December 8
Reading: Psalm 36
To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.
1 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.
This psalm presents a startling contrast and then a short prayer. The contrast is between the wicked (vss. 1-4) and the Lord with those who trust Him. (vss. 5-9)
The description of the wicked in the first four verses is alarming and scary. He (or she) does not fear God. (vs. 1) This is the root of all the other problems. He thinks that he is great, better than others and that his sins will not be discovered. (vs. 2) He speaks words that cause trouble and he makes bad decisions. (vs. 3) He makes plans that are going to become problems.
You see, the Bible tells us that the problem of sin is not primarily that people do bad things, though that is a problem. The problem of sin is chiefly that people cut God out of their life and desires and decisions.
In Hebrew, verse 5 begins, “Yahweh, to the heavens reaches your hesed.” “Hesed” is a word found often in the psalms and is commonly translated “steadfast love” or “lovingkindness” or “mercy.” The word can be used to describe commitment, faithfulness, promise-keeping, and love between people. With respect to God it describes an essential aspect of His character. You might think of hesed as God’s loving covenant faithfulness; that He chooses His people, makes promises to them because He loves them, and then keeps those promises through thick and thin because He is committed to them in love. In verse 7 we read, “How precious is Your hesed.”
The wicked do not know God’s hesed. In contrast to the wicked who spurn the Lord, God’s children live in His hesed, in His righteousness, under His wings, in His house, by His river of life, in His light. (vss. 5-9) This is where I want to live.
In verses 10-12, David closes with a prayer, a request of God to keep him in His “hesed,” His steadfast promised love. David does not want to succumb to the temptations of pride and get pulled away from God by the wicked and then destroyed. I think of the end of the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead me not into temptation and deliver me from evil.”
I pray that prayer for myself every day.