FOR THE DIRECTOR of music. Of David the servant of the LORD.
1An oracle is within my heart
concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2For in his own eyes he flatters himself
too much to detect or hate his sin.
3The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;
he has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4Even on his bed he plots evil;
he commits himself to a sinful course
and does not reject what is wrong.
5Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
6Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
7How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
9For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
10Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12See how the evildoers lie fallen—
thrown down, not able to rise!
A BRIEF PSALM of only twelve verses, Psalm 36 offers confidence to withstand the proud and arrogant evil of the wicked because of a divine revelation of the all-encompassing love of Yahweh for those who know him. In its central theme concerning the downfall of evildoers, Psalm 36 is related to Psalm 37. The concluding declaration of Psalm 36 (“See how the evildoers lie fallen”) prepares the way for the more extended description of the destruction of the wicked that occupies much of Psalm 37.
Structurally Psalm 36 falls into four sections: the opening description of the ignorant and arrogant wicked (36:1–4), the contrasting revelation of the boundless love of Yahweh that provides both protection and abundance (36:5–9), the psalmist’s plea for the continued outpouring of divine love and protection (36:10–11), and the concluding call for the reader/listener to share the psalmist’s confidence in the ultimate fall of the wicked (36:12).
The Heading (36:0)
THE PSALM IS referred to “the director of music” and attributed to David.1 Between these two familiar terms stands the second of only two appearances in the psalm headings of the phrase leʿebed yhwh (lit., “of the servant of Yahweh”). In the Old Testament this phrase is applied to David only here and in the heading to Psalm 18.2 The majority of such references are to Moses, the servant of Yahweh. The attachment to David of an epithet so strongly associated with Moses may well suggest that a messianic interpretation of David (perhaps filtered through the Servant Songs?) is already in operation here rather than a straightforward, historical one.3
The Arrogant Wicked (36:1–4)
THE PSALM OPENS with what the NIV calls “an oracle” or, perhaps better, “prophetic utterance” (neʾum [“whispering, declaration, decision”]).4 This Hebrew word has become a fixed technical term usually referring to prophetic utterances in response to divine revelation or insight. It is frequently accompanied by other prophetic formulae, such as koh ʾamar yhwh (lit., “Thus says Yahweh”), and is normally placed at the conclusion of prophetic oracles (although it can be found at beginning or middle as well).
The use of neʾum implies that the psalmist is acting as a prophet to communicate insights provided by divine inspiration. In relation to David, we find neʾum twice in 2 Samuel 23:1 to introduce his “last words” (2 Sam. 23:1), a poetic encapsulation of the Davidic covenant that is styled as a prophetic pronouncement: “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me . . .” (23:2–3). Clearly David is in some sense considered a “prophet,” although he is infrequently depicted fulfilling the classic roles of that office.5 The Dead Sea Psalms Scroll (11QPsa), a collection of psalms from the last third of the Psalter interspersed with psalms not included in our canonical book of Psalms, includes these last words of David toward the end of that collection and in association with a prose account of his writings that also assumes he was inspired by God.6
Rather than a typical oracle of judgment or deliverance as encountered in the Prophets, Psalm 36 might better be called an “insight” into the fate of the arrogant, self-motivated, and self-focused wicked, who exhibit no “fear of God” and yet often seem to prosper regardless. It is this insight into human affairs that the psalmist seeks to communicate.
No fear of God. The psalmist describes the overarching condition of the sinful wicked in terms of rebellious indifference: “There is no fear of God before his eyes.” One would anticipate from the NIV that the underlying Hebrew is the classic phrase yirʾat elohim, which constitutes the primary Israelite understanding of an appropriate relationship to God.7 That is not the case here, however. Instead we find the Hebrew phrase paḥad ʾelohim (“trembling/terror of God”).
