Scripture Reading: Psalm 36

Listen now to the reading of God’s holy word. To the chief musician, a psalm of David, that servant of the Lord.

An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked. There is no fear of God before his eyes, for he flatters himself in his own eyes. When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates, the words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good. He devises wickedness on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He does not abhor evil. Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains. Your judgments are a great deep. O Lord, you preserve man and beast. How precious is your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house. and you give them drink from the river of your pleasures. For with you is the fountain of life, in your light we see light. Oh, continue your loving kindness to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the workers of iniquity have fallen. They have been cast down and are not able to rise.

What we have here in this psalm, what we sing, that we might have understanding and that we might be filled with joy and gladness of the awesome wonders of Your grace and Your mercy toward us.

Opening Prayer

And so we pray, Father, for Your blessing upon Your Word. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Introduction

One of the great truths that we confess is that the grace of God transforms lives through the preaching, the teaching, and the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And in scripture, we have the example of the Apostle Paul, once an enemy of the church, suddenly transformed into a preacher and missionary of the gospel. Or we have different accounts throughout history of the gospel spreading and transforming the lives of slaves and slave traders, peasants, priests, kings, and emperors. Think of the great missionary stories of cannibals in the islands of Southeast Asia and the fierce Auca Indians in the jungles of Ecuador who have turned from their evil ways and being completely transformed by God’s grace. I hope and pray You can even see these transformations in your own lives as the grace of God does its work in you and through you to the glory of God.

The Nature of Transformation

What are these transformations? Jesus says in John 5, he says,

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

The transformation of God’s grace through the gospel is all about passing out of death into life, out of darkness, into light, out of misery, into joy, out of the bondage of sin, into the freedom and abundant blessing of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

Psalm 36, as we consider this morning, presents to us this transformation. As this psalm paints, in some ways, we can look at it as a before and after picture. A contrast between the wicked and the godly. And verses 1-4 describes the ungodly in all their sinful glory. And this depicts each and every one of us outside the grace of God. And then verses 8 and 9 describes those who have been redeemed by Christ, who have been transformed by His grace and the many great blessings that we enjoy both now and will enjoy in the future. But then right in the middle of this psalm, in verses 5 to 7, we find a description of the Lord Himself, of the Lord who graciously makes all the difference. And so that’s what we’re going to consider this morning as we look at Psalm 36 and we begin with this description of our own sinfulness.

The Sinfulness of the Ungodly (Verses 1-4)

And what’s first noticeable here in verse 1, David says,

An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked. There is no fear of God before their eyes.

David’s own heart testifies to the transgressions of the wicked. implying that the rebellious sin of the ungodly is clearly evident to others. And indeed we know it is. But I wanted you to know some translations read here, transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart. And this gives the sense that transgression is kind of personified and speaks like a prophet to the heart of the ungodly. Now, both translations are valid, but if you look at the context of the psalm, it seems to favor the alternate reading as, again, a contrast is being made between the guiding principle of the ungodly and the guiding principle of the righteous. In verse 9, we see that the guiding principle of the righteous is the light of God’s word. And the guiding principle of the ungodly is sin, transgression, and rebellion against God.

And again, this describes our sinful and fallen nature. We know that because of Adam’s sin against God in the Garden of Eden, all who have been born of Adam, that is each and every one of us, are born with a sinful and rebellious nature at odds with God. David sings in Psalm 58,

the wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

And then in the New Testament, the apostle Paul makes the connection that all have sinned. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There’s not one of us that hasn’t sinned. A sinful nature. This is nature that we’re born with, that affects our view of God, it affects our view of ourselves, and it affects our view of sin.

How Sin Affects Our View of God

First, our sin nature affects how we see God. And it’s described here in verse 1, that there is no fear of God before His eyes. And this isn’t just a reverent fear, but again, it’s more of a terror and a dread And in the ungodly, it’s simply not there. Again, we see evidence of this in those who are so hardened against God that they refuse to acknowledge His existence. Those who boldly yet foolishly claim that God is an imagination of weak-minded people who just need a crutch. They have no fear of God before their eyes. We may also see such willful blindness in those who have completely given themselves over to pursuing sin, violence, and self-indulgence. And again, these are the ones that the Apostle Paul speaks of in Romans 1, where he says that even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting. They have no fear of God before their eyes. because they’ve actively suppressed the truth of God and have exchanged it for a lie.

