A Road Map for Life | Beginning With GodSample

SOME GOOD NEWS IN A BAD WORLD (Psalm 36)

In our world, it is easy to get consumed with the news cycle. It runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and it seems like we are just inundated constantly by evil.

I remember years ago when I was watching the news one night, and one of our children who was very young at the time said, “Oh, great. More bad news.” I thought to myself that the comment was comical but also sad because bad news is almost all we get.

I’m not saying you have to distance yourself totally from all forms of media, but you should never be focused more on bad news than on the good news of our God. Our world is longing for some good news today.

In Psalm 36, David gives us the right perspective on living in an evil world run by wicked people, yet keeping our eyes on God. We don’t know exactly when he wrote it, but I love the inscription at the beginning of the chapter: “To the chief musician, a psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.”

Isn’t that beautiful? It doesn’t say anything about a giant killer, a king of a nation, or even a sweet psalmist. But I don’t think anything greater can be said about a person than that he or she serves the Lord. The greatest need in our day is for people to just keep serving God.

Psalm 36 can be broken down into three parts.

In the Psalm 36:1-4, David describes the world around him.

“The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.”

That sounds very much like the world we are living in. Some things do not change, and one of those things is sin. It is always awful, and It only gets worse.

Some of these verses in Psalm 36 are quoted in the first chapter of Romans. It is a description of a wicked world apart from God.

Verse 1: Draws a picture of the heart. There is no fear of God. That is the root issue.

Verse 2: Focuses on the eyes and how the wicked look at things through the lens of their pride.

Verse 3: Describes a mouth that is filled with all of the wrong things to say.

Verse 4: Shows the private places of their lives. Their sins are devised in the secret chamber, where no one sees.

Throughout the psalms, David said much of what he would do upon his bed, and it was primarily about worship and prayer. You can tell a great deal about someone by what he or she thinks about in the quiet moments when left alone.

After this painfully accurate picture of our wicked world, Psalm 36 seems to shift direction in verse 5: “Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.”

David purposefully took his eyes off men and set them toward God. That is a good idea for all of us. The Bible says in Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith …” That phrase means to consciously take your eyes off one thing and fix them on something else.

Take your eyes off the news today and fix them on scripture. Take your eyes off the grumbling and complaining around you, and focus instead on prayer and praise. Take your eyes off men and fix them on the Lord.

In verse 5, David began rehearsing the things of God by illustrating how His faithfulness extends far beyond what we can see.

Verse 6: “Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast.” The mountains do not move or change. They are fixed and solid. You can go to the bottom of the ocean and not reach the depths of God’s wisdom.

Verse 7: “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” That exclamation point demonstrates David’s excitement. I hope you are still excited about the love of God.

Verse 8: “They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.”

Notice the plural “pleasures” placed after this list of God’s holy attributes. There is pleasure in sin but only for a season. In contrast, Psalm 16:11 says, “In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

God’s pleasure never has an end. Sin gives its pleasure at the beginning, and it is all downhill from there. God always saves the best for last. One day we are going to His house, and there we will “drink of the river of thy pleasures.” Read Revelation 21-22 to discover what awaits us!

"God always gives his best to those who leave the choice with Him." - Missionary Jim Elliot

Verse 9: “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” How appropriate to end with light. As I John 1:5 proclaims, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

The first four verses of Psalm 36 portray an image of utter darkness, but the remaining verses show the opposite. God is never tainted by the darkness of this world. Stop being so consumed with the darkness around you, and look instead at the light above you and within you — the light of your God.

I love that David connected life and light in verse 9. Our life is to be full of light.

Verses 10-12 conclude the psalm with a prayer. God’s Word should always lead us to prayer.

“O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me. There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.”

David accomplished two things in this prayer:

1. He committed others to God — the evil workers, the enemy, the devil.

2. He committed himself to God. He purposed to have an upright heart and depend on the Lord to continue showing His loving kindness.

Friend, rest today in the fact that God will not be dismayed by the darkness - He is the Light! You may be discouraged, but God is not discouraged. He knows exactly what He is doing and is about to do.

Get your eyes off this world and back on the Lord. You will find joy and encouragement in Him!