Psalm 14 — Fools Deny God

When you hear some people blaspheming against the providence of God, but do not make common cause with them in their impiety, but on the other hand, intercede with God, saying Psalm 14.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

This psalm delighted me by beginning with the well known lines:

The fool says in his heart,
"There is no God."

Therefore, I was extra interested to read the rest of the psalm. It is a meditation on the first sentence in examining how the wicked have chosen their lifestyles based on the mistaken idea that they don't have to worry about righteousness because there is no God at all. 

My goodness, these psalms can be so modern! Or, to put it more accurately, humankind hasn't really changed at all.

I like the acerbic comment below on these fools, as the psalmist calls them.

Gerard van Honthorst,
King David Playing the Harp, 1622

14:1. Fools Deny God

A History of Fools. Asterius the Homilist: It was the fool who said through Pharaoah, "I have not known this God"; and the depth of the sea became a tomb for him. The fool said through Sennecharib, "God is not able to snatch Hezekiah from my hands," and he was killed by his sons. The fool said through Nebuchadnezzar, "Who is this God who can snatch you from my hand? Who is the most powerful of men?" ... Judas the denier of God was destroyed by a noose because he had deemed God as a man to be betrayed. Homilies on the Psalms

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here.