THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

XXXVI. A Lesson In The Great Contrast In Destinies Of The Wicked With The Righteous

(Psalm 36:1-12)

I. Introduction

A. Sometimes people waver between trusting in Christ to be saved versus not believing in Him or, as believers, they waver between obeying the Word of God versus going another route in some particular realm of life.

B. David contrasted the destinies of both extremes with a great lesson for all men in Psalm 36:1-12 as follows:

II. A Lesson In The Great Contrast In Destinies Of The Wicked With The Righteous, Psalm 36:1-12.

A. The introductory remarks in the English Bible comprise verse one of the Hebrew text, (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1004), but we stay with the numbering system of the English Bible for clarification with this lesson.

B. Accordingly, we translate Psalm 36:1-12 as follows:

1. "An oracle [of Jahweh] on the rebelliousness (pesha', B. D. B., A Heb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 833; Robert B. Girdlestone, Syns. of the O. T., 1973, p. 81) of the wicked is in my heart (as follows): there is no dread (pahad, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 808) [in accountability] of Elohim conspicuously in front of (neged, Ibid., Kittel; Ibid., B. D. B., p. 617) his eyes," Psalm 36:1.

2. "Because in his own eyes he makes-smooth-with-the-tongue; flatters (halaq, Ibid., p. 325; Hiphil = causative) himself (to where) he does not find his guilt ('avon, Ibid., p. 730-731) to hate (it)," Psalm 36:2.

3. "The words of his mouth are vanity ('aven, Ibid., KIttel; Ibid., B. D. B., p. 19-20; Ibid., Girdlestone, p. 83) and deceit, treachery (mirmah, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 941); he has ceased to be wise and to do good," Ps. 36:3.

4. "Even on his bed he devises vanity ('aven again, v. 3); he holds his ground (yasab, Ibid., p. 426; Hithpael = intensive reflexive) on a path [in life] that is not good; he does not reject what is calamitous," Psa. 36:4.

5. "O Jahweh, Your loyal love (hesed, Ibid., Kittel, p. 1005; H. A. W., T. W. O. T., 1980, v. I, p. 305-307) is in [extends to] the heavens, Your faithfulness ('emunah, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 53) unto the clouds," Psa. 36:5.

6. "Your righteousness is like the mountains of Elohim, Your judgments as the great deep; man and beast You save, O Jahweh!" (Psalm 36:6)

7. "How highly valued, precious (yaqar, Ibid., p. 429-430) is Your loyal love (hesed again, cf. v. 5), O Elohim; the sons of man seek refuge (hasah, Ibid., p. 340) in the shadow of Your wings," Psalm 36:7.

8. "They feast on the fat [luxuriance] (deshen, Ibid., p. 206) of Your house, and You give them drink from the torrent of rushing water (nahal, Ibid., p. 636) of Your luxuries ('eden, Ibid., p. 726)," Psalm 36:8.

9. "Because with You is the fountain of [earthly and spiritual] life (hayyim, Ibid., p. 313); in Your light we see light," Psalm 36:9.

10. "Draw out, prolong, continue (mashak, Ibid., p. 604) Your loyal love (hesed again, cf. v. 5) to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart," Psalm 36:10.

11. "Let not the foot of the proud come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked cause me to wander about as a fugitive (nud, Ibid., p. 626-627; "move to and fro," but in the Hiphil = causative)," Psalm 36:11.

12. "There those who practice vanity ('aven, v. 3) are fallen, they are thrown down, not able to rise!" (v. 12)

C. We summarize the stark contrasts between the destiny of the upright and that of the wicked as follows:

1. The wicked starts out flattering himself so as not to discern his sin, so he fails to despise it and turn from it (v. 2). He thus does not revere God (v. 1), leading to his eventually making plans to deceive that lead to disaster (v. 3a, 4b). His efforts are not good nor are they wise (v. 3b,c). He plots evil even on his bed while in leisure (v. 4a), and commits himself to a course of action that eventually harms himself (v. 4b,c). He finally ends up fallen, unable to raise himself up, with God not helping him up due to his guilt (v. 13).

2. The upright man takes refuge in God's provision (v. 8b), so God saves him from trouble (v. 7b) and he enjoys God's luxurious, abundant blessings (v. 9a,b). God controls the source of life behind such provisions, making the upright man find abundant life in Him (v. 10a, 9). The Lord provides the upright insight (v. 10b), the upright can ask God for protection from the ungodly against either being confronted by or being affected by the wicked if he is confronted by them (v. 12a,b).

Lesson: Man's choice to go the route of sin or to go the route of righteousness in life produces a series of events that yield extremely contrasting results -- sin eventually produces great tragedy and righteousness great blessing!

Application: May we totally avoid sin and totally heed righteousness to avoid great trouble and gain great blessing.