Psalm 36

Psalm 36

Contrasting evil with the Goodness of God

Introduction

Let's begin with a question:

Why would anyone do horribly evil things?

While watching the news,

and hearing about

horribly evil, criminal deeds,

people often express their

confusion.

Sometimes people ask me,

"Why do some people do such awful things?"

I often hear comments like:

How can evil people not fear God?

I don't understand why anyone would _____.

How could anyone ________.

Surely no one could ever think that he or she could get away with such crimes!

It just doesn't make sense.

I just can't believe _______.

-

The quick answer to those comments is:

If you are not evil, you can't think like an evil person.

And that is good!

- - -

The more complete answer is given in

Psalm 36 verses 1-4.

See below.

Verses 1-4

 The first section

of

Psalm 36,

explains the mindset of evil people.

 

Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts.

    They have no fear of God at all.

2 In their blind conceit,
    they cannot see how wicked they really are.

3 Everything they say is crooked and deceitful.
    They refuse to act wisely or do good.

4 They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots.
    Their actions are never good.
    They make no attempt to turn from evil.

(The NLT version)

At some point,

the thoughts of evil people become wholly

contaminated.

Evil people become so

permeated

with evil

that they disregard God.

In many cases:

Evil
transforms
them
into someone who thinks
that they are too smart to be captured
by any
law enforcement or any hand of justice.

If they think
of God's word at all,
 they see his words as idle threats.

Some even admit

that they follow the devil

and

believe that he will protect them.

The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, for He sees that his day is coming.

Psalm 37:12-13 NKJV

Verses 5-9

 The second section

of this psalm

contrasts the evil of verses 1-4

with

the lovingkindness of God. 

5 Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
    your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.

7 How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
    in the shadow of your wings.

8 You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
    letting them drink from your river of delights.

9 For you are the fountain of life,
    the light by which we see.

The verses above are

beautiful poetry

that describe the love of God.

In verse 5

We read of the vastness of his love and faithfulness.

In verse 6

We are given a picture of the unmovable,  steadfast, strong, unchangeableness of God's righteousness.

Next, we are given a picture of the incredible depth
of the promised justice of God. 

 He [God]gives justice to all who are treated unfairly. 

Psalm 103:6 TLB

God will bring merciful blessings of justice

to those who have

been harmed by evil people. 

And God will bring

truth and harsh justice

for the wicked who won't repent. 

In verses 7-8

We read about God's gifts of shelter and nourishment.

In verse 9

We are reminded of God's fountain of life
which is 
ever-flowing, pure, and abundant. 

Then we end this section
with the beloved image of God
as our
light.

 God is light,

and

in him

is

no darkness at all.

1 John 1:5 b

Verses 10-11

The third section contains

a prayer of

protection

for those who love God.

 - Protection from the wicked ones - 

These two verses take us back

to the first section

by referencing

the wicked ones

talked about in the first section.

10 Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you;
    give justice to those with honest hearts.

11 Don’t let the proud trample me
    or the wicked push me around.

Verse 12

The last section

is a verse that shows

the psalmist's faith

in God's ultimate justice. 

Note: David wrote this psalm.

  12 Look! 
Those who do evil have fallen!
    They are
thrown down, never to rise again.

During Tough Times

During tough times

find comfort in God's Word.

-

Short Scripture Prayers

Psalm 119:25 TLB

Dear Lord, 

 I am completely discouraged - I lie in the dust.

Revive me by your Word. 

Amen

Psalm 119:28 TLB

Dear Lord,

 I weep with grief;

my heart is heavy with sorrow;

encourage and cheer me with your words.

Amen

Beth McLendon says...

I thank you for joining me on this page and

I invite you to my other Psalm pages.....

Consider the Psalm 13 page called...

How long before this trial is over?

or

Psalm 10

Arise O Lord and Do Something!

For a link to all our Psalm pages, click: Here

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