A Study by Scott Sperling Psalm 36 For the director of music. Of David, the servant of the Lord.  1 An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. 3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. 4 Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.   5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the great deep. O LORD, You preserve both man and beast. 7 How priceless is Your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings. 8 They feast in the abundance of Your house; you give them drink from Your river of delights. 9 For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.   10 Continue Your love to those who know You, Your righteousness to the upright in heart. 11 May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 See how the evildoers lie fallen-- thrown down, not able to rise!   This psalm (as the inscription says) was written by "David the servant of the Lord". Significantly, David never identifies himself in the psalms as "David, the king of Israel". In general, to be a servant is a lowly calling--much lower than to be a king. But to be a "servant of the Lord" is a great honor and privilege, and so David identifies himself in terms of his servanthood, rather than in terms of his kingship. Do you consider servanthood to God to be a great privilege? I am saddened when I see or hear of lax volunteers who "serve" God in the church halfheartedly. They are late, or don't show up at all; they don't meet promised deadlines; they do shoddy work. In their worldly profession they would have been fired! We should all realize what an honor it is to be able to serve the Lord of the Universe. We should say, as Paul did: "I thank Christ Jesus. . . that He considered me faithful, appointing me in His service" (I Tim. 1:12). Certainly, David's "servant"hood is much more important to us as readers and studiers of the psalms than his kingship is. I do not want to study the words of a worldly king, but of a servant of the Lord, through whom the Holy Spirit is speaking. In this psalm, David makes a great contrast between the wickedness of men (vss. 1-4) and the greatness of God (vss. 5-9). He then ends the psalm with a prayer (vss. 10-12) that God would continue in His just dealing with wicked and righteous men. Psalm 36:1-4 - Traits of the Wicked 1 An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. 3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. 4 Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.     David introduces the first section of the psalm: "An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked" (vs. 1). David, who was identified in the inscription of the psalm as "the servant of the Lord", was spoken to "within [his] heart" by the Holy Spirit. David passes on to us these observations "concerning the sinfulness of the wicked". First, "There is no fear of God before his eyes" (vs. 1). This is something truly to be scared of: someone who has "no fear of God". One who has no fear of God is well prepared for any crime. He has no fear of the eternal consequences of his actions. His only deterrent is the flawed justice system of man. A failure of society most of the world over is that children are not taught to fear God. They are taught a situational ethic (where one himself determines right and wrong from evaluating the situation), rather than an absolute morality as defined by God. They are not taught about the eternal consequences of their actions as administered by an all-seeing, all-powerful God. From Genesis to Revelation, one of the most prevalent commands in the Word of God is to fear God.[8] Our society is experiencing the consequences of ignoring these commands. Next, David points out the flaw of a situational ethic which ignores the absolute morality as established by God: "For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin" (vs. 2). A man who ignores God's absolute morality can always find a way to justify his sin in his own mind. In this way, "he flatters himself" with his self-perceived righteousness, and so does not "detect or hate his sin". The wicked man is usually the last to recognize his own depravity. Everyone else sees it for what it is. It takes the light of God to be able to see ourselves for what we really are: sinners in the sight of God, sinners with a great need for the salvation of God. The modern emphasis on "self-esteem" aids in blinding us to our need for the salvation of God. The philosophy of "self-esteem" says: "I am a good person. None of my flaws are my fault. In fact, I have no flaws, just interesting character traits that serve to make up me as a person." However, the Bible says: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one" (Rom. 3:10-12). The one who is blind to his own sinfulness cannot be trusted for anything, in word or deed: "The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good" (vs. 3). Interestingly, David says that the wicked man "has ceased to be wise", implying that the wicked man once had wisdom. I believe that David is referring here to the natural belief in God that children have. You do not have to convince children that there is a God. They realize it naturally. To children, it is obvious that some higher power created the heavens and the earth. Thus, Jesus taught: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). At some point though, the wicked man "has ceased to be wise". At some point, he has started listening to the worldly wisdom that says there is no God, he has started subscribing to the "opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge", and so has "wandered from the faith" (see I Tim. 6:20- 21). His wickedness is complete: "Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong" (vs. 4). He does not just stumble into sin; rather, he plans ahead of time to sin, he "plots evil" and "commits himself to a sinful course". We must be careful not to do this. We must instead resolve to think ahead how we can avoid sin. We must think ahead and steer clear from places and situations in which we face temptation. This is the best way to keep from stumbling. Psalm 36:5-9 - The Greatness of God  5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the great deep. O LORD, You preserve both man and beast. 7 How priceless is Your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of Your wings. 8 They feast in the abundance of Your house; you give them drink from Your river of delights. 9 For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.   