Psalm 36--How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

Psalm 36
English Standard Version

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love
To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.

36 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,
    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.

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David is the psalmist here again (though David writes many of the psalms, there will be other psalmists later such as Moses, Solomon, and Asaph to name a few.  Many palms also have no known author).

David starts off as is customary by focusing on what he sees as the problem or issue--the wicked and the way in which they seem to go unpunished.  They do not fear the LORD (if they did they would obey His commandments), they plot evil schemes day and night--even as they are laying in bed (possibly meaning they are even dreaming about them when they are asleep).  They imagine themselves so crafty that not even God can find them out or punish them for their wrongdoing, as they have evaded every other kind of law enforcement.  He refuses to reject evil and refuses to do good--everything that comes out of his or her mouth are trouble and deceit (and since we know that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, this is what is inside the wicked person's heart and mind at all times).

I know a song based on the next stanza here, so I will post it here.

The psalm (and this song that is based on it) tell us that no matter how bad things look to us, God is still loving, faithful, righteous and just.  We can trust in Him and what He will do.  Goodness and mercy for those who have been transformed by the LORD and His gospel, and justice and wrath for those who continue to rebel against the LORD and His law, and His gospel.  The Flood of Noah is something David points back to in order to show us God's destruction of the wicked and God's preservation of those whom He has chosen to preserve (Noah whom God had found to be righteous, Noah's wife and Noah's 3 sons and their wives, and all the animals that God caused to come onto the Ark so that the whole world could "reset" after it had been so corrupted by sin).  David points to the fact that these people and animals were safe in the security of the Ark because God closed the door and kept them safe inside, so they need not fear the judgment that was going on outside--though the people outside that had rebelled reached a point where the door to the Ark would be closed by God Himself and no matter how much they wanted to get inside the Ark after God had closed the door, they could not.

For those of us who are in Christ, even death is not something we need to fear, as David seems to focus next on the blessings that await God's people in heaven.  They will be "in the shelter of His wings" and will experience the abundance of His house--even drinking from the River of Life the flows from the throne of God and living in His light forever (see Revelation 21 and 22).  It seems that the LORD has given David either a glimpse back at what it was like in the Garden of Eden or a look forward to what it will be like in the New Jerusalem or maybe a bit of both as the end is very much like the beginning.

All that David can pray is for what we call the "perseverance of the saints"--that God would keep him as the person that God has made him and not let him become like the old man that would be under condemnation and judgment.  We know this to be a fact for those who are in Christ from the New Testament as we are told "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1), but what does it mean to be "in Christ"?  I think it's very similar to the picture painted here of being safe inside the Ark.  God put  you there, God seals you in and God does all the work to keep you safe through the judgment and deliver you to the other side, but the Ark of Salvation that has been provided for us is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He is the only one that can save us and He said so Himself in John 14:6, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No man comes to the Father except through Me."  And remember the "purpose statement" towards the end of the Gospel of John, "30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." (John 20:30-31).  We can be certain that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, our Savior) and that in Him (and Him alone) we have salvation from sins and eternal life.

We too can repent and believe the gospel no matter what we have done--there was grace even for the thief/murderer that died next to Jesus when he repented and believed, but there was nothing that could be done for the one who continued to curse God with his dying breath.  God's love will not force us to love Him back, but one day we will all worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords either by choice or by compulsion.  Which will it be for you?  If you want to know more about how you can surrender your life to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords today, connect with me through my 99-1 Discipleship Discord server, and I'll be happy to speak with you.