The ‘fool’ in the Scriptures is neither an ignoramus nor a theoretical atheist. Agnosticism is a phenomenon unknown to the Old Testament writers, who lived in a polytheistic world. his values are flawed, and his experience encourages him to behave in a manner that God would never act. The world, murmurs the psalmist, is full of people like this. But their time will come: God will save his people from them, whether they are traitors to Israel or enemies from outside. We, for our part, should never consider ourselves exempt from Scriptural denunciations. How often, for example, have we thought, ‘I thank God; I am not like this Pharisee?’ No, we are ‘foolish’ too! The traitor inside us establishes his convenient hierarchy of values. In this psalm, as in many others, we pray to God to destroy what is worst in ourselves.