Psalm 36
vv1-4 To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.
Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.
For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil.
v5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.
v6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast You save, O LORD.
vv7-8 How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights.
v9 For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light.
vv10-12 Oh, continue Your steadfast love to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise. (ESV)
Main idea:
Psalm 36 reveals the same triad of God’s perfections, namely His steadfast love reaching to the heavens, His righteous judgments like the great deep, and His fountain of life flowing through the light of His presence, that John later expounds in his first epistle, demonstrating that assurance of salvation rests not upon the shifting sands of our feelings but upon the settled testimony of Scripture from David to the apostle, which calls us to flee the self-flattery of the wicked and drink deeply from the inexhaustible fountain of eternal life found only in the God who is light and love.
1. The Darkness that Makes Light Necessary (vv. 1–4)
2. The Love that Reaches Heaven (vv. 5,7,8)
3. The Righteousness That Plumbs the Deep (v. 6)
4. The Life That Flows from the Fountain (v. 9)
5. The Confident Conclusion (vv. 10–12)