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INTRODUCTION
We live in a society where something like 95 % of our population believe in God. This is certainly the
response that we get when we call upon people in door-to-door work. Sometimes when I am a little mischievous, I try to ask what it means for them to believe in God. Sometimes I re-phrase it and ask what
difference would it make if suddenly they stopped believing in God. After the initial shock of such a question almost everyone that I have asked has said none.
That is exactly were the problem lies in our society. Most people believe in God, but in actual fact
believing in God means nothing to them, it does not influence their thinking or lifestyle one little bit. In practice they are atheists, although they would not want to call themselves that. They are what
others and I call - practical atheists. They say they believe in God but in practice live as atheist, therefore they might as well not believe there is a God. It is with this question of practical
atheistism that this Psalm deals with.
1. HOW IS THE PRACTICAL ATHEIST DESCRIBED (vs. 2-11)?
a) Arrogant (v 2-3) - The practical atheist is characterised by arrogance. Look how his arrogance is worked out in practice. He preys upon those who are weaker than he is, and he devises schemes, that will catch out the weak. He exploits the weak for his own ends (v 2). As if this is not bad enough, he goes about boasting of the cravings of his heart (v 3). He blesses the greedy because that is where his heart lies and he reviles or scoffs at the Lord.
b) Proud (v 4) - He is so full of himself, so proud of his accomplishments and achievements, that he actually believes that He does not need God. It's the greedy that he exalts and as for the Lord, He has no time or room for Him within his life. He never seeks God, has any interest in doing so, nor does he give it a second thought. Although he may claim to believe in God as far as his thinking is concerned, there is no God, for he never gives him a moment's thought.
c) Haughty (v 5) - The word means, conceited and it carries the idea of one showing contempt for others. This person shows little respect for anyone, not his enemies and not even God or His laws. When it comes to life he stands aloof from everyone else. His life is so taken up with himself that he shows contempt for everyone else.
d) Secure (v 6) - This is probably the key verse when it comes to the description of the practical atheist. Such people have what we may call today the feel good factor. They believe that nothing can shake them, they will always be happy and trouble will never come upon them. In other words there is nothing that life can throw up that this sort of person cannot handle. Even though he is arrogant, boastful, proud and haughty, when he thinks of himself and his life, he believes that he is invincible. He is happy with his life and happy with his achievements and happy with the way he lives his life.
And his life seems to back up his claim about security. Everything that he touches turns to gold, his
business is successful, he is wealthy and prosperous, and even though he lives completely without God, he doesn't seem to be unhappy about it, or lacking anything as a result. In fact on the surface the
opposite is the case. He uses his power and influence to walk all over and exploit the weak. This just increases his arrogance and pride and haughty spirit.
Because this practical atheist feels himself to be so secure and because he has in affect left God
completely out of his life, so much so that he never thinks about Him, or cares less about His laws. He therefore has no effective barrier of restraint within his life, so he continues to treat God and others
with contempt. For if you in effect do not believe in God, then you are accountable to no one, and can carry on living for self, often at the expense of others without judgement.
And the practical atheist does! His mouth is full of filth; his speech is always aggressive (v 7),
making sure that he gets things his own way. But its not just his speech that is aggressive, it is his actions as well (vs. 8-10). He thinks of ways of catching those who are weaker than he is, and it is
always the weaker that he attacks, for this just feeds his arrogance, pride and haughtiness. It also feeds his view that he is secure, and nothing can shake him.
Now I'm sure that as I have been painting a picture of the practical atheist you have in your mind been
thinking about specific people that fit the description given in this Psalm. It is not going too far to say that this is a description of most people today, who will show most if not all of these
characteristics. It will be people who say they believe in God, some may even go to church, but in reality they live as if God does not exist.
They revile the Lord, by their lives, they show contempt for Him, they never once throughout a
day, give one thought about God and frankly they don't care about Him. What God says gives them no concern whatsoever. All that matters is what they think and how they can be prosperous in life. Right throughout their life, they truthfully believe that they are secure and happy; there is nothing that can upset their way of life. Do you know people like that?
