Psalm 36/Commentary

Psalm 36 This Psalm, like the First Psalm has so much to teach us about the clear contrast between the path of the righteous and that of the wicked including “their natures, paths of life, and ends” (Psalms, Volume 1, James Montgomery Boice, p. 308).

36:1 “Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart”: Literally the text reads, “An oracle of transgression”. Consider the contrast between verses that speak of the “oracle of the Lord”. Instead of God speaking, sin is speaking, and thus we are given a glimpse inside the mind of the person who is not serving God. Ever wonder what the unfaithful are thinking? They are not listening to God—what are they heeding? The text means “that David finds himself listening intently to, and catching the meaning of, the ideas that govern such a man” (Psalms 1-72, Derek Kidner, p. 146). God here gives us an invaluable lesson about evil and the nature of evil persons.

36:1 “There is no fear of God before his eyes”: This is a fundamental difference between the believer and unbeliever. God was continually in David's thoughts (Psalm 16:8), for the unbeliever, however, the goal was to completely remove all knowledge of God (Romans 1:28). In Romans 3:18, Paul shows us that this is where every sinner eventually ends up.

There is no respect for God, they do not take God or His word of man seriously, and there is no concern or urgency about avoiding the eternal fate of the lost.

36:2 “For it flatters him in his own eyes”: The previous lack of respect for God has a profound impact upon a person’s life. David now lists five dreaded steps of decline away from God. In this verse the result of removing God as the ultimate object of our respect, results in ugly choice of self becoming the center of our universe. When one thinks one has only to answer for oneself and that whatever decides is true or real, is, just by their decision true or real—he or she is in trouble. “It flatters him”: Why is sin popular? Why are far more people not serving God than serving Him? Because sin flatters us and tells us sweet little lies, including: “God will not punish me”. “There is no hell”. “God understands my sins”. “I am doing better than most”. “I will not die for a very, very long time” or even “There is no God”.

36:2 Concerning this discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it: When we ignore God, we reach the point that we are blind to our own selfishness. We eventually end up approving of things that are wrong and condemning things that are right (Romans 1:32). When I am trying to get away from God, I will seek to insulate myself from any exposure (John 3:18). This is why the person who does not want to repent, does not want to attend worship or go to a Bible study. This is why such a person tends to surround themselves with others of like-mind who hang-out and huddle among themselves to their own destruction.

36:3 “The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit”: “From the sinner’s attitudes to sin, self and god in verses 1 and 2 the psalm turns to his social activities” (Kidner p. 146). The sin that starts in the mind (“I will not fear God”) inevitably will express itself in conduct, and in this case— speech, judgments and actions. Seeing that a healthy respect for God is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10), we should not be shocked that without such respect, what will come

out of the mouth will be foolishness and falsehood. A common deception, especially among former faithful Christians, is the lie that I can depart from God and still be wise (36:3 “he has ceased to be wise”).

36:4 “He plans wickedness upon his bed”: Here is yet another contrast: The godly person ponders God upon is bed (Psalm 63:7), and dwells upon the word of God (Psalm 1:2). At this stage, the wicked one is not merely drifting into sin, he is inventing ways to do it. This does reveal that sin does not satisfy, for one must always be seeking something else or more and more of the same ruin. “He sets himself on a path that is not good”: Note the presence of freewill in the context. “He has ceased to be wise and to do good” (36:3). “He plans…He sets…He does not despise”. These are all choices. Kidner rightly notes that sin ends up corrupting our thoughts (plans), will (sets himself), and feelings (does not despise). At this point, the sinner has committed himself to this regretful choice.

Rebellion in the Face of Abundant Goodness David here does not speak directly of the life of the righteous man, but rather of the nature of God. I believe this section only further emphasizes that the choice made in 36:1-4 is inexcusable. How could one end up having no respect and awe for God, when: 36:5 “Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens”: “Lovingkindess” is God’s wonderful mercy and unfailing love. The love of the sinner is short-lived, and by contrast, God’s love extends to the heavens. “Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies”: Man can be fickle and very unfaithful, while our great God keeps His promises and commitments. God is utterly and entirely faithful.

36:6 “Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God”: “Human standards, where all is relative, are a marshland beside the exacting, exhilarating mountains of His righteousness” (Kidner p. 147). “My judgments are like a great deep”: Human assessments are shallow, while God’s decisions consider every detail and fact and go deep— right to the heart of the matter.

36:7 “And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Thy wings”: Everyone has a refuge, even the sinner. The big difference is that the sinner seeks to find safety in denying and ignoring God, while the wise man finds safety in a relationship with God. In this verse we go from the immense (36:5-6) to the very personal and intimate.

36:8 “They drink their fill of the abundance of Thy house; and Thou does give them to drink of the river of Thy delights”: The rebel is restricted to an existence where life can only have “some fun” if one can invent a new perversion (36:3). Here is an abundance of delight— not human or sinful, but “Thy delights”, the type of delights that God Himself experiences and that only He can offer. In this phrase “river of Thy delights” we may have an echo of what existed in the Garden of Eden.

36:9 “In Thy light we see light”: We can only see the way things really are and we can only accurately see ourselves and know the difference between good and evil when we are in a relationship with God. 36:10-12 This Psalm closes with David praying earnestly. In a world where people have the freewill to reject God, the righteous realize how very much they need God’s steadfast love. Note that here “knowing God” is equated with being morally pure (36:10). He prays that he

would resist the temptation to go along with the crowd and sell out (36:11), for there is no future is sin!

Mark Dunagan/mdunagan@frontier.com