Psalm 36
Light and Life in a World of Darkness and Death
Sometimes we need to see the opposite of an object to grasp reality. In this Psalm, by gazing at the radiance of God, the darkness of sin is unveiled. But in seeing the ugliness of sin, we are compelled to draw near to the beauty of God.
This Psalm is structured around a compare and contrast between the wicked (1-4) and our Righteous God (5-9), culminating in a prayer to God to continue his loving care towards his people.
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord.
1 I have a message from God in my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
before their eyes.2 In their own eyes they flatter themselves
too much to detect or hate their sin.
3 The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful;
they fail to act wisely or do good.
4 Even on their beds they plot evil;
they commit themselves to a sinful course
and do not reject what is wrong.5 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
People take 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!
The irony around this opening diagnostic of the wicked’s heart is that he would refuse to see it. The root of this wilful ignorance is the refusal to acknowledge God as sovereign and supreme. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1.7) but he refuses to revere the Righteous Redeemer.
When we lack a clear and pure objective standard of righteousness, it is a simple step to vindicate ourselves in our own eyes. I remember once hearing a man who worked for the mafia in a Baltic country explaining how he could justify himself as a good person when he compared himself to his employers. This is what the wicked do here. They flatter themselves. They are able to smooth over their sharp edges, which have caused such harm. They will find the filter on their phone to make their picture look better.
For through their words, they have led astray and wounded. Their schemes to further their own ends never end. They reject good and refuse to reject evil.
Ironically, it is an unflattering portrait painted of the wicked.
But the unvarnished truth of God in the next section offers us a glimpse of the beauty of his character.
In vv5-6, David is not trying to find the limit of God’s love, faithfulness or righteousness. He is seeking to help our finite minds to grasp the infinite. What David is doing is saying that God’s love, faithfulness and righteousness extend to the very edges of all creation and spill over.
For all who have trusted in God and his promises, there isn’t a square inch in the whole universe where we are beyond his unfailing love. How precious is this steadfast love? His never-ending faithfulness? His perfect righteousness? It is priceless!
For all who take refuge in him, even if they abandon the world, will receive everything and more (Mark 8.34-38). God lavishes his people with his grace (Ephesians 1.8).
For he is the source of life in the world. And we encounter that life in Christ. Jesus is the light of the world. As Henry Law, a 19th Century Anglican, wrote eloquently,
“Christ is ‘the brightness of his Father’s glory.’ He embodies, as in one constellation, every divine perfection. He shines, the mid-day splendour of Yahweh’s attributes. That time is the brightest time, in which the Lord is nearest. That page is the brightest page, in which most of Christ is found. That sermon is the brightest sermon, in which most of Christ is heard. That life is the brightest life, in which most of Christ is seen.”
And so, having examined the self-deception of the wicked and explored the beauty of God’s character, David closes the Psalm with a prayer (10-12). And the key line is the opening verse.
Knowing that God’s love is our anchor and shield, the King prays for God to continue his love towards us. Any interruption, any momentary lapse or brief cessation would be disastrous for us. But we worship the eternal and infinite God, and so his love and righteousness are bound up in his eternal and infinite faithfulness. The wicked are impotent in the face of his almighty power.
All those who fight against God will be cast down and never rise again. But the object of the Father’s love, Jesus the Son, was cast down by the enemy yet raised to everlasting life.
The same love that raised Christ from the dead is at power in us all. And so we pray for God to continue his unfailing love toward us.
Glory be to God the Father, who is the fount of steadfast love for his people.
Glory be to God the Son, who is the light of life for all the world.
Glory be to God the Spirit, who guides us to the river of delights.
Ever three and ever One.