When Fools are Forced

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good" (Psalm 14:1). "He goeth.... as a fool to the correction of the stocks" (Proverbs 7:22). "Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.... And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity" (Jeremiah 36:27-31).

The fool may say, There is no God;
But one day he'll be forced to see,
Though multitudes of fools applaud,
That God is a Reality.

The fool will come to his correction,
As one who marches to the stocks
With others in the same direction
Who join him as he loudly mocks.

For such was king Jehoiakim
Who burned and then dismissed the scroll
That Jeremiah sent to him
From God who would have spared his soul.

What foolishness was this to burn
The scroll that God in mercy sent,
As wisdom called for him to turn
And and seize that moment to repent!

O Lord, we see the lesson now,
That fools may mock You for a season,
But one day every knee shall bow,
When fools are forced at last to reason.