Psalm 36 Written by David. This is meditative psalm.
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 on 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.
SECTIONS:
I Deliberations on Human Infidelity
II Deliberations on Divine Fidelity
III Dependence implemented through Prayer
IV Dependence intimated through Perspective
or
I Contrast between the wicked man and the righteous God
II Looking to the god of mecy for help against the wicked
THEME: The lovingkindness of God. Contrasts of the rebellious sinner vs the blessedness of the righteous.
QUESTIONS:
What do you think verse 1 means?
What attributes of God does David describe?
How does he describe God’s love?
What does he ask of God?
Is this your concept of God towards you? Do you see His lovingkindness and faithfulness as immense? Why or Why not?
.
The lack of fear of God is at the heart of the wicked man’s character and deeds. He doen’t respect or reverence God and is persuaded that God doesn’t interfere with men. Instead of fearing God, he enthrones himself at the centre of his own being (summary of Morgan). The wicked thinks of himself more highly than he should. He isn’t merely drifting into evil ways. He is inventing ways to do it.
But David turns his focus to the God’s great mercy and faithfulness. The Hebrew word “chesed” means lovingkindness and speaks of God’s love and mercy to His covenant people. “One can imagine that the psalm was written on some height from which David looked out on a scene and saw symbols of truth concerning God: the heavens, the skies or clouds, the mountains, the great deep.
“Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings:”- God is a place of rest and protection for His people. He invites all the children of men to find their refuge of trust in Him. Some commentators think the “the shadow of your wings” are the cherubim represented in His tabernacle and the later temple. Cherubim wings were depicted on the lid of the ark of the covenant, which was the representation of God’s throne. Others view it in the sense that a hen covers her young chicks under her wings to protect, hide, and shelter them.
“The fullness of Your house” -verse 8 Spurgeon tells a story about a man who moved his family to a larger and better home. His young son ran through the house yelling, “Is this ours, father? And is this ours?” Arnot observed: “The child didn’t say is this ‘yours;’ and the father while he told the story wasn’t offended with what his son said.. Instead, the son’s confidence in claiming as his own all that his father had, made the father feel happy. This will be one of our great joys in heaven when we come to our Father’s house. With great happinesss we will have the right to roam heaven and say, “Is this ours? And is this ours?” and say it unto eternity.
David has an oracle or an utterance from the Lord concerning sin and the person who practices sin. This oracle comes from God, but it’s also coming through David.
God is not a priority in the life of the wicked, who ignore God and his righteous character and demands. If the wicked wrong their neighbor, it’s not a big deal – because after all – God is not watching. And if God is watching, the wicked believe he won’t do anything. But the wicked deceive deceives themselves.
David is done dealing with the wicked for the next six verses and wants to meditate on God’s holy, loving character. He starts with two attributes of God that are key to understanding him. The first is his mercy. The Hebrew word “chesed” also means God’s loyal covenant love. It’s the devotion he extended to the nation of Israel that he did not show to others who weren’t in covenant with him. It’s also describing the unchangeableness and abundance of that love.
God’s faithfulness is shown in the fact that he doesn’t lie or go back on his promises –he doesn’t withdraw his covenant love. You get this attribute of God in reference to the towering sky. It’s immense and fills the earth! David continues to consider the enormity of God’s wonderful attributes in verse 6.
God is righteous and just – he does right constantly and consistently.
David reflects on how God preserves or saves both man and beast. Interestingly enough, this is the only place in the Hebrew Old Testament in which the word save is applied to the word beast or animals. (God cares about the animals. Remember he created animals in paradise. When he told Jonah about his concern for Ninevah God also had concern about the animals there too.)
https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-36-deceived-sin-or-delighted-god
David asks for God’s righteousness to continue to be given to the upright in heart. We are never fully sanctified in this life until we see Him face to face (1 John 3:2). We also must continue to ask God to give us His righteousness. We need to seek him for a pure heart and thought life. All sin begins with corrupt thoughts. It’s only a matter of time until you sin outwardly, because you haven’t cut off the source.
David asks God to protect him from the proud and wicked, who try to bring him down to their level. Evil people feel convicted by righteous people. They want to see the righteous fall so that they can justify their own sin. In the final verse, David prophetically looks ahead and sees the place where the wicked meet their final demise.
