Psalm 36

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 36
• Sermon
• Pastoral Prayer

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Sermon Title: What It Takes to Be a Servant of the Lord

Scripture: Psalm 36

I. The Servant of the Lord Recognizes the Depths of Wickedness (Psalm 36:1–4)

A. The Source of Wickedness — verse 1

1. Wickedness lies deep within the heart; it begins internally, not with outward actions
2. The oracle of transgression: as Kidner notes, it is as though transgression itself were his God or his prophet

B. The Sight of Wickedness — verse 2

1. No fear of God before his eyes leads to self-flattery and blindness to one's own sin
2. David's own sin with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah illustrates this: for six months he walked without the fear of God before his eyes, even condemning others while unaware of his own guilt

C. The Speech of Wickedness — verse 3

1. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit
2. Jesus teaches that out of the heart the mouth speaks; the words convey what is in the heart

D. The Schemes of Wickedness — verse 4 (climax of the progression)

1. He plots trouble while on his bed; wickedness sets the pattern of his day
2. He does not reject evil; he calls that which is evil good and that which is good evil (cf. Romans 1)

E. Paul universalizes this wickedness to all humanity in Romans 3:18, quoting this psalm to show that both Jew and Gentile fall short of the glory of God

1. Believers, awakened by the Spirit and united to Christ, are called to guard the heart, eyes, and tongue
2. Lest God give us over to our evil and we live by the oracle of transgression rather than the oracle of God

II. The Servant of the Lord Recognizes the Depths of God's Goodness (Psalm 36:5–9)

A. The Transcendence of God's Attributes — verses 5–6

1. Steadfast love reaches to the heavens; faithfulness to the clouds
2. Righteousness like the mountains of God; judgments like the great deep
3. God's attributes are depicted in cosmic, far-reaching terms

B. The Intimacy of God's Engagement with His People — verses 7–8

1. How precious is his steadfast love — the children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of his wings; the Transcendent God stoops to the intimate image of a father sheltering his children
2. They feast on the abundance of his house; he invites his people into his own home
3. He gives them drink from the river of his delights — the Transcendent God invites us to delight in what he himself delights in; perhaps an echo of Eden

C. The Climactic Conclusion — verse 9

1. With God is the Fountain of Life; in his light we see light
2. Everything in verses 5–8 leads here: in order to have life, the Transcendent God who is life and light must stoop down and invite us into himself
3. This is a key doctrine of the God of the Bible: he is both transcendent (holy, other) and immanent (covenanting, stooping low)
4. It is not enough for God to create Adam; he must speak to Adam, covenant with Adam — the Transcendent One must come down so that we might have life and light in his name

III. The Servant of the Lord Recognizes the Depths of His Own Weakness (Psalm 36:10–12)

A. Urgent Prayer for God's Goodness to Enter His Life — verse 10

1. Kidner: the psalmist finds himself stationed on disputed ground between human wickedness and divine grace, and so turns to urgent prayer
2. He first basked in the objective reality of God's steadfast love and righteousness (verses 5–9), and now prays that it would come into his own life

B. Urgent Prayer for Wickedness to Be Kept from His Life — verse 11

1. Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away
2. A deliberate reversal mirroring the psalm's structure: he prays for the goodness of verses 5–9 to enter his life, and for the wickedness of verses 1–4 to be kept out

C. The Confidence of Faith — verse 12

1. The evildoers lie fallen, thrust down, unable to rise — spoken in the past tense as though it has already occurred
2. This reflects Hebrews 11:1 — faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen
3. Psalm 36 builds this kind of faith: (1) take notice of the downward progression of wickedness; (2) dwell on the transcendent yet immanent goodness of God; (3) pray for that goodness to uphold and protect you — which leads to the assurance of things hoped for

D. Application for Living in a Post-Christian Age

1. Chronicle and recognize the wickedness that surrounds us, but do not wallow in it
2. Turn eyes upward and consider God's attributes — both transcendent and immanent
3. Pray that this God would enter into our lives and give us hope that good will fully conquer evil — a hope so sure we can speak of it as already accomplished