This choice of words seems deliberate. They are parallel to those of the classic phrase but are clearly distinct from them. The Hebrew yirʾah in the classic phrase does not have the sense of “terror, fear” but signifies a realization of one’s absolute creaturely dependence on Yahweh for one’s continued existence. It is an outgrowth of true humility and proper recognition of the limits of human power and control. By contrast, paḥad does connote abject fear or terror accompanied by trembling. In other words, the wicked in this psalm so little understand Yahweh that they misunderstand appropriate relation with him as “terror” or “trembling” rather than absolute dependence. Regardless, the psalmist notes, they do not even adopt this decidedly reduced understanding of Yahweh in their practice. Clearly, they do not humbly acknowledge their dependence on Yahweh, but neither are they afraid of him.8
The rest of the description in 36:2–4 records the descent into wickedness that this negative foundation of misunderstanding and arrogant rebellion causes. Since the wicked have no true understanding of Yahweh or of their dependence on him, their view of self is so inflated they are unable to recognize or acknowledge their own sin (36:2). This leads to speech that is “wicked and deceitful,” manipulating and distorting truth (36:3). Without a wise understanding of God and self, the wicked are inhibited from doing good (36:3). As a result, even time normally spent in rest and recuperation is occupied with plotting evil (36:4). The descent is completed with the realization that the wicked are completely “committed” to a sinful course (ʿal derek loʾ ṭob; lit., “on the way not good”; NIV “to a sinful course,” 36:4). The descent of the wicked offers an instructive parallel to the admonition in Psalm 1:1, and the committed path of the sinner is the same path that “perishes” in 1:6.
The Boundless Love of Yahweh (36:5–9)
THE PSALMIST NOW turns to a contrasting portrait of Yahweh’s boundless love that provides a sure foundation for those who acknowledge their dependence on him. Employing an intricate merism,9 he praises Yahweh’s love that fills the whole of creation—reaching from heaven (36:5) to earth (35:6), and on earth expanding from the mighty mountains10 to the great deep (36:6).11 Along the way, the psalmist brings together Yahweh’s “love” (ḥesed [“covenant loyalty”]) with his “faithfulness” (ʾemunah), “righteousness” (ṣidqah), and “justice” (mišpaṭ) to form a complete and secure foundation for human trust and dependence. The ignorant wicked know so little about Yahweh that they trust only in self-power and the illusion of self-control. The psalmist—and those who hear—have confidence to let themselves go into the loving, faithful, righteous, and just arms of God, who is concerned with the welfare of humans but preserves “both man and beast” (36:6).
How priceless is your unfailing love! Despite the passing mention of Yahweh’s righteousness and justice (36:6) as important foundations of trust, it is clearly Yahweh’s “unfailing love” (36:5, 7, 10) that occupies the psalmist here. The enduring love that filled heaven and earth in verse 5 is proclaimed as “priceless” in verse 7. The precious character of that love is understood in terms of its effects on humans. It is a source of protection and refuge for “both high and low among men” but goes far beyond this to provide “abundance” of delight. This description borders with the paradisiacal pleasures of the creation, but it also connects with the eschatological banquets anticipated in the last times.12 Humans are welcomed like honored houseguests and treated to all the abundance and pleasure the householder can afford.
Not only does Yahweh’s love provide abundant pleasures, but it also offers access to the life-sustaining refreshment of the “river of delights” (36:8) and the “fountain of life” (36:9). The paradisiacal connections are even more explicit in the reference to Yahweh’s “river of delights” (naḥal ʿadaneka). The second word here is the same word (ʿeden) that provides the name for the paradisiacal garden from which the four rivers flow to provide life-giving water to the earth (Gen. 2:8–14).13 Eschatological concerns return in the reference to the “fountain of life” (maqor ḥayyim), which is closely related to the “spring of living water” (meqor mayim ḥayyim) in Jeremiah 2:13; 7:13—a picture of Yahweh as the source of life, which the Israelites are accused of having forsaken in favor of leaky cisterns dug by their own power.14
In your light we see light. The experience of God on these terms is enlightening. The ignorance and arrogance attributed to the wicked in verses 1–4 are washed away in a flood of awareness of the trustworthy character of Yahweh. The dark of doubt is driven away by the light of God’s love revealed.
It is possible once again to find connections between God’s light and both creation and eschatological imagery. Light is, of course, the first act of creation, distinct from sun, moon, and stars, vanquishing darkness and beginning the defeat of chaos (Gen. 1:1–5). In Revelation 21:23–24, the new Jerusalem is lighted by the glory of God and the Lamb, no longer requiring the pallid illumination provided by sun, moon, and stars. The light of divine illumination opens the eyes of the psalmist and those who follow his lead to the amazing abundance of Yahweh’s life-giving love, which eludes the blind and ignorant wicked.
Plea for Yahweh’s Continued Love (36:10–11)
THE CONTRAST BETWEEN the arrogant wickeds’ ignorance of the true character of Yahweh and the enlightened believers’ confident acceptance of him as the source of abundant delight and even life itself leads inexorably to the psalmist’s plea that Yahweh establish the reality of that divine love in the present world of his own experience. Again, it is Yahweh’s ḥesed that the psalmist wishes to continue (36:10). But in the present circumstances it is the righteous outworking of that love in the protection of the “upright in heart” and the judgment of the wicked (36:10–11) that he invokes. Trusting in the abundant goodness of Yahweh as the source of life, the psalmist can also trust that the present preeminence of the arrogant wicked is not God’s plan and will. Thus, in calling for divine action to set things right, he is at once expressing his personal desire and aligning that personal desire with the will and purpose of Yahweh.
