Psalm 36 - Total, but not Totally

Chad Werkhoven
3 hours ago
4 min read

Sin's effects are total, but that doesn't mean things are totally bad.

Psalm 36

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord.

1 I have a message from God in my heart

concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:

There is no fear of God

before their eyes.

2 In their own eyes they flatter themselves

too much to detect or hate their sin.

3 The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful;

they fail to act wisely or do good.

4 Even on their beds they plot evil;

they commit themselves to a sinful course

and do not reject what is wrong.

5 Your love (ḥěʹ·sěḏ), Lord, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.

6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

You, Lord, preserve both people and animals.

7 How priceless is your unfailing love (ḥěʹ·sěḏ), O God!

People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

8 They feast on the abundance of your house;

you give them drink from your river of delights.

9 For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we see light.

10 Continue your love (ḥěʹ·sěḏ) to those who know you,

your righteousness to the upright in heart.

11 May the foot of the proud not come against me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12 See how the evildoers lie fallen—

thrown down, not able to rise!

Canons of Dordt

Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election

Point 2 - Limited Atonement

Point 3 - Total Depravity

Article 1: The Effect of the Fall on Human Nature

Human beings were originally created in the image of God
1. and were furnished
  1. in mind with a true and sound knowledge of the Creator and things spiritual,
  2. in will and heart with righteousness,
  3. and in all emotions with purity;
2. indeed, the whole human being was holy.
However, rebelling against God
1. at the devil’s instigation
2. and by their own free will,
3. they deprived themselves of these outstanding gifts.
4. Rather, in their place they brought upon themselves
  1. blindness, terrible darkness, futility, and distortion of judgment in their minds;
  2. perversity, defiance, and hardness in their hearts and wills;
  3. and finally impurity in all their emotions.

Summary

David wastes no time getting to the crux of the matter in defining why wicked people are the way they are: There is no fear of God before their eyes. David doesn't reach this harsh conclusion on his own, perhaps at the end of a hard day when he's in a bad mood so as to skew his objectivity. No, his definition concerning the sinfulness of the wicked comes as the result of a message from God in his heart. In this regard, Psalm 36 isn't any different than any other psalm, or any other passage of scripture for that matter; God, through His Spirit breathed His message into the writer's heart, who then took up a pen and committed it to paper.

David begins his description of wicked people negatively - that is, he indicates what's missing: there is no fear of God before their eyes. Whenever something is missing or removed, a vacuum results. Something will fill the void. So in this case, when the fear of God is removed, it's quickly replaced with self flattery in their own eyes and wicked and deceitful words in their mouths.

This exchange sparks a vicious cycle of increasing depravity. As the fear of God decreases, the flattery increases to the point where a person can no longer even detect, much less hate their sin. As the words of their mouth becomes more and more wicked and deceitful, they more often fail to act wisely or do good.

Once the fear of God is removed from a person's life, sin becomes all consuming. Even on their beds they plot evil! Instead of just dipping their toes in sinful waters from time, they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.

Dig Deeper

It's so easy to stop reading Psalm 36 at the end of v4, where the Psalm transitions from being an exposition of wickedness to a reminder of God's ḥěʹ·sěḏ (unfailing covenant love). Just think of the conversations you've had this past week; did you spend more time talking about problems or God's goodness in the midst of those problems? If you're like most people, you focused on the problems caused by sin.

But notice how Psalm 36 is weighted. David certainly doesn't ignore the issues caused by those mired in a cycle of flattery, deceit and sinfulness, but he spends the majority of the psalm writing about God's love, righteousness and even His river of delights!

It's important for you to understand this doctrine of total depravity. You're not to be like the proverbial ostrich, sticking your head underground and ignoring the blindness, terrible darkness, futility, and distortion of judgment in our minds. It's important for you to understand that your instinct leans toward perversity, defiance, and hardness in your heart and will, and that even the way you often feel is impure.

While the effects of sin certainly is total, in that there's no aspect of life that it doesn't corrupt, don't fall into the trap of thinking everything is totally deprived. There are so many things that do continue to reflect God's unfailing love, even if that reflection is dim and blurred. Remember that no matter how much goodness sin has destroyed in this world, you can always take refuge in the shadow of the LORD's wings.

AAA Prayer (About)

ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose righteousness is like the highest mountains, and whose justice like the great deep;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that the LORD will continue His love and righteousness to you and that you will replace the indwelling sin in your life with the fear of God;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: