Transgression speaks to the wicked
Psalm 36:1-12
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,
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.
Do you only see evil when you look at our world? If you spend any time watching the news on television or in a news app you would think that evil is all there is. In the United States in recent months we have seen several evil acts of mass homicide. Remember the synagogue in Poway, California? How about the Garlic Festival in Gilroy, California? More recently there were the two attacks in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas. And this is just one form of evil in our world. Consider the mass murder of unborn babies that adds up to about 1.5 million deaths per year of innocent children in the United States.
In another category of evil, a major percentage of our American population is disabling itself through the abuse of prescription drugs as well as illegal substances. These are disabilities that will last for the lifetime of many of these self-abusers. And, someone is selling the drugs that disable fellow human beings purely for the profit.
When I first read verses 1-4 of Psalm 36, I thought that we humans aren’t that bad. But then, after I stopped a thought a little bit, I realized that there are many of we humans who do personify evil as the man in verses 1-4.
We who have experienced the grace of God, also known in the Old Testament as his steadfast love, have a choice to make each day. What do we see in our world? Do we focus on the evil around us? Or, do we focus on the steadfast love of the Lord? There are very practical implications for your answer to those questions.
God has made us for his glory and for our joy in him. If we allow ourselves to focus on the evil around us, we fail to see God’s beauty and we diminish the possibilities of our joy.
When we see God’s steadfast love extending to the heavens and his faithfulness to the clouds (poetic methods of acknowledging the fact that God’s steadfast love, or grace, is the greatest thing we can observe) we open ourselves to experiencing his joy in us. His righteousness and judgments are of the same magnitude as his steadfast love and faithfulness and also increase our joy in him.
His steadfast love extends to human and beast alike. He provides for us food, air, and everything we need for life. We get to drink from the river of his delights. We get to know and share in his joy.
Is this a formula for putting our heads in the sand and ignoring the evil around us? No. It is a formula for seeing reality as it really is. The Psalm ends with the prayer,
10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
Psalm 36:10-12
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.
The Psalmist sees clearly. The foot of arrogance refers to the man in verses 1-4, the one who has no fear of God before his eyes. Jesus taught us to pray similarly, “Deliver us from the evil one.” Then the Psalmist sees the end of reality, “There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.”
Honest eyes acknowledge evil. Honest eyes, enabled by the Holy Spirit, also acknowledge the steadfast love of the Lord and his ultimate sovereign victory over evil. And we, because we are in Christ, are able to participate in that victory. As Jesus said, “Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Lift up your eyes above the evil under the sun and see the Son of righteousness who is full of steadfast love and faithfulness. When we live among the evil ones, we also see the victorious Righteous One who has overcome evil in his death and resurrection. That is a complete picture of reality. Don’t be stuck with only a view of what you see under the sun. Look beyond what is under the sun in order to get the full picture of reality.