But this blindness to the fear of God doesn’t just describe what we might be tempted to call hardcore sinners. Now, friends, it also applies to regular everyday common sinners like you and me. And sure, there are many who may fear God’s justice and judgment upon their sin. But really, the only reason they fear is because they fear the pain and the unpleasantness of punishment. And so there’s no true fear of God. Because there’s been no change or transformation in their lives. They continue in their sin. They don’t humble themselves before God, seeking His forgiveness, and they don’t desire to show their gratitude and love to God by keeping His commandments. The unrepentant sinner has no fear of God before their eyes.

How Sin Affects Our View of Ourselves

Well, our sin nature also affects our view of ourselves. We see this in verse 2, for he flatters himself in his own eyes when he finds out his iniquity and when he hates. I said nature flatters us concerning our sin and it skews our perspective. Now, certainly few would be bold and foolish enough to say that they’re perfect, but in a skewed perspective, no one thinks that they’re as bad as God says they are. And so instead of using God’s perfect standard as a point of reference, we have a tendency then to flatter ourselves by comparing ourselves to others who are much worse than we are. And so for example, we might say, well, I know I’m not perfect, but at least I’ve never murdered anyone. I’ve never robbed a bank like some other people have. I’m not that bad. Though we may fool ourselves into thinking we aren’t that bad. We need to know that in God’s eyes, we’re still sinners and we still stand guilty and will be condemned along with the unrepentant murderer and the thief if we’re not transformed by the grace of God. And so our sin nature affects our view of ourselves and distorts our view of ourselves.

How Sin Affects Our View of Sin

Thirdly, our sin nature even affects how we view sin itself. Again, like the skewed perspective of ourselves, we tend to think that sin isn’t as bad as it really is. Especially the particular sins that so easily ensnare us. We think, well, these aren’t quite as bad as other people’s sins. Because they’re my sins. And I’m not as bad as everybody else. But again, because God is most holy. We know that the sin of a little white lie is just as sinful as the sin of a big whopper of a lie. And now certainly we know that the consequences may be different. But again, ultimately, to God, lying, whether it’s a big lie or a little lie, lying is still a sin. It’s still a violation of His law. And again, we remember as we finish through the Ten Commandments, we reference that sin in the garden, that sin of just eating a piece of fruit. It was the sin of a child. It was just a little sin. And yet that little sin plunges the entire human race into an estate of sin and misery. So there’s no big sins or little sins in God’s sight. Sin is sin. And Jesus tells us that hateful and lustful thoughts are just as much sins as the acts of murder and adultery. This is a condition of our hearts. outside the grace of God. Don’t be deceived by the oracle of transgression and rebellion that resides in you. Fear God. Seek His forgiveness and hate and forsake sin in your lives.

The Outworking of Sin in Word and Deed

In verse 3 and 4 we see then that ultimately what’s in the heart will eventually make its way out. Again, this is what Jesus noted in Mark 7 saying,

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.

The sinfulness of the heart comes out in word and deed. Verse 3, because of our sin nature, the words of our mouth are wicked and deceitful. Again, we’re reminded of the Apostle James’ words, as he warns us that the tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison, while it blesses our God and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude of God, out of the same mouth, proceed blessing and cursing. And yet, in our sin nature, this is exactly how we are. Whether it’s speaking lies, gossiping, falsely accusing, berating, cursing, boasting, or slandering our speech, what we say and how we say it can be sinful and shows forth the fallen nature of our hearts. Right, again, even what David sings in Psalm 58, right? That the wicked are estranged from the womb they come forth, speaking lies, because the heart, coming forth from the womb is unregenerate and rebellion against God.

