Contrasts (Psalm 36)

In this psalm David contrasts the wicked and the righteous. He focuses on what they think about and how their thoughts have consequences in their lives. The wicked are described in verses 1-4 and the righteous in the remainder of the psalm. The experience of the righteous is described in three ways.

The thoughts of the wicked (vv. 1-4)

Verse I is a conclusion and there is disagreement about its translation. Some think David is referring to his thoughts about the wicked and others think he is describing the actual thoughts of the wicked. What is clear is that the wicked are marked by transgressions. The meaning of transgression is to go beyond the limits stated by God’s law. How does the wicked person reveal that he prefers to transgress.

Firstly, he does not fear God. The psalmist describes this lack of fear as being missing from the sinner’s outlook. Fear of God includes both reverence for the Lord and dread of his punishments. Therefore a person who fears God will look ahead to a life of keeping his commandments and avoiding evil. But the sinner never thinks of God and this means he will very different from a righteous man.

Second, the wicked man persuades himself that there is nothing wrong with him (v. 2). He can find no faults within himself, and the reason for that self-assessment is that he ignores the law of God. If he had paid attention to the law of God he would have known that he had sinned to some degree. His lack of knowledge of himself resulted in him being proud of himself.

Third, his speech reveals his sinful heart (v. 3). He speaks about what he loves. Instead of speaking about the truth of God he speaks about things that fall short of it. He is unreliable not only because of his heart preferences, but also because his topics do not bring blessings to his hearers. No matter the level of his intelligence, his words bring about trouble for others and reveal that he does not possess divine wisdom. After all, it is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of heavenly wisdom. So this man’s conversation is sinful in itself and sin-stimulating in others.

Fourth, the wicked man considers sinfulness even when he is resting (v. 4). Perhaps the psalmist has in mind a person planning his activities on the following day. He does not think about God, what he can receive from God or how he can honour God. Instead he sets out an agenda in which God is not in charge of it. Or we can think of the rich man in the parable that Jesus told who had great plans but failed to take God into his plans.

Of course, an unenlightened person does not understand this kind of self-awareness. Instead of living for God, he lives for himself and whatever sins he is interested in. A person who does not think about God reveals that he is blinded by his personal sin. There will be great variety among sinners in the way that their sin reveals itself. Yet whatever it is, it leads him away from God and a righteous life.

The righteous think about God (vv. 5-6)

In these verses, David shows how he thinks about God when he mentions four of his attributes: his steadfast love, his faithfulness, his righteousness and his judgements. David could have thought about more attributes than them. Yet his method is one that we can adopt and take time to consider two or three or four of his attributes at any given time. As Spurgeon stated in his first sermon after moving to London, focussing on the knowledge of God expands one’s mind.

God’s steadfast love is his covenant love, and it expresses itself through his persistent application of his mercy. Linked to his love is his faithfulness to his covenant promises, and they have been recorded in the Bible. Moreover, he is constantly righteous and will never do anything wrong. His judgements are his sovereign decisions concerning life in this world and are expressions of his wisdom, and often the way he works things out is far beyond our ability to see what he is doing. Taken together they reveal to us a wonderful example of meditation about the Lord.

The obvious feature of David’s thinking is that he regards each of those divine attributes as great. We can see that is the case from how he describes them. He says that there is not an inch anywhere where God’s covenant love is revealed, even up to the skies. We can go outside and observe the panorama before us – it is filled with expressions of divine love. Everywhere he looks, he sees mercy. Similarly, God’s faithfulness covers the same  amount of space. It is comforting to know that God’s mercy and faithfulness function together.

Moreover, God’s standards of righteousness are as inflexible or immovable as the great mountains. Who can cause a mountain to move an inch? All the sin in the world has not changed God’s way of doing things in any way. He maintains his righteousness everywhere. And his actions are unexplainable. No one knows his reasons for his judgements, what his intentions are as he acts everywhere. But we know that his judgements will be righteous always.

It is good to think about God and his ways. The sinner in the first four verses though about his sinful ways. A believer is very different – he thinks about God.

The righteous receive from God (vv. 7-9)

In verse 7, David states his estimation of covenant love – it is precious. It looks as if he is at the tabernacle, engaged in the worship of God. He mentions three blessings that come his way, and not just for himself but for those who are with him.

The first blessing is protection which David connects to the shadow of God’s wings. It could be that he is likening God to a mother bird who takes care of her young. Yet I suspect he is thinking about the wings of the cherubim that stretched out over the mercy seat in the holy of holies. That was the place where the blood of the sacrifice was applied in order to provide protection for Israel. Jesus is our mercy seat and he gives us protection from divine wrath because of our sins. He is our refuge where we can hide. The sinner, in the first four verses, rushes out to where God will judge him. In contrast, the believer rushes in, right into the holy of holies, as it were, and takes hold by faith of the protection that God has provided for sinners. Where do we plan to go tomorrow? The wicked person planned to engage in sin; we should plan to run to Jesus.

The second blessing is provision. In the tabernacle, he found food for his soul. It came to him in great abundance and provided him with ample refreshment. The provision came directly from God and it conveyed to David and his friends a great deal of satisfaction. Perhaps there is areference here to the peace offering where worshippers shared a meal in the presence of God. The imagery is that of the means of grace being channels along which divine blessings flow in large measure.

The third blessing is perception. God, from whom all life comes, shines on David in his soul. Unlike the wicked man who sees everything through the darkness of his sinful heart, David after tasting of the good things of God sees ahead in a clear way, probably because he receive instruction at the tabernacle. He has been reminded of where he is going, he has light for the future.

The righteous pray to God (vv. 9-12)

Perhaps the striking word in his prayer is the little word ‘oh’ because it points to strength of feeling, to energy of desire. Having been in the presence of God with his people, David now prays earnestly to God.

In his prayer, he asks first that the Lord will continue his goodness to his people, among whom he includes himself. So his prayer is an expression of brotherly love. Instead of planning to engage in sinful activities, he longs for all the people of God to know more of his precious protection, provision and perception.

We should observe how he describes God’s people. They know God and they are upright in heart. They know the Lord as the one who is merciful, faithful, righteous and active. David desires that they will continue to experience divine grace in those ways. After all, divine grace is God acting according to his attributes, it is through those actings that we know him. Of course, we have greater insight into them because Jesus has come.

They also have a different heart from that of the wicked described in the opening verses of the psalm. The heart of the wicked is focussed on sinfulness whereas the heart of God’s people is focused on righteousness. They know that they are not perfect, yet they long for personal righteousness. Since it is common to them all, David in his prayer can describe them in such a way.

The second feature of his prayer is petitions for protection from the wicked. He does not engage in hostility himself but hands the situation over to his covenant God. Every prayer for divine protection is an anticipation of the final deliverance.