As we look at society, its easy for us to come up with solutions to fix problems. Hundreds of people were wounded and many killed, as a man opened fire with a machine gun on a crowd of people attending a concert. Of course, the answer must be gun control, right? Wrong! David gives us the problem and the solution. The problem is not a lack of justice, quality, legislation, or education. As Psalm 36:1 points out, the problems lies inside our hearts…our inner person. Sin has so infiltrated us that our hearts become callous and hard. NO act of man can change that problem…only The Holy Spirit working through us can fix the problems in our society and bring repentance and reconciliation.
Sin has so infiltrated and blinded us that we don’t even fear God. The word fear in the Old Testament usually meant a holy reverence. However, the word in vs. 1, is translated into terror. David is saying that sin is so deeply rooted in our hearts that we aren’t even afraid of God’s judgements, much less reverence of God. We don’t care about consequences of sin because we don’t care about God.
The first four verses seem pretty hopeless for us. If that’s who we are and what we’ve done then we are helpless. But our hope is in God’s steadfast love. God shows his mercy and kindness towards sinners. God’s unfailing love is who he is. It never changes and cannot be swayed by surroundings and circumstances, like human love can. God’s love is seen in Hosea’s love for his adulteress wife and God’s love for his rebellious Israel. His love is seen clearly in the person and work of Christ. David reflects on the benefits we have in God. All our needs are met in abundance.
To conclude, David prays. He understands how easy it is to fall into sin and become arrogant. Pride can sneak into the heart so that we flatter ourselves. David closes with proclamation of a future glimpse. Christ is to return again to make all things new and pronounce a final judgment against all. Every knee shall bow and tongue confess that he is Lord.
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-gospel-of-light-matthew-kratz-sermon-on-protection-244932
God’s “steadfast love” seems to be the most important attribute of God in Psalm 36. Steadfast love can also be tranlated as “lovingkindness” or “unfailing love.” When David says that God’s love extends to the heavens,” he means there are no limits to his love. His unfailing love is as vast as the immeasurable vastness of space.
The scope of His faithfulness extends “to the heavens” which does not imply distance, but something which has no boundaries or limits. The next attribute is righteousness. David teaches that God is upright in all his ways. He compares God’s judgments to the ocean depths, emphasizing the idea of mystery and power. It’s a way of saying that God’s righteousness and judgments are all-encompassing, ranging from the highest peaks to the lowest depths of the earth. Poetic imagery is not always subject to logical analysis and definition. God shows His justice at the end of Psalm 36:6 in His action to “save.”. In this context, it doesn’t mean to rescue, but to provide, care for, and supply our needs. The Father provides for the needs of all living beings, animals and humans alike.
My Reflections:
Psalm 36 Written by David. This is meditative psalm.
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 on 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.
SECTIONS:
I Deliberations on Human Infidelity
II Deliberations on Divine Fidelity
III Dependence implemented through Prayer
IV Dependence intimated through Perspective
or
I Contrast between the wicked man and the righteous God
II Looking to the god of mecy for help against the wicked
THEME: The lovingkindness of God. Contrasts of the rebellious sinner vs the blessedness of the righteous.
QUESTIONS:
What do you think verse 1 means?
What attributes of God does David describe?
How does he describe God’s love?
What does he ask of God?
Is this your concept of God towards you? Do you see His lovingkindness and faithfulness as immense? Why or Why not?
.
The lack of fear of God is at the heart of the wicked man’s character and deeds. He doen’t respect or reverence God and is persuaded that God doesn’t interfere with men. Instead of fearing God, he enthrones himself at the center of his own being (summary of Morgan). The wicked thinks of himself more highly than he should. He isn’t merely drifting into evil ways. He is inventing ways to do it.
But David turns his focus to the God’s great mercy and faithfulness. The Hebrew word “chesed” means lovingkindness and speaks of God’s love and mercy to His covenant people. “One can imagine that the psalm was written on some height from which David looked out on a scene and saw symbols of truth concerning God: the heavens, the skies or clouds, the mountains, the great deep.
“Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings:”- God is a place of rest and protection for His people. He invites all the children of men to find their refuge of trust in Him. Some commentators think the “the shadow of your wings” are the cherubim represented in His tabernacle and the later temple. Cherubim wings were depicted on the lid of the ark of the covenant, which was the representation of God’s throne. Others view it in the sense that a hen covers her young chicks under her wings to protect, hide, and shelter them.
“The fullness of Your house” -verse 8 Spurgeon tells a story about a man who moved his family to a larger and better home. His young son ran through the house yelling, “Is this ours, father? And is this ours?” Arnot observed: “The child didn’t say is this ‘yours;’ and the father while he told the story wasn’t offended with what his son said.. Instead, the son’s confidence in claiming as his own all that his father had, made the father feel happy. This will be one of our great joys in heaven when we come to our Father’s house. With great happiness we will have the right to roam heaven and say, “Is this ours? And is this ours?” and say it unto eternity.
David has an oracle or an utterance from the Lord concerning sin and the person who practices sin. This oracle comes from God, but it’s also coming through David.
God is not a priority in the life of the wicked, who ignore God and his righteous character and demands. If the wicked wrong their neighbor, it’s not a big deal – because after all – God is not watching. And if God is watching, the wicked believe he won’t do anything. But the wicked deceive deceives themselves.
David is done dealing with the wicked for the next six verses and wants to meditate on God’s holy, loving character. He starts with two attributes of God that are key to understanding him. The first is his mercy. The Hebrew word “chesed” also means God’s loyal covenant love. It’s the devotion he extended to the nation of Israel that he did not show to others who weren’t in covenant with him. It’s also describing the unchangeableness and abundance of that love.
God’s faithfulness is shown in the fact that he doesn’t lie or go back on his promises –he doesn’t withdraw his covenant love. You get this attribute of God in reference to the towering sky. It’s immense and fills the earth! David continues to consider the enormity of God’s wonderful attributes in verse 6.
God is righteous and just – he does right constantly and consistently.
David reflects on how God preserves or saves both man and beast. Interestingly enough, this is the only place in the Hebrew Old Testament in which the word save is applied to the word beast or animals. (God cares about the animals. Remember he created animals in paradise. When he told Jonah about his concern for Ninevah God also had concern about the animals there too.)
https://bible.org/seriespage/psalm-36-deceived-sin-or-delighted-god
David asks for God’s righteousness to continue to be given to the upright in heart. We are never fully sanctified in this life until we see Him face to face (1 John 3:2). We also must continue to ask God to give us His righteousness. We need to seek him for a pure heart and thought life. All sin begins with corrupt thoughts. It’s only a matter of time until you sin outwardly, because you haven’t cut off the source.
David asks God to protect him from the proud and wicked, who try to bring him down to their level. Evil people feel convicted by righteous people. They want to see the righteous fall so that they can justify their own sin. In the final verse, David prophetically looks ahead and sees the place where the wicked meet their final demise.
As we look at society, its easy for us to come up with solutions to fix problems. Hundreds of people were wounded and many killed, as a man opened fire with a machine gun on a crowd of people attending a concert. Of course, the answer must be gun control, right? Wrong! David gives us the problem and the solution. The problem is not a lack of justice, quality, legislation, or education. As Psalm 36:1 points out, the problems lies inside our hearts…our inner person. Sin has so infiltrated us that our hearts become callous and hard. NO act of man can change that problem…only The Holy Spirit working through us can fix the problems in our society and bring repentance and reconciliation.
Sin has so infiltrated and blinded us that we don’t even fear God. The word fear in the Old Testament uusually meant a holy reverence. However, the word in vs. 1, is translated into terror. David is saying that sin is so deeply rooted in our hearts that we aren’t even afraid of God’s judgements, much less reverence of God. We don’t care about consequences of sin because we don’t care about God.
The first four verses seem pretty hopeless for us. If that’s who we are and what we’ve done then we are helpless. But our hope is in God’s steadfast love. God shows his mercy and kindness towards sinners. God’s unfailing love is who he is. It never changes and cannot be swayed by surroundings and circumstances, like human love can. God’s love is seen in Hosea’s love for his adulteress wife and God’s love for his rebellious Israel. His love is seen clearly in the person and work of Christ. David reflects on the benefits we have in God. All our needs are met in abundance.
