Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O Lord.7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
Psalm 36
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the evildoers lie fallen;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.
In Psalm 36, the first four verses give us a picture of the wicked person – those given over to doing evil and rejecting God. They have no fear of God, he thinks highly of himself and has ceased to act wisely or do good, plotting trouble and not rejecting evil. In the Psalms, the “wicked” are not just those really, really bad people who make war on Israel and do terrible, horrific things. They are simply those who reject God. Unbelievers would be a word we use for them today. That seems harsh right? We all have loved ones who are unbelievers, people we love and consider to be “good” people. But in the eyes of the Lord, anyone who rejects Him is wicked in His eyes. We who are in Christ were once seen as wicked in His eyes, enemies of Him.
Then beginning in verse 5 we see the contrast between the wicked, God-rejecting people and God Himself. We see the endlessness of his steadfast love, faithfulness, and righteousness. In verse 7, we see the preciousness of his steadfast love to those who take refuge in Him as opposed to the rejection of that love from those in the first four verses. The psalmist, while lamenting about the wicked, reminds himself of the Truth about God. He aligns his heart and mind to what he knows to be true, and that is his refuge as the world of evildoers rages about him. He trusts in the steadfast love and righteousness of the Lord and finds peace and comfort in that refuge.
It reminds me of Psalm 121:
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
Psalm 121
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Find your peace in the Lord today, sisters. No matter what situation you find yourself in – He is your refuge and strength.
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