Today’s post is part of our Psalm Saturdays series from guest blogger Robert Chamberlain. You can contact him by sending a message to  bobjc88 @ gmail.com. You can also find him at his new blog at www.roberlain.blogspot.com .

Psalm 14:1–7 (ESV)
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD?
5 There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would shame the plans of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

“Does God believe in atheists?” So questions a classic Christian book in defence of the faith. Psalm 14 would suggest that He believes in their existence, if not in the validity of their belief! Atheists might have a God shaped hole in their hearts, but most of them genuinely believe what they profess.

Can we be good without God? Atheists might be relatively good people often, but that’s only by the grace of the God they deny. We’re all not just spiritually clueless, but dead and rotten to the core. 

Atheists see Christians as easy pickings for persecution. And yet why do atheist regimes like China and North Korea persecute Christians so violently? They’re ultimately raging against the God of His people, and fearing that they might just be fighting a losing battle. But a cornered, wounded lion is all the more vicious.

Unbelievers like the idea of no God to be accountable to, but God is the refuge of the oppressed. Salvation for them will be destruction for their oppressors. So we cry “maranatha”- “return Lord Jesus”.

“Return, Lord, and deliver us from this corrupt and evil generation. We long for Your salvation. We ask that You would only delay in order to graciously bring more sinners into Your kingdom, for Your honour and glory, amen.”

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