And the madman said in his heart there is no God interpretation

St. Athanasius the Great

Art. 1-2 He says that he is foolish in his heart: There is no God.
Having become corrupted and disgusted in your undertakings, do no good. The Lord came from heaven to the sons of men, see, if you understand, or seek God in the end, psalm to David

Contents: This psalm clearly reveals the wickedness and lawlessness of people in all their endeavors in order to preach the necessity of the coming of Christ.

The speech is mad in his heart: there is no God . Since, not realizing that there is a God who watches and judges human affairs with righteous judgment, they carried out every indecent deed, then for this reason the Lord himself was brought down from heaven. And this clearly indicates the coming of the Lord to people.

Interpretation of the Psalms.

History and background of Psalm 13

The song contains the inscription: “To the head of the choir. In the end. Psalm of David." The last part of the phrase clearly indicates the authorship of David. It was also intended for the choir in Zion, which indicated its purpose. This usually referred to psalms that touched on the fate of the entire Jewish people. The phrase “to the end” refers to the text as prophecies that point to the end of the world.

Psalm 13 points to the future victory of the Most High

St. Basil the Great

The speech is mad in his heart: there is no God. Having become corrupted and disgusted in your undertakings: do no goodness

As truly devoid of mind and meaning, the one who says: “There is no God” . But close to him and in no way inferior to him in nonsense is the one who says that God is the author of evil. I believe that their sin is equally grave: because both equally deny the good God, one saying that there is no God, and the other claiming that He is not good. For if God is the author of evil, then obviously he is not good. And therefore, in both cases, God is denied.

A conversation about how God is not the author of evil.

Interpretation and theological significance

The song praises the Lord for his boundless patience with his children and their constant sins. The main idea of the message is the salvation of man in God. The interpretation of the psalm is carried out according to the verses:

Verse 1. The translators used the word “mad” to convey the meaning of David’s message. He spoke of a wicked man living an unrighteous life. In context, one can understand that only a madman denies the existence of the Almighty.
Verse 2-3. It introduces the expression “there is none who does good.” The Holy Scriptures contain many references to righteous people and their actions. However, here is a general picture of humanity, which in any case is sinful in the eyes of the Creator. That is why he sent Jesus, so that with his blood he could save the entire sire.
Verse 4. Contains the question of how the wicked can not understand that God sees all their sins and in the end they will pay for what they have done.
Verse 5-6. David speaks about the Lord’s love for people, whom he will not leave in trouble and will spread his mercy over the lands of Israel. He also points out that the poor are closer to the Almighty and rely on his help than the rich.
Verse 7. It asks a rhetorical question: “Who will give out of Zion the salvation of Israel?” The author already knows the answer that only firm faith in the Creator will save the Jewish people.

St. John Chrysostom

The speech is mad in his heart: there is no God. Having become corrupted and disgusted in your undertakings: do no goodness

When a master is insulted, a good slave, out of a sense of devotion to him, becomes indignant. In the same way, when God is rejected, the prophet of God admonishes the fool, saying what you heard: “The fool said in his heart: “There is no God . Like a slave devoted to his master, having learned that his fellow slaves reject their master, out of a sense of devotion he rushes to settle the matter and punishes the impudent one with his own hands, or dishonors him, making him hated by everyone, or, to admonish and intimidate others, informs his master and tries to make him bear the consequences. the most severe punishment, in a word - arms himself against the rebel, both against the real enemy, and the prophet, having learned that the Creator is dishonored by creation, that the potter is insulted by clay and God is rejected by the godless, and, being struck in the very heart, exclaims from unbearable pain, “Said mad in his heart: “there is no God . Look at the strict correspondence with the previous psalm. After the psalmist said there with displeasure: “How long, O Lord, will you forget me to the end?” (Ps. 12:2), and not much later: “How long will my enemy ... be exalted over me?” (Ps. 12:3), – enemy, i.e. a fool who claims that there is no God (because he who exalts himself before God will exalt himself even more before the prophets of God, and he who is proud before the Lord will be proud before his fellow servants) - being asked: why does he suffer illness in his heart day and night? he answers with the following words: why do I have heart pain? because “the fool said in his heart: “There is no God .

