God's revelation of himself exposes the foolishness of atheism. "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Ps. 14:1). The word translated as "fool" (nabal) refers not to a lack of intellectual ability, but to a lack of moral sense as exhibited in contempt for God and his people (74:18, 22). In the Bible, a fool is not someone who lacks intelligence, but one who abuses his intelligence, as Stephen Charnock said. This denial of God may not be an open stance of atheism, but a practical stance of "his heart." The root of moral foolishness is a blindness to God's glory so that the fool does not fear God (94:6-11; cf. 36:1-2; 92:5-8). The thought "There is no God" might not entail an absolute denial of God's existence, but at a minimum it involves a practical denial of God's lordship in one's situation. Sinners soothe themselves with Satan's lie that God is ignorant of or unwilling to judge their iniquities. They convince themselves that the Lord cannot help them in their needs, and they turn instead to false gods that can do nothing (2 Kings 1:3, 6, 16). In their refusal to honor God, their hearts are plunged into spiritual darkness and become enthralled with idolatry and immorality (Rom. 1:21-25). This culpable ignorance of God characterizes the nations (Eph. 4:17-18). John Frame says, "A large percentage of people today would say that they believe in God, but they rarely give him a thought, and they routinely make their decisions as if he didn't exist." That, too, is foolish.

What may be obvious in many cultures bears repeating in the face of American secular presumption: naturalism, the belief that nothing exists beyond the physical universe, is a patent lie. Bavinck said, "All human beings by nature recognize the supernatural. Naturalism, like atheism, is an invention of philosophy but has no support in human nature." Belief in God and religion are the most natural phenomena in all the world, and the most strenuous efforts by modern governments and educational systems to eradicate them have failed.

If creation is like a preacher, then God must have designed it to have a "voice" that mankind can understand. If the world revealed God only in an obscure facet of subatomic physics or cell biology, mankind might gain no understanding of him. However, God designed creation to reveal his nature to us all. In the blazing colors of the sun we see the happiness of God like a "bridegroom," the power of God like "a strong man," and the presence of God, for "there is nothing hid from the heat" of the sun (vv. 5-6).

Irenaeus (fl. 180) said, "Creation reveals Him who formed it, and the very work made suggests Him who made it, and the world manifests Him who ordered it." As we look around us, we see that God has made this world a theater for his glory, as Calvin said, "this magnificent theater of heaven and earth, crammed with innumerable miracles." Such revelation consists not merely of the historic act of creation, which we cannot directly observe, but in creation preserved and controlled by God's providence through history. Bavinck said, "Creating, sustaining, and governing together form one single mighty ongoing revelation of God."

Douglas Kelly clarifies, "The term 'natural' points to the realm where that knowledge is found (creation and conscience), but the source of that obligatory knowledge is definitely 'supernatural' (from the God who chooses thus to 'unveil' Himself."

In Scripture, God's omnipotent control of all events is always directly related to His personal presence with the creation (though He is always distinguished from it), and to His sovereign freedom to be near it, as well as to the infinite love of His Triune Being, behind all His actions within and without Himself.

Earth's greatest grandeur is a frail pointer to the excellent majesty of our mighty Creator God, and indeed, it sets the saved soul singing!

[T]he majestic character of the 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords' means that nothing can be more uplifting and beautiful than to know that He is in charge of all that can ever happen under His lordship (which includes absolutely every aspect of reality, visible and invisible).