simeon