I take the very communication with an atheist to be God’s turning away from me. I have to live with an atheist, and I consider this a sign that God has forgotten me, because the wickedness of the godless is grief and torment for a saint. So it is said about Paul: “While waiting for them in Athens (Timothy and his companions), Paul was troubled in spirit at the sight of this city full of idols” (Acts 17:16). “Why do the wicked live” (Job 21:7)? Historically, it is known that this psalm was spoken by David about Saul - regarding his ventriloquism, just as the fifty-second psalm - with the same content - refers to Doik. Mad Saul said: “Find me a sorceress” (1 Samuel 28:7). He becomes the second Adam, we are deceived by a woman. And he says to her: “Turn it to me” (1 Samuel 28:8); leaving prophecy, he descends to divination. “The fool said in his heart: “There is no God . Let us beware, brethren, lest we fall into ruin like a madman, confessing God in words and denying His deeds: calling Him good and merciful, but showing no mercy to the sick, the poor, or the oppressed. That one can deny God not only with words, but also with deeds, and, bearing the name of a Christian, say in the same way as a madman: “there is no God,” the apostle testifies to this, saying: “they say that they know God, but deny by deeds.” (Titus 1:16). As far as deeds are stronger than words in terms of persuasiveness, it is so much harder to deny God in practice than to deny Him with your lips or in your heart. "Said the madman . And he who says with his mouth: I will love You, Lord, and in his heart he hates his brother, just as he loves God, turning out to be disobedient to His words: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor.” yours as yourself” (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18)? The Lord says: “Whoever loves Me will keep My word” (John 14:23). This means that whoever does not comply does not love. He calls God with his lips, but in his heart he says: “There is no God . The Lord is the witness, saying: “He draws near to Me with his mouth, and honors Me with his tongue, but his heart is far from Me” (Is. 29:13). “The fool said in his heart: “There is no God . That the one who hates his brother and hates God, even if he cried out with his lips and shouted that he loves God, the Evangelist John speaks about this in his letter: “Whoever says: “I love God,” and hates his brother, is a liar: for he who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see? (1 John 4:20)? So, when such a person acknowledges God in words, without explicitly renouncing, he forges wickedness in the heart. “The fool said in his heart: “There is no God . Confirming this idea, the prophet below says: “Will not all those who practice iniquity come to their senses,” confessing God in words and denying him with their deeds, “eating My people as they eat bread?... They have not called on the Lord” (Ps. 13:4). They confess and acknowledge God, but since they rejected Him by their deeds, when they called, they did not call. The Lord Himself said: Why do you call Me: “Lord! God! “And you do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46)? “Whoever sins has not seen Him” (1 John 3:6), says John.

Text of Psalm 13 in Russian

1 The fool said in his heart, “There is no God.” They became corrupt and committed vile deeds; there is no one who does good.

2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there was one who understood, one who sought God.

3 All have turned aside and become equally obscene; there is no one who does good, not even one.

4 Will not all those who practice iniquity, who eat my people as they eat bread, and do not call on the Lord, come to their senses?

5 There they will fear fear, [where there is no fear,] for God is among the generation of the righteous.

6 You have laughed at the thought of the beggar, that the Lord is his hope.

7 “Who will give salvation to Israel from Zion!” When the Lord brings back the captivity of His people, then Jacob will rejoice and Israel will rejoice.

Blzh. Theodoret of Cyrus

The speech is mad in his heart: there is no God. Having become corrupted and disgusted in your undertakings: do no goodness

"To the end, a psalm to David" . And this psalm sends us to the end; because it foretells the future. Its content is as follows: the Assyrian king Sennacherib once attacked Judea with an army and captured many cities, from which some surrendered voluntarily, while others were taken by force. In the hope of taking possession of Jerusalem, he sent Rapsaks to Hezekiah, who then ruled over the Jews, with blasphemous and evil words. For he says: Tell Hezekiah, let not your God deceive you, in whom you trust, to deliver Jerusalem out of my hand. “Where is the God of Hamath and Arphad? where is the God of the city of Sepharuim? They could not deliver from my hand, and “shall the Lord pluck Jerusalem out of my hand” (2 Kings 18:34-35)? But Rapsaks spoke thus, and Hezekiah, neglecting both the great army and the madness of his speeches, driven by his own piety, called on Divine cooperation for help, and soon took advantage of it. For the righteous Judge, disgusted by the wickedness of one, and accepting the piety of the other, through a single Angel, killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians, and put the rest to flight, and granted miraculous salvation to the besieged.

“The fool says in his heart: there is no God.” The beginning of the psalm corresponds to the words of Sennacherib and Rapsakes.

“When you are corrupted and disgusted in your undertakings, do no good.” The foundation and root of wickedness, says the Prophet, is the corruption of life; because, having given yourself over to intemperance and a brutal life, you have erased the remembrance of God from your mind, and your subjects followed the madness of the leader.

Rules for reading prayer

The second kathisma includes Psalm 13, which in the Orthodox Church is customary to read at Sunday morning services. The text is pronounced in Church Slavonic, but the day before you can read it in Russian. This will allow you to better understand the words of the clergyman and penetrate the deep essence of the song.

The Psalter contains prayers that help in various life situations.

Psalm 13 is especially powerful and is recommended for reading by people experiencing severe demonic attacks. It should be read 3 times a day for three days, after which the heart will be freed from fear, and the soul will be filled with humility and peace.

The second kathisma includes Psalm 13

The text is pronounced in Church Slavonic

The Psalter contains prayers for different life situations

Evfimy Zigaben

The speech is mad in his heart: there is no God. Having become corrupted and disgusted in your undertakings: do no goodness

Finally, a psalm to David

And this psalm promises to indicate the end of what David foretold in it. Based on this, some with Basil find here a prophecy about what happened during the time of King Hezekiah and the siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib, the king of Assyria; others, like Athanasius, prophecy about events relating to the incarnation of Christ. As for us, we will explain this psalm in relation to both opinions.