The psalmist’s prayer includes the desire not to be overwhelmed and subdued beneath the power of the wicked (“May the foot of the proud not come against me”15) as well as the hope not to be “driven away.” While the precise meaning of the last phrase is not clear, it may be that the psalmist is continuing the imagery of the “fountain of life” from the earlier verses, so that his desire is not to be driven away from watering at the source of life, as a herd of sheep might be driven from the watering troughs at a well by competing shepherds.16 At any rate the psalmist desires not to be driven from God by the apparent upper hand enjoyed by the wicked.
Final Call to Confidence (36:12)
THE PSALMIST CONCLUDES with the prophetic vision that corresponds to the “oracle” proclaimed in the opening verse. In his mind’s eye God has implanted a vision of the fall of the wicked that gives the lie to their apparent present dominance and power. This vision, following on the body of the psalm, is actually a call to confidence in the enduring love of Yahweh. Those who see as the psalmist sees, in the light of Yahweh’s love, will commit themselves in trust to the true source of all life.
Bridging Contexts
THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. The initial description of Yahweh’s enduring ḥesed is couched in terms of a sweeping description that brings together the farthest reaches of the heavens (36:5) and the depths of the earth (36:6). As noted above, the connection of these two extremes forms a merism with the intent of embracing the whole of creation as the arena of God’s concern and control. This is particularly clear in the opening verses of Genesis 1, where God is described as having “created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1)—meaning everything.
As creator of everything, Yahweh is viewed as above or outside his creation and apart from it. Yahweh is enthroned above the heavens (Isa. 21–23); his heavenly abode is viewed as resting on the chaotic waters subdued at creation and relegated to fixed and limited locations above the heavens and below the earth. This reference is, of course, to the ancient cosmology in which the flat plate of the earth and seas is overarched by the inverted bowl of the “firmament” (raqiaʿ ) and together form a sealed and protective environment by which the chaotic waters are held off and the rest of creation allowed to exist.17 Unlike the gods of Mesopotamia and Egypt, who derive their existence by sexual means from within creation,18 Yahweh stands outside, calls creation into being, and is unthreatened by any threat to its continued existence. By contrast, in Mesopotamia, when the Flood comes and threatens to dissolve all creation, the gods are depicted as cowering defenseless behind the walls of their palaces, whimpering “like dogs” because the end of creation means their end as well. By contrast Yahweh in the midst of the raging flood remains—to adopt the words of an old Bob Dylan song—“unconcerned.”19
God is creator of heaven and earth—all that is; he remains outside his creation and yet is deeply involved in it both as its sustainer and judge. As Isaiah 40:22–23 puts it: “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.” God remains in control of his creation; this is cause for great confidence for the psalmist, who trusts that Yahweh will ultimately set all things right.
This setting of all things right is envisioned in Revelation as a re-creation. There God “makes all things new” by creating a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1–5), in which the fallen nature of this world is renewed to its original intention. In such a new creation, with a new heaven and earth, the psalmist can envision a future in which “the evildoers lie fallen—thrown down, not able to rise” (Ps. 36:12). Along with the psalmist and the author of 2 Peter, we too can look “forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13).20
The water of life. The psalmist speaks in reverential tones of experiencing the hospitality of the divine house of Yahweh (36:8–9) and of sharing the refreshment offered by the host: restorative drink drawn from God’s “river of delights” and the “fountain of life.” The paradisiacal nature of these water sources has already been explored, but there are a few further connections to be made here.
First, “living water” (mayim ḥayyim) most often refers to flowing water taken from streams or rivers or to water drawn from spring-fed pools. This kind of living water was distinguished from standing water left in jars, gathered in cisterns, left standing by rainfall in stagnant pools, or even drawn from a well. The distinction was particularly important in the laws of ritual purity and cleansing. Only “living water” had the property of cleansing from uncleanness. For this reason ritual baths had to be provided with some access to living water in order to maintain their cleansing property and status. Often a channel of living water would be directed from a stream or spring to the site of the bath so that a small amount could be let into the chamber pool before each supplicant entered for cleansing.21
In his encounter with the Samaritan woman (John 4:7–30), Jesus alludes to the common act of drawing water from a well and providing drink for a stranger to offer the woman the hospitality of God’s house described in this psalm. “If you knew . . . who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10). At first the women takes Jesus’ statement at its natural level and questions where he could secure such “fresh water” since he doesn’t even possess the means of drawing from the well at hand. But Jesus deepens the conversation by pointing to a spiritual meaning: “Everyone who drinks this [well] water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Living water has been transformed into a “spring of water . . . [of] eternal life” (equivalent to maqor ḥayyim in Ps. 36). Jeremiah employs a similar phrase (meqor mayim ḥayyim [“spring of living water”]) to speak of Yahweh as a “spring of living water” that Israel rejected in favor of cisterns dug by their own hands (Jer. 2:13; 7:13). The woman understands the allusions in Jesus’ conversation and immediately asks to receive what Jesus is offering.
