The fool hath said in his heart,
Psalm 14:1There is no God.
They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Words: Isaac Watts, The Psalms of David 1719. By nature all men are sinners.
Music: Evan William H. Havergal, 1847. Arranged by Lowell Mason in The New Carmina Sacra: or Boston Collection of Church Music (Boston, Massachusetts: Wilkins & Carter, 1850) (🔊 pdf nwc).
Fools in their heart believe and say
That all religion’s vain;
There is no God that reigns on high,
Or minds th’affairs of men.
From thoughts so dreadful and profane,
Corrupt discourse proceeds;
And in their impious hands are found
Abominable deeds.
The Lord from His celestial throne
Looked down on things below,
To find the man that sought His grace,
Or did His justice know.
By nature all are gone astray,
Their practice all the same;
There’s none that fears his maker’s hand;
There’s none that loves His name.
Their tongues are used to speak deceit,
Their slanders never cease;
How swift to mischief are their feet,
Nor know the paths of peace!
Such seeds of sin (that bitter root)
In every heart are found;
Nor can they bear diviner fruit
Till grace refine the ground.