When God Restores the Fortunes of His People, Jacob Will Rejoice, Israel Will Be Glad

The psalm opens with one of the most unsettling declarations in all of Scripture: the fool — the morally bankrupt one, the one who has turned his heart away from all accountability — says within himself that there is no God. This is not philosophical atheism. It is a practical denial: living and acting as though God does not see, does not judge, does not care. And the consequence is immediate: corruption spreads, abominable iniquity takes hold, and goodness disappears entirely.

Then comes the great reversal. There — precisely where the wicked felt most secure — an overwhelming fear seized them. God scattered the bones of those who had besieged His people. The fearless became terrified; the powerful were scattered. What had seemed permanent and unstoppable was fragile all along.

This song is part of the larger journey of the project: with God's help, to compose and sing the entire Book of Psalms in a diverse, emotional, Jewish, and uplifting musical language.