Contemporary Significance
THE APPARENT SUCCESS of the wicked. The fact that the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer continues to bother us as much as the psalmist. We long for a world of true retribution, where what one sows is what one reaps. At least we think we do. This longing is actually a sign of our recognition that God is incompatible with evil and that any world he created ought to reflect his rejection of wickedness and blessing on the righteous. He is not a God “who takes pleasure in evil” (Ps. 5:4). How could it be otherwise?
Such reflections on what ought to be in the clear, hard light of what is can lead to conflicts of Joban proportions. Like Job, the faithful can be driven to confront God with our questions. But, unlike Job, we can also be tempted to anger, bitterness, cynicism, and despair. We can even be tempted to give up on God, his world, even life.
The psalmist of Psalm 36 offers one way forward beyond cynicism and despair. It is only one way, because Job and Ecclesiastes find other, darker avenues of faith in the face of suffering and apparent meaninglessness. Here, however, the psalmist offers a vision of a future in which God’s original intention for his creation actually works. In that future, the wicked “lie fallen—thrown down, not able to rise!” (36:12). Although the world is currently broken, suffering under the consequences of human sin and evil, the time will come, says the psalmist, when God will set all things right and the wicked will get their just due.
This may seem to some a rather weak “pie in the sky by and by” platitude—a sort of pious wishful thinking that refuses to see or acknowledge the twisted state of the world we live in. But the psalmists are fully aware of human evil that permeates the world without and infects their inward beings as well. In addition, there is no clear evidence in Psalm 36 that the psalmist expects to experience this setting of all things right in his own lifetime.
In this psalm the vision of the fallen wicked is an affirmation of the integrity of God—the God whom the psalmist trusts despite the current situation. The poet finds the strength to live today, not in some hoped-for future, but in the ongoing provision of God for the faithful; his unfailing love provides refuge as well as the abundant delights of God’s house. When we choose to live our lives focused on some future, heavenly hope—no matter how blessed or true—we fail to understand or to take hold of the hope this psalmist brings, and we fail to experience the hospitality of God breaking through into our here and now.
The hospitality of God. I remember being invited to a wedding in Bethlehem at the height of the Palestinian Intifada. My wife joined the women preparing the bride for the ceremony by creating intricate henna designs on her hands and palms. I sat with the men at the bridegroom’s house as they prepared and walked with them to the home of the bride’s father to present the traditional bride price. After the wedding at the Church of the Nativity, we joined the festivities at the home of the groom’s family. The whole of Bethlehem seemed in attendance, treated to food and drink in abundance. As the only nonlocals present, my wife and I were treated to hospitality unlike any we had experienced before. We were given positions of honor close to and in plain view of the head table, where the newly wedded couple were enthroned. Our plates were never allowed to remain empty, and our cups were constantly filled with refreshment.
The hospitality within was in studied contrast to the evidence of continuing hostility from without. Israeli troops constantly patrolled the streets in their jeeps, stopping guests to question them and generally intruding their presence into an otherwise joyous occasion. It made me wonder whether Roman troops had done the same at that wedding so long ago in Cana of Galilee (John 2). I was also reminded how the Gospel writers often used wedding celebrations like the one I experienced as images of God’s abundant hospitality.
As we sit in God’s house surrounded by joy, celebration, and the abundant gifts of his grace, may we not be too distracted to see the hostility that still lurks outside—hostility that is contrary to God’s ultimate purposes, hostility that will one day be overthrown, “thrown down, not able to rise.” This awareness should, I think, push us in two directions. (1) It ought to encourage us with the hope that God is not a God who takes pleasure with evil and that we can trust that he is even now working to make all things new and right. (2) It ought to admonish us to confront evil where it exists and to take our place in the overthrow of suffering, pain, sorrow, sin, and hatred—all the hostilities of this world that intrude on the joyous celebration of God’s kingdom.