Enough with meditating upon the wicked! Ahhh, it's much better to meditate upon the greatness of God: "Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the great deep" (vss. 5-6). How, in human terms, can one begin to describe the "love", the "faithfulness", the "righteousness", and the "justice" of God? For love and faithfulness, David uses the infinite, as far as he can see: "Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies." For righteousness and justice, David uses the immovable, the unshakable: "the mighty mountains" and "the great deep". Our relationship with God would greatly improve if we could comprehend with our minds the vastness of His love and faithfulness, and the steadiness of His righteousness and justice. Paul prays that God would help us to understand these things: "And I pray that you... may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ" (Eph. 3:17-18). David goes on to give a proof of the care of God: "O LORD, You preserve both man and beast" (vs. 6). Jesus also uses the fact that God preserves the beasts as a proof that God will preserve us: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matt. 6:26). There is ample evidence that God takes care of beasts. Natural science calls it "animal instinct"; I call it the guidance and care of God. How do the swallows know where to migrate? How do the whales know which path in the ocean to take to find food? Who teaches ants to work together in their colonies? Clearly, God has made man the preeminent species on earth. And so, if God takes care of the beasts, surely He will take care of us. Next, David points out that God's love is available to all: "How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings" (vs. 7). What a blessing that God's care extends to all! To "both high and low among men". We do not need fame, wealth, or power to be valuable in God's eyes. He loves us all, and values us all equally: the factory worker has the same standing in God's eyes as the President. David goes on to metaphorically describe the blessings of those who "find refuge in the shadow of [God's] wings": "They feast in the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from Your river of delights" (vs. 8). Certainly we will be satisfied from "the abundance of [God's] house" and "[His] river of delights". What more could we want? David continues: "For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light" (vs. 9). David enumerates two important things we can only get from God: "life"  and "light". "Life" comes only from God. It does not come about by the chance forces of evolution (as so many people believe), but comes only from the power of God. In the same way, "light" (which in the Bible usually represents moral knowledge) comes only from God. We would not know right from wrong without the revelation of God's law. As Paul points out: "Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law" (Rom. 7:7). Psalm 36:10-12 - A Prayer for Continuance 10 Continue Your love to those who know You, Your righteousness to the upright in heart. 11 May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 See how the evildoers lie fallen-- thrown down, not able to rise!   David ends with a prayer: "Continue Your love to those who know You, Your righteousness to the upright in heart" (vs. 10). God is faithful, and has always been faithful. A prayer that God would simply "continue [His] love" is adequate for all of our needs. If He continues as He has, we will be in fine shape. David next prays specifically for his situation: "May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away" (vs. 11). Then, through faith, David prophetically sees his prayer answered: "See how the evildoers lie fallen--thrown down, not able to rise!" (vs. 12). Make no mistake, the "evildoers" will eventually "lie fallen". They will be defeated. God's justice will prevail. May the Lord be praised! ----------- Bibliography and Suggested Reading Alexander, Joseph Addison. The Psalms Translated and Explained.  Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot, 1864.  Anonymous.  A Plain Commentary on the Book of Psalms. Philadelphia:  Henry Hooker and Co., 1857. Barnes, Albert.  Notes on the Book of Psalms.  New York:  Harper & Brothers Publishing, 1871. Bonar, Andrew. Christ and His Church in the Book of Psalms.  New York:  Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860. Calvin, John.  A Commentary on the Book of Psalms.  3 Vols.  Oxford: D. A. Talboys, 1840. (Originally published in Latin in 1557).  Clarke, Adam. The Holy Bible with a Commentary and Critical Notes.  Vol. III.  London:  William Tegg & Co., 1854.  (Originally published in 1831).  Cowles, Henry.  The Psalms with Notes, Critical, Explanatory and Practical.  New York:  D. Appleton & Co., 1872. Darby, John Nelson.  Practical Reflections on the Psalms.  London:  Robert L. Allan, 1870. Delitzsch, Franz.  Biblical Commentary on the Psalms. Edinburgh:  T & T Clark, 1892. (Originally published in 1860). Dickson, David. An Explication of the Other Fifty Psalms, from Ps. 50 to Ps. 100. Cornhill, U.K.:  Ralph Smith, 1653.  Exell, Joseph S. and Henry Donald Spence-Jones, eds. The Pulpit Commentary. Vols. 17, 18, & 19. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1884.  Hengstenberg, F. W.  Commentary on the Psalms.  Edinburgh:  T & T Clark, 1864. Henry, Matthew.  An Exposition of All the Books of the Old and New Testament.  Vol. II.  London: W. Baynes, 1806. (Originally published in 1710). Horne, George. A Commentary on the Book of Psalms.  New York:  Robert Carter & Brothers, 1854. Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David.  A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments.  Glasgow:  William Collins, Queen’s Printer, 1863. Kidner, Derek. Psalms (in 2 Vols.). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008 (first published in 1975). Kirkpatrick, A. F. The Book of Psalms with Introduction and Notes – Books II and III (from The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges). Cambridge, UK: University Press, 1895. Lange, John Peter, ed. and Philip Schaff, trans.  A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical.  New York:  Charles Scribner & Co., 1865.  Maclaren, Alexander. The Psalms (in 3 Vols., from The Expositor’s Bible, ed. by W. R. Nicoll). New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1901. Perowne, J. J. Stewart.  The Book of Psalms:  A New Translation with Explanatory Notes.  London:  George Bell & Sons, 1880. Plumer, William S.  Studies in the Book of Psalms.  Philadelphia:  J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1872. Scott, Thomas. Commentary on the Holy Bible, Vol. III. London: James Nisbet, 1866. Spurgeon, Charles.  The Treasury of David.  6 Vols.  London: Marshall Brothers, Ltd., 1885. Tholuck, Augustus.  A Translation and Commentary of the Book of Psalms.  Philadelphia:  Martien, 1858. Trapp, John.  A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments. Vol. II (Ezra to Psalms).  Edmonton, Canada: Still Waters Revival Books (www.PuritanDownloads.com). (Originally published c. 1660). VanGemeren, Willem A., (Gaebelein, Frank E., ed).  Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 5 – Psalms to Song of Songs.  Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 1991. -------- Many of these books (those in public domain) can be downloaded free of charge from:  http://www.ClassicChristianLibrary.com