4 Iniquity he deviseth on his bed, He stationeth himself on a way not good, Evil he doth not refuse.'
Wo `to' those devising iniquity, And working evil on their beds, In the light of the morning they do it, For their hand is -- to God.
I have spread out My hands all the day Unto an apostate people, Who are going in the way not good after their own thoughts.
The love unfeigned: abhorring the evil; cleaving to the good;
Ye who love Jehovah, hate evil, He is keeping the souls of His saints, From the hand of the wicked he delivereth them.
I have known thy works, and thy labour, and thy endurance, and that thou art not able to bear evil ones, and that thou hast tried those saying themselves to be apostles and are not, and hast found them liars,
who the righteous judgment of God having known -- that those practising such things are worthy of death -- not only do them, but also have delight with those practising them.
And morning having come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus, so as to put him to death;
He hath declared to thee, O man, what `is' good; Yea, what is Jehovah requiring of thee, Except -- to do judgment, and love kindness, And lowly to walk with thy God?
For they have drawn near, As an oven `is' their heart, In their lying in wait all the night sleep doth their baker, Morning! he is burning as a flaming fire. All of them are warm as an oven, And they have devoured their judges, All their kings have fallen, There is none calling unto Me among them.
Who doth give me in a wilderness A lodging-place of travellers? And I leave my people, and go from them, For all of them `are' adulterers, An assembly of treacherous ones. And they bend their tongue, their bow `is' a lie, And not for stedfastness have they been mighty in the land, For from evil unto evil they have gone forth, And Me they have not known, An affirmation of Jehovah! Each of his friend -- beware ye, And on any brother, do not trust, For every brother doth utterly supplant, For every friend slanderously doth walk, And each at his friend they mock, And truth they do not speak, They taught their tongue to speak falsehood, To commit iniquity they have laboured. thy dwelling `is' in the midst of deceit, Through deceit they refused to know Me, An affirmation of Jehovah. Therefore, thus said Jehovah of Hosts: Lo, I am refining them, and have tried them, For how do I do because of the daughter of My people? A slaughtering arrow `is' their tongue, Deceit it hath spoken in its mouth, Peace with its neighbour it speaketh, And in its heart it layeth its ambush, For these things do not I see after them? An affirmation of Jehovah, Against a nation such as this doth not My soul avenge itself?
Thus said Jehovah: Stand ye by the ways and see, and ask for paths of old, Where `is' this -- the good way? and go ye in it, And find rest for yourselves. And they say, `We do not go.'
These also are for the wise: -- To discern faces in judgment is not good.
And those seeking my soul lay a snare, And those seeking my evil Have spoken mischievous things, And they do deceits meditate all the day.
Also -- surely abominable and filthy Is man drinking as water perverseness.
And Zeresh his wife saith to him, and all his friends, `Let them prepare a tree, in height fifty cubits, and in the morning speak to the king, and they hang Mordecai on it, and go thou in with the king unto the banquet rejoicing;' and the thing is good before Haman, and he prepareth the tree.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 36
Commentary on Psalms 36 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 36
Ps 36:1-12. On servant of the Lord, see on Ps 18:1, title. The wickedness of man contrasted with the excellency of God's perfections and dispensations; and the benefit of the latter sought, and the evils of the former deprecated.
1. The general sense of this difficult verse is, "that the wicked have no fear of God." The first clause may be rendered, "Saith transgression in my heart, in respect to the wicked, there is no fear," &c., that is, such is my reflection on men's transgressions.
2-4. This reflection detailed.
until his iniquity—literally, "for finding his iniquity for hating"; that is, he persuades himself God will not so find it—"for hating" involving the idea of punishing. Hence his words of iniquity and deceit, and his bold rejection of all right principles of conduct. The climax is that he deliberately adopts and patronizes evil. The negative forms affirm more emphatically their contraries.
5, 6. mercy … and … faithfulness—as mercy and truth (Ps 25:10).
6. righteousness [and] judgments—qualities of a good government (Ps 5:8; 31:1). These all are set forth, by the figures used, as unbounded.
7. shadow of thy wings—(Compare De 32:11; Ps 91:1).
8. fatness—richness.
thy house—residence—for the privileges and blessings of communion with God (Ps 23:6; 27:4).
river of thy pleasures—plenteous supply; may allude to Eden.
9. Light is an emblem of all blessings, given of God as a means to gain more.
10. that know thee—right knowledge of God is the source of right affections and conduct.
11. foot of … hand … wicked—all kinds of violent dealing.
12. There—in the acting of violence, they are overthrown. A signal defeat.