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Reading - How Priceless is Your Unfailing Love! (Psalm 36)
They were sitting on a bench further down the park when I first noticed
them. An intimate and discreet conversation, punctuated by giggles and
good-natured teasing, made them oblivious to their surroundings and their
obvious affection for each other eventually and inevitably expressed itself
in a shy but unselfconscious kiss. Unaware of my presence the two young
men continued their conversation feeling perhaps easier and more confident
in each other's company for having thus expressed their feelings. There
was nothing defiantly showy in their behaviour, no grandstanding of their
"lifestyle choice". It was hard to be offended by what many would see
as a deliberate flaunting of the Bible's teaching on appropriate and inappropriate
relationships because there was a coy modesty in their conduct and clearly
no intention to cause offence. I wondered at how easily, and confidently,
God is ignored when people make the decisions that shape their lives.
The psalmist begins by declaring that this psalm is an insight, or "oracle",
he has of the sinfulness of the wicked (v1). As I sat on my park bench
and wondered at what I saw I, too, felt I had an insight. Wickedness so
often appears as enlightened and progressive in these days. These are
the marks of a liberal democracy it seems. In the book of Judges we read
that "in those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit" (Judges
17:6 NIV). The King James Bible puts it, "Every man did that which was
right in his own eyes".
This verse came immediately to my mind and as I pondered on these things
I began to see what the psalmist meant when he declared, "There is
no fear of God before his eyes." Just as in the time of the judges
"Israel had no king" in the same way the godless man of every generation
has no king but "in his own eyes flatters himself too much to detect or
hate his sin" (Ps.36:2). This is not a conceited self-righteousness but
a firm conviction that he is accountable to no one and is king of his
own life. "I am what I am" declares the song, "I am my own special creation".
The result of this heady and wrong-headed self-determination is that,
while it is said of the righteous in God:
"His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates
day and night" (Psalm 1:2)
Of the wicked it is said:
"Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course
and does not reject what is wrong." (36:3)
While it written of the wise:
"Rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Instruct a wise man and he
will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning."
(Prov.9:8)
The psalmist declares of the wicked:
"The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to
be wise and to do good." (36:3)
Yet "in his own eyes" he is so often doing what "seems right" and is convinced
of his own brand of wisdom. For "what seems right