To conclude, David prays. He understands how easy it is to fall into sin and become arrogant. Pride can sneak into the heart so that we flatter ourselves. David closes with proclamation of a future glimpse. Christ is to return again to make all things new and pronounce a final judgment against all. Every knee shall bow and tongue confess that he is Lord.
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-gospel-of-light-matthew-kratz-sermon-on-protection-244932
God’s “steadfast love” seems to be the most important attribute of God in Psalm 36. Steadfast love can also be translated as “lovingkindness” or “unfailing love.” When David says that God’s love extends to the heavens,” he means there are no limits to his love. His unfailing love is as vast as the immeasurable vastness of space.
The scope of His faithfulness extends “to the heavens” which does not imply distance, but something which has no boundaries or limits. The next attribute is righteousness. David teaches that God is upright in all his ways. He compares God’s judgments to the ocean depths, emphasizing the idea of mystery and power. It’s a way of saying that God’s righteousness and judgments are all-encompassing, ranging from the highest peaks to the lowest depths of the earth. Poetic imagery is not always subject to logical analysis and definition. God shows His justice at the end of Psalm 36:6 in His action to “save.”. In this context, it doesn’t mean to rescue, but to provide, care for, and supply our needs. The Father provides for the needs of all living beings, animals and humans alike.
My Reflections:
It took me a long time to realize how deep God’s love is for me and how unfailing and unconditional his love is toward all his children. Unfortunately in my young like I didn’t experience this kind of love. But there are many children who can say the same thing. Our human love is rarely unconditional or unfailing. How many times would a married man or woman forgive an unfaithful spouse? That’s why I love the book of Hosea in the bible. I read the book “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers. This is a beautiful love story based on Hosea. It gives a modern twist to the story to give a deeper understanding of God’s unfailing love for us. It brought tears to my eyes when I read it because I had a hard time comprehending God’s all encompassing love, especially in view of how undeserving I am of such love.
But another special thing is that God also loves all of his creation, including the animals he created. Not everyone will agree with me, but I’m convinced that we will on day see the animals that we have loved in heaven. This psalm says “You preserved both man and beast.” God cares for us and he gave us authority to care for his animals. In the book of Jonah, God expresses how much he cared about the lives of not only the people living in Ninevah but also the animals living there. And when he created Paradise with Adam and Eve, they shared Paradise with the animals God created. When the bible speaks of the “new” earth that will come, there are animals in it. God put his love in us. There is no love without God because God is love. So if we love animals, this is God loving them through us! I doubt he will exclude animals from heaven. Maybe we won’t share the exact same spot with them but I believe they will be there.
SONG: You’re Love Oh Lord-Third Day, Great is Your Faithfulness, Day of Judgment Day of Wonder,
It took me a long time to realize how deep God’s love is for me and how unfailing and unconditional his love is toward all his children. Unfortunately in my young like I didn’t experience this kind of love. But there are many children who can say the same thing. Our human love is rarely unconditonal or unfailing. How many times would a married man or woman forgive an unfaithful spouse? That’s why I love the book of Hosea in the bible. I read the book “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers. This is a beautiful love story based on Hosea. It gives a modern twist to the story to give a deeper understanding of God’s unfailing love for us. It brought tears to my eyes when I read it because I had a hard time comprehending God’s all encompassing love, especially in view of how undeserving I am of such love.
But another special thing is that God also loves all of his creation, including the animals he created. Not everyone will agree with me, but I’m convinced that we will on day see the animals that we have loved in heaven. This psalm says “You preserved both man and beast.” God cares for us and he gave us authority to care for his animals. In the book of Jonah, God expresses how much he cared about the lives of not only the people living in Ninevah but also the animals living there. And when he created Paradise with Adam and Eve, they shared Paradise with the animals God created. When the bible speaks of the “new” earth that will come, there are animals in it. God put his love in us. There is no love without God because God is love. So if we love animals, this is God loving them through us! I doubt he will exclude animals from heaven. Maybe we won’t share the exact same spot with them but I believe they will be there.
SONG: You’re Love Oh Lord-Third Day, Great is Your Faithfulness, Day of Judgment Day of Wonder,