Well, secondly, we already noted that we dupe ourselves with flattery and we cease to be wise. And we know in Proverbs 1 that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. You see, because we’re blinded to the fear of God, we’ve lost the wisdom and knowledge of God. In our fallen nature, we can’t discern the things of God. We can’t discern what’s true and right and good. In fact, evidence God has revealed to us through nature and creation, we suppress and we exchange it for a lie. And so we think ourselves to be wise, and yet we become fools because we don’t discern the clear and evident truth that God has so magnificently revealed to us. We deceive ourselves. and we worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator.

And then thirdly, in our fallen and sinful nature, we also cease to do good. Again, how can we do good if we’re ignorant of what’s truly good and we suppress what little evidence of goodness has been generally revealed to us? Instead of seeking to honor and glorify God in all that we do, What we do is in accordance with our sinful natures. We only do what serves and satisfies ourselves. In Romans 3, Paul quotes from Psalm 14, again revealing the sinful state of man.

There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is none who does good. No, not one.

In our rebellion against God, we cease to do that which is good. And even the so-called civic good or the good for humanity that we do, we know that if we do it outside of Christ and the grace of God, it is nothing but filthy rags in God’s sight. And so we cease doing good.

And fourthly, not only do we refrain from what’s good, but in verse 4 we see that sinners who are guided by a rebellious sinful nature actually commit themselves to doing and serving evil. He devises wickedness on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He does not abhor evil. Our thoughts, our will, our feelings, and our actions are all corrupt, are all distorted, are all displeasing to God.

Friends, this is the picture we’re given of sinful mankind born in rebellion to God. A hater and a despiser of God. By nature, we’re children of wrath. We’re wise in our own eyes, but we’re fools in God’s eyes. We actively suppress God’s truth and in exchange for a lie. Every intent of the heart of man, sinful man, is continually set on evil. We’re lost without hope and without God in this world. We’re guilty before God and deserving of eternal condemnation and hellfire. Beloved of God, this is the reality. of what we look like in God’s eyes as we stand before Him in our fallen sinful nature. The depths of our depravity and sinfulness have now been exposed. Is there any hope for such wretched sinners as we are? Indeed there is. And David introduces it in a rather dramatic fashion and as he shifts in verses 5 to 7. To the loving kindness, the grace and the mercy of God.

The Attributes of God (Verses 5-7)

In these verses the character and attributes of God stand in stark contrast to the nature and the character of sinful mankind. Yes, our depravity and our sinfulness is so great that we’re totally corrupt in every part of our being. Yet, it isn’t so great that it can’t be overcome by the love, the grace, and the mercy of God. In our sinful state, we’re helpless. Our sin nature blinds us. We can’t make ourselves see. We’re sinful. We’re dirty and depraved. We can’t clean ourselves. We’re guilty. We’re in bondage to sin. We can’t free ourselves. We’re dead in our sins and transgressions. We cannot make ourselves alive. We need an intervention from an outside source. to enliven us, to free us, to forgive and cleanse us, and enlighten us to the reality of our sinfulness. And God Himself has graciously provided that intervention. And as we consider His attributes here, I want us to note, have the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, fulfills these attributes and graciously is the one who applies them to us through His Spirit. applies them to the undeserving sinners for our benefit and for His glory.

Now the clear emphasis in the middle of this psalm is on the loving kindness of God, or it’s that chesed, that covenant of that mercy of God. And it’s seen in God’s preservation of both man and beast in verse 6, but again we especially see it in His perfect and unfailing covenant love that He pours out upon His people. It’s a love It isn’t earned or merited, but it’s given freely, unconditionally, and abundantly. And we know this loving-kindness as the grace and mercy of God. And as we see in verse 7, it’s truly most precious to those who receive it by faith. In verse 5, David describes the loving-kindness or mercy as extending from earth to the heavens. And again, what a great truth this is. When you think about it, God could have just left us. He could have just left mankind after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. He could have just left mankind to his own devices, let us destroy ourselves as a result of our sinfulness. But He who was on high considered the lowly and extended His great love to those who were His enemies, to those who didn’t deserve it. And this He did by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. This is the testimony of John, 1 John 4,

and this is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved of God, such love is truly immeasurable.