You will work with them I have no doubt. People who use their power to hunt down the weak. They
will manipulate people for their own ends, they will abuse their position and in doing so they will not think they are doing anything wrong. You may know people like this, in your family as well. Perhaps
sadly within our very homes. People who may claim to believe in God but who boast of the cravings of their hearts.
I remember Monday mornings in the workshop there in Belfast where I once worked. Break time was nothing
more than a boasting of the cravings of the heart, as one after another told the sordid details of their weekend. As one told of how he slept with such and such all the rest laughed.
Who is it that our world looks up to? The greedy, those who have financial security, and are now saying
that nothing will shake me. Look at the jobs advertised in our newspapers and you will see many of the signs of a practical atheist.
You will find people like this in your street and community. Now I could go on and give illustration after
illustration of people like this today but time doesn't let me. But before we move on I think if we were honest with ourselves, we will find some of these characteristics in us. If you do, then you are
living as a practical atheist. You may be in church today but its tomorrow that will tell you if you are a practical atheist or not.
2. THINGS ARE NOT THE WAY THEY SEEM FOR THE PRACTICAL ATHEIST
For the person described in this Psalm from the human perspective, everything is going well. He is
prosperous, secure and happy. But are things really like this. Has God hide Himself from the abuses of the practical atheists? Does God really not care that such people do not have any room for
Him. That's the question that the Psalmists are asking in v 1. From the view of the practical atheist, that is exactly what he thinks. He does believe in God, but look at the sort of God he
believes in.
He says to himself, God can't see me and even if he can, he forgets all He sees (v 11). He says to
himself God won't call me to account for my actions. In other words he is saying God is not bothered about me. Even if He was, He can't possibly see all that goes on in this world, and even if He
does, He is a God of love He soon forgets about my wrongdoing. He doesn't hold anyone accountable. By thinking like this the practical atheist smoothes his own conscience.
But what is the real truth. Well the Psalmist begins to see things from an eternal perspective or from
God's perspective and when viewed like this, things are completely different. God does see everything and He takes what he sees into account (v 14). Even though the practical atheist believes himself
to be king of his own castle (v 6), the truth is that God is king, always has been and always will be (v 16).
So we, who are true believers in God, are called upon to see things from their true perspective. We
therefore call upon God to remember and help the defenceless (vs. 12 & 14, 17-18). We can call upon God to break the apparent power and grip of the practical atheist (v 15) and bring his terror to an end (v
18). Will God answer our prayers?
Well the answer clearly given is yes, that's why we can pray with confidence. Things are not as
they appear to be. Because the Lord is King (v 16) the nations will perish from His land. God will defend the helpless (v 18) so that the practical atheist will not be able to terrify any more. This
is the language of judgement.
God will judge the practical atheist; he is not as secure as he thinks. God does not overlook his sins;
God does see every one of his actions. God hears his foul speech. God sees his abusive and aggressive attitude. Therefore God will hold him accountable and will bring his apparent security to an end.
Are you a practical atheist tonight? Then be warned. Your apparent security will not last forever, God
sees you, and knows all about you, and one day will hold you accountable. The only way to avoid God's judgement is to become a true believer by trusting Jesus Christ. It will mean a radical change of
life, for God will demand your total obedience in all areas of your life. You will want to display something of God's glory in every aspect of your life. Monday will mean just as much as Sunday, for
God will be just as much of your life then at work or home, than He is when you are at church.
Finally what are we who are Christians to do as we wait for God to act? How can we cope will the apparent
success and security of the practical atheist? The prophet Habakkuk has the answer (2:4). This is not always easy to do, but it is what Habakkuk did, and it's what the Psalmist did. We have to keep
reminding ourselves from the Scriptures what is really true in this world, rather than what is apparently true from what we see. Our eyes, emotions and feelings will tell us one thing, but faith in God which
includes believing His word, will keep it all in the right perspective.
One day the practical atheist will go to hell, and we who are described as the helpless in the Psalm, we who
are often used by the practical atheist will see God victorious. He brings man's apparent security to an end and shows that it is the righteous who lives by faith and is therefore ultimately triumphant.
Amen
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