Psalm 36: The Precious Love of God
Introduction
Football season starts soon. At some point Clemson and Carolina will play. Reid Ferrell and Travis Coleman can go to the same game and sit right next to each other but leave the game thinking two completely different things depending on who won.
We all breathe the same air and drive the same kind of cars with the same kind of tires. We all live on the same planet but can live in different worlds. You can live in a world where you see everything like Pollyanna while your neighbor can live in a world where he sees everything like Eeyore. This passage shows us God created the world to display His love, but the wicked refuse to live in God’s world. The ungodly reject God’s goodness but God keeps giving it anyways. This psalm has three parts. The first part describes how the ungodly despise God. The second part describes how God’s love transcends. The third describes how God’s love delivers. I will follow with some application points.
The Passage
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord. Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; There is no fear of God before his eyes. For it flatters him in his own eyes Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and to do good. He plans wickedness upon his bed; He sets himself on a path that is not good; He does not despise evil. Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like a great deep. O Lord, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light. O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come upon me, And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the doers of iniquity have fallen; They have been thrust down and cannot rise.
The Ungodly Despise God (Ps 36:1-4)
Because David is not in battle against pagans, it seems like the ungodly here refers to Israelites who reject seeing things God’s way. So, as we look at this passage, don’t think that the ungodly refers to those people out there. In Romans 3, Paul quotes the second half of verse one describing how both Jew and Gentile have sinful natures like Adam. Even Christians can revert back to default settings and live ungodly. Here are attributes of the ungodly.
The ungodly live according to their own standards (Ps 36:1-4). First, the do not fear the Lord (v.1). Evidence of this is that they speak with rebellion. The ungodly excuse certain sins because they do not fear God nor sinning against Him. Second, the ungodly take pride in what God considers sin (v.2). An angry person brags about his “passion” and worriers say they’re “prudent.” Third, the ungodly hate the truth because they want to do whatever they want (v. 3). The ungodly agree with God’s word until it says something they don’t like or would require them to change. Then they justify their refusal to live under God saying something like, “If God loves me, then He would want this for me.” Fourth, where the righteous man wakes up to live for God, the ungodly stay up late thinking of how to do what they want (v. 4). William Ernest Henley’s poem Invictus ends with, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”
The Lord’s Love Transcends (Ps 36: 5-9)
The ungodly reject God. But what are they rejecting when they reject God? They’re rejecting God’s love. In verses 5-6, David shows us how God’s attributes are bigger than us. Notice how each attribute descends. God’s love is so big that it reaches heaven. His faithfulness is so tall that it can fly in the sky. His righteousness stands secure like the Appalachian Mountains. And His judgments are deeper than the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. God made the world to communicate Him. This entire world reflects God’s characteristics.
In verses 7-9, David shows how God reveals His love specifically in the temple. God’s love is precious like the holy of holies (v. 7). The children of men take refuge in the shadow of His wings (Ps 36:7). The wings refer to the cherubim in the temple (1 Kings 6:23-25). In verse 8, the children of men drink to their fill in God’s house. He gives them the river of delight (Ps 36:8). “Your house” refers to the temple. The drinking could refer to the portions of sacrifices that were eaten by the worshippers and priests (Lev 3; 7). The river refers to the temple as the new Eden from which brings water the whole earth (Ps 46:4; Ezek 47; Rev 22:1). In verse 9, David shows that God gives life, and any understanding comes from God (Ps 36:9). To see light means to live in God’s world (Job 33:28; Ps 49:19; Isa 9:2). This likely refers to the processional lamps in the temple (Ps 118:27). This implies that even our own perception comes from God. C.S. Lewis: I believe in Christianity as I believe that Sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.”
The Lord’s Love Delivers (Ps 36:10-12)
God shows His love to His people by protecting them from the ungodly. David prays that God continues giving lovingkindness and righteousness to those who know Him (v. 10). He prays against the ungodly, that his pride not come upon him, and his wickedness does not drive him away (v. 11). David prays for the courage to remain faithful among wicked people. Today, Christians are good at comforting one another after persecution; we’re bad at encouraging one another to get up and keep standing firm. And eventually the ungodly will fall (v. 12).
The Lord’s Love Transforms the Ungodly
David ends the psalm by separating himself from the ungodly. He wants nothing of their pride and asks to be delivered from it (v.11). If we don’t normally pray this way, then we are likely more influenced by the proud and ungodly that we think. We can easily pray like the pharisee and assume we are fine on our own (Luke 18:11-12). We fail to meet God’s standard on our own. Unless God intervenes, all men live the way they want. As sons and daughters of Adam, you want to do what you want to do, not what God tells you to do.
But in Christ, all are made alive to do what God tells them to do (Eph 2:6-10). Notice, Jesus died to pay for our sins against God’s law. He did not die to destroy God’s law and standard but to share it with us. God created a world where His loving fingerprints are everywhere. Jesus died for us to see the love that’s already there.
Application
Do not despise the fear of the Lord. Think of your last argument. It could be at work, home, or church. At any point when you were defending your feelings or someone else’s, did you ever stand up for the Lord? Live for God.
See God’s world as an act of love. See the worship of God as an act of love. Do you believe God loves the world? Then why are you living like God is waiting to blow up the world?
Do you really believe Sunday worship is an act of love? Then why do you avoid it so much?
Pray for God’s love to continue but for the ungodly to not continue. I believe one reason Christians should pray prayers like this one and the one last week is for us to keep our saltiness.
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. Matthew 5:13
Jesus protects salt, but He let’s all that’s not-salt be trampled underfoot. Just like David prays for the ungodly to be cast down and not rise (v. 12).
Conclusion
David prays for the courage to remain faithful among wicked people. Today, Christians are good at comforting one another after persecution; we’re bad at encouraging one another to get up and keep standing firm.