The Foolish in Their Hearts Exclaim

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The foolish in their hearts exclaim

Versifier: Marie J. Post (1982)
Tune: BRISTOL (Playford)
Published in 1 hymnal

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Audio files: MIDI

Representative text cannot be shown for this hymn due to copyright.

Versifier: Marie J. Post

Marie (Tuinstra) Post (b. Jenison, MI, 1919; d. Grand Rapids, MI, 1990) While attending Dutch church services as a child, Post was first introduced to the Genevan psalms, which influenced her later writings. She attended Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she studied with Henry Zylstra. From 1940 to 1942 she taught at the Muskegon Christian Junior High School. For over thirty years Post wrote poetry for the Grand Rapids Press and various church periodicals. She gave many readings of her poetry in churches and schools and has been published in a number of journals and poetry anthologies. Two important collections of her poems are I Never Visited an Artist Before (1977) and the posthumous Sandals, Sails, and Saints (1993). A member… Go to person page >

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First Line:	The foolish in their hearts exclaim
Title:	The Foolish in Their Hearts Exclaim
Versifier:	Marie J. Post (1982)
Meter:	8.6.8.6
Language:	English
Copyright:	Text © 1987, CRC Publications

Psalm 53
(hymns)

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Notes

A denunciation of godless fools who oppress God's people.

Scripture References:
st. 1 = v. 1
st. 2 = v. 2
st. 3 = vv. 3-4
st. 4 = v. 5
st. 5 = v. 6

A slightly revised version of Psalm 14, this psalm is a denunciation of fools who devote themselves to evil and "devour" God's people as if there were no God to call them to account (v. 4). Although its original occasion is unknown, Psalm 53 appears to reflect a situation in which fools are crushed by the God they have disregarded. The psalmist describes their godlessness (st. 1) and how God examines the human race (st. 2) and finds "no one who does good," only "evildoers" who oppress God's people (w. 3-4; st. 3). He proclaims that God will judge such fools (st. 4) and prays longingly for Zion's deliverance from them (st. 5). Marie J. Post (PHH 5) versified this psalm in 1982 for the Psalter Hymnal.

Liturgical Use:
Occasions in which the church suffers from or laments the folly of unbelievers who act toward God's people as if there is no God.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

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Tune

BRISTOL (Playford)

John Playford (b. Norwich, England, 1623; d. London, England, 1686) composed BRISTOL for his musical edition of The Whole Book of Psalms (1677). BRISTOL, named after the British city, was the only newly composed tune for that psalter. (Several other tunes use the same name.) BRISTOL was originally i…

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