Psalms 36:1-12
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD.
1 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4 He devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself in a way that is not good;
He does not abhor evil.
5 Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
9 For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
10 Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the workers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been cast down and are not able to rise.
The sin of the wicked, the evil by God’s definition, is their fearlessness before the Holy and Righteous One. They flatter themselves as being wise and knowing better than the God,they dismiss and rage against their Master and Commander (Psalm 2:1, Acts 4:25). The natural man glories in his own sin and hatred of others made in God’s image. Sadly, this is a prideful accomplishment to the one who speaks lies and unrighteousness. Loving evil because it is opposed to the goodness of God and His word, these continuously plot ways to do more and more evil as they rage against the LORD, even as they lay awake at night! They love evil instead of hating it as their Maker does. Ah, but God’s mercy and faithfulness are higher than man, reaching to the heavens where righteousness dwells (Isaiah 33:5, 2 Peter 3:13) and from where He reigns on high. His righteousness stands as firm as the mountains, immovable and absolute. His judgment is deeper than the lowest point of the ocean floor, ruling justice as well as offering mercy and forgiveness as He preserves those trusting and following Him. God’s lovingkindness is based on the fear of the Holy One in trusting faith and willing obedience. We can have faith in His loving protection of His unmerited kindness, therefore, and find satisfaction in His provision as we dwell with Him and find pleasure in Him and His righteousness. Out Lord is a fountain of life. He is the light showing us the light (John 8:12, 1 John 1:7) and bringing us into it (1 Peter 2:9)! Like king David the psalmist, we should sing of His mercies forever, asking for continued lovingkindness in His righteousness in Christ which we live within. We are also to beware of pride which the enemy of our souls uses to drive us away from God through unrighteousness, causing us great harm as those working wickedness, yet with hope in grace at the end (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). We can rise by forgiveness and the grace of Christ in lovingkindness towards us. We are not without fear of God, but of those trusting in His lovingkindness to eternal life. We fear God and trust in His absolute salvation.
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