Secondly, we see that God’s faithfulness is also without limits. God has made promises in His Word, and He’s faithful to those promises. He’s promised that He’s chosen, even before the foundation of the world, a people to be His own, and that He won’t be slack concerning these, not wanting any of them to perish. but He will in His perfect timing. He will intervene on their behalf. He will quicken their dead sinful hearts. He will call them to repentance and He will grant them the forgiveness of sins and bless them with the assurance of salvation with the hope of eternal life. God will be faithful to these promises. We know because He was faithful to the promise that He made to His own son. What were those promises? God had promised His Son that if He humbled Himself and took on the form of a bondservant, that He would be glorified. He promised His Son that if He gave His life as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world, that He’d raise Him up in power and glory after three days and exalt Him and give Him the name that is above every name in heaven and on earth. And because God was faithful to His own Son, We then have secured for us salvation and redemption from sin through that Son.

And thirdly, we see that God’s righteousness is like an unmovable mountain of God. And righteousness means that God does that which is right all the time. He never violates His own law or steps out of character. He’s perfectly right and holy. It’s because of the righteousness of God that our sinfulness and our rebellion against Him is so offensive. God created mankind with the ability to do that which is right. But as we’ve seen, Adam did that which was evil. And he sinned against God. And because of the lawlessness of sinful man, We’re in need of a law keeper. We’re in need of someone else who will be willing to stand in the gap and remove the offense of our sinfulness from God’s presence. Adam, our father, failed. But the second Adam, Jesus Christ, did this very thing for us. He was tempted in all ways that we are. He did so without sin. And because of the righteousness of His perfect obedience, we have now a mediator who is able to make up for our failure and the failure of our Father Adam. And again, this Jesus did. He who knew no sin took our sin upon Himself and it was nailed to the cross with Him. And then He graciously clothed and covered us with His perfect obedience that we might be able to stand even now, holy and without blame in God’s glorious presence.

And finally we know that God’s justice is like a great deep. A great deep that plunges to depths that are just unimaginable. The fact that God is a holy God and that He hates and despises sin, this we can understand. The fact that God is angry with the wicked every day because of their sin, yes, we can even understand that. And the fact that God is just and right when He punishes sin and sinners, again, this we can understand. But beloved of God, how can we ever begin to understand the wrath and curse of God’s justice being poured out upon His own perfect and sinless Son? So that undeserving sinners like you and me might have life. and life everlasting and fellowship with God where there is fullness of joy forever and ever. And yet this is exactly what God did through Christ. Truly His loving kindness, His faithfulness, His righteousness, and His judgments which He’s revealed to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, is unimaginable. It’s without limits and ever abounding toward those who put their trust in the shadow of His wings. How precious indeed is the loving kindness of God.

The Blessings of the Redeemed (Verses 8-9)

And so what happens then when such boundless love, grace, and mercy is then poured out upon undeserving sinners. Even the ones who come forth from the womb estranged from God and speaking lies. Even the ones who have no fear of God before their eyes and who commit their way to doing evil. Even the ones who are truly God’s enemies because of their sin. What happens when they taste of God’s grace? When they hear the good news of the gospel proclaimed?

Transformation. A complete and thorough overhaul. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5,

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

The former ways of sin have been put to death. And a renewal and revival has taken place in the heart of the one who is graciously redeemed by Christ. And where the curse of the sinner was spiritual blindness, misery, emptiness, darkness, and death. The blessing of the one who’s been touched by the grace of God, a great to numerous. And David shows us that these blessings in verses eight and nine.

First there’s satisfaction. He says,

they are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house and you give them drink from the river of your pleasures.

You see, in our sin we seek to fill the void of God’s presence with people and things and various vices, but we know nothing ever satisfies. We hunger for relief from the misery of our sin, but there’s none to be found. But now, having been transformed by the grace of God, we’re filled to overflowing because we find ourselves in the very presence of God, even in close intimate fellowship. within his house. And this is something that we can enjoy now, but we know we will enjoy more fully when Christ returns. How much more abundant can it be than it already is? Certainly beyond our wildest imaginations.

Secondly, we see the river of your pleasures or joy. Again, because we’re sinful and live in a fallen and sinful world, we’re surrounded by misery. But once we’re transformed by the grace of God, we have immeasurable joy. And this isn’t mere happiness that changes with every circumstance. But it’s the joy and the gladness of God’s grace is a sense of steadfast contentment and unending pleasure knowing that God is with us in the midst of it all, that He’s sovereignly in control of all things, working out all things for our good and His glory.

