Wicked vs Righteous (Psalm 36)

[nChrist]

Wicked vs Righteous  (Psalm 36)

"The transgression of the wicked declares within my heart: There is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity and hate is found. The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has left off acting wisely and doing good. He devises wickedness on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not despise evil." (vs1-4)

In the previous chapter we observed what the wicked person -does-. In this chapter we get a little look into the heart of the wicked. In the previous lesson I shared how I was told by a person filled with (self-admitted) "darkness", that I did "not understand" the evil that filled the hearts of my enemies.

I've been a Child of God since age 5. While there are smatterings of things I still remember as far back as about age 3, my life-time of memories begins, essentially, at around age 5. Thus, it could be said that, in essence, I have been a Christian my "whole life".  I do not have any memories of my pre-Eternal existence; I do not remember what an unsaved heart 'feels' like. I do not know what it is to be -full- of darkness. While I have done evil things, committed sins, been guilty of trespasses, as any person of corrupt "flesh and blood" (1Co15:50) does, I don't know what a "dark" heart feels like.

And so, these opening verses provide a window into the dark heart. They help us understand 'why' the wicked perpetrate upon the righteous the evils that we observed in the past lessons.

Jesus informs us that persecution comes because the evil do not know Him, Jesus Christ. And not knowing Him, they also do not know the Father who sent Him. (Jn15:21,23,16:3,etc)  We also know that the "fear of Jehovah is the BEGINNING of wisdom" (Ps111:10, Pr1:7;9:10)  The fear of God is the -beginning-, the root and foundation of "goodness" (being opposite of evil and wickedness).

For the wicked "there is NO FEAR OF GOD..." (vs1)  They have "no hope" and are "without God" (Eph2:12)  That is a condition I don't even know how to imagine or empathize with.

He "flatters himself". Well... isn't this what the world is full of today. Actually it always has been; but they never before so fully and openly engulfed themselves in it to give it a name, "Self-esteem"  and to boast themselves and encourage each other to "be -proud- of yourself"

But what is the end result?  Iniquity and hate.

One of today's premier gurus of self-esteem and self-pride is daytime TV queen, Oprah. And yet, as I've commented to a couple of people privately, on occasion while flipping channels, and the TV happens to land on an Oprah moment, where the TV camera is zoomed in for a close-up of her face; for all her self-esteem, is she happy? Hers is one of the DARKEST faces I see on TV today. In fact, the day before this study is being written I happened to flip channels and caught the performance of the girl who had written a song, "Dear Oprah".  The Oprah show, hosted by Oprah, introducing a song -for- and -to- Oprah... and the words of the song were something on the order of this girl, having left home, on her own, down and out, no place to stay....where can she turn? To Oprah. Oprah was the 'solution' to her problems. The kinds of words that a person ought to be crying out to God, when looking for deliverance. And even with all this adulation, when the cameras focused on Oprah, as she is being sung to with adulation...DARKNESS.

[nChrist]

Of course: what else could one expect! The girl had allegedly grown up in a "religious cult", where if the girl had misbehaved, she was ordered to "read the Bible". Horrors!!! When in disobedience, to be directed to God??  So when she left ("escaped") home, she turned to Oprah, to solve her problems! Today's premier Self-esteem guru... who, herself, is full of DARKNESS. What kind of "esteem" is that??

In such a state there is no wisdom or goodness.

And this is not a casual thing. It is not done IN-PASSING. It is "devised...on his bed". (vs4) What is one time of day/night when a person is typically most at 'one' with one's own thoughts and heart? When God would speak to people in the OT, it was often in dreams... when one is in bed. One lies down, becomes calm, and is in their own private thoughts, from their soul and spirit, in communion with their True-Self without the distractions of the outside world. For the wicked, it is in this 'private' place where they -DEVISE- their evil.

Like I said, I don't understand this. For me, when I've lain down for the night...that is often when the Lord gives me some added 'something' to include in a study that might be in process at the time, or gives me the topic for a new study or article. I will sometimes get back up out of bed, so I don't forget what was just given, and go turn on the computer and type some things into a file, as it was given.

On the other hand...

"Your mercy, O Jehovah, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds" (vs5)  How majestic are mountains? That is God's righteousness. Thus they often speak of "mountaintop experiences". God's judgments are deep. They are unfathomable. (vs6)

Where the wicked are full of hate, God is full of "lovingkindness" (vs7) And where the wicked are continually devising how to throw a net over a person to give them the aforementioned "blanket party", under God's "shadow" is -refuge-. The wicked destroy; God preserves.  The wicked seeks to "kill" but God gives abundant life through Jesus Christ. (Jn10:10)

Remember how the righteous doesn't need to worry during times of "famine"? (33:19)  God provides from the "fatness of His house" and drink comes in "rivers" (vs8 )  It is a "Fountain of Life" (vs9); as Jesus says, "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will not ever thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life." (Jn4:14)

The reason the righteous heart is 'Light' is because we are in -God's- light. It is not our own righteousness. (Tit3:5) As Jesus said, "You are the light of the world" (Mt5:14) We are the light of the world, because we are "in Christ" (Rom8:1, 2Co5:17, etc)

And so we see a three-fold conclusion of the matter:

1) God's lovingkindness is to the righteous who know Him. (vs10)

2) Seeking God to not be led astray by the wicked. (vs11) As Jesus taught, "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil." (Mt6:13a)

3) The wicked will see their just recompense when they fall, are cast down, and are not able to rise. (vs12)

Amen!

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