And thirdly, with the transformation of God’s grace comes life, even everlasting life that bubbles up like an ever-flowing fountain. You see, in our sin we’re dead. We’re dead in sins and transgressions, but in Christ there’s life. This was in fact the purpose of Christ’s coming. He says in John 10,

I’ve come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.

He’s come because they were dead in sins. He’s come to bring an abundant life.

And then a fourth blessing noted here is that there’s light. Again, in sin we’re covered in darkness and we’re blinded. Sin and rebellion was what guided us in our hearts and our lives. But through Christ, the light of truth shines through. It dispels the darkness and opens the eyes of our hearts, enabling us to not only see, but also to do that which is good and right in God’s sight. Jesus says in John 8,

I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.

Beloved of God, what a wonderful, glorious transformation that the Lord brings about when he pours out his amazing grace upon undeserving sinners through Jesus Christ.

Application and Warning (Verses 10-12)

But note verse 10 to 12.

First, in verse 10, we need to continue to seek after and pray for God’s grace and loving kindness to be poured out upon us. And here we’re reminded that we need God’s grace, not only for that initial transformation from death to life, but we also need his grace for the day-to-day transformation or sanctification of our lives, putting away the old ways of living and putting on the new ways of living in Christ. See, we’re not only saved by God’s grace, but we’re also sustained in our faith by God’s grace. There’s also a challenge here to continue praying that the Lord would pour out His grace upon others who are His people, but who haven’t yet heard the gospel. And so our challenge here is to continue spreading the gospel, trusting that God will dispense His grace abundantly as His word goes forth and as it will not return void.

And verse 11, we need to be cautioned about pride. And this snares the wicked and the evil one, that we boast in God’s grace as the transfiguring power in our lives. Let’s not continue in sin that grace may abound. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that God has changed us and called us to a new way of living. We need to leave behind the old ways. and put on the new ways. We must always be on guard against the attacks of Satan as he seeks to pull us down and lead us astray. If we have truly tasted of God’s grace, then we know our salvation is sure and certain. But we must be vigilant about working out our salvation with fear and trembling into the glory of God.

And then finally, verse 12 stands as a warning to those who may not yet have experienced the transformation of God’s grace from death to life. If that’s where you are this morning, then know this. If you remain in your fallen and sinful state, God, even our Lord Jesus Christ, will rain down His judgment upon you at the last great day. The unrepentant sinner will be cast down before the most holy God and will not be able to rise up again. There will be no covering. There’ll be no protection, no intervention. Consider then the gospel that you’ve heard today and don’t harden your hearts, but by God’s grace through faith, Obey its call to turn from your sin and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. And you will not be disappointed, not now in this life, nor in the eternal life to come. All to the glory of God alone.

Closing Prayer

Let’s pray. O gracious God in heaven, we do rejoice and give thanks for your reminder of these great, powerful truths about your transforming power of your grace. And we praise you and thank you how we have been the beneficiaries of this amazing grace. We were once dead in sins and transgressions and now have been made alive in Christ Jesus. We were blind and now can see. We were enslaved and now are free. We were lost. now been found. We praise you and thank you, O God, that you have been so merciful to us. And we continue to pray that you would help us to meditate upon the glory of your grace, because we don’t only need it for that initial transformation, but we need it for our continued growth in godliness as we strive to be more and more like your precious son, Jesus. And so we pray that your spirit would continue to apply these truths to our hearts, that your grace would be working in us. giving us daily the victory over sin, putting off the old ways and putting on the new in Christ Jesus. And that we would strive to be those who would walk in truth and righteousness, to be a witness to those around us, that as they see how we live our lives differently, they would ask a reason for the hope that is in us. And at a time you will give us the words to speak, to proclaim to them the transforming power of the gospel. And so we praise you and thank you, O God, for these opportunities that you might give. But especially we pray that your spirit would apply these truths to each of our own hearts here, drawing us all closer to yourself, all to the praise of your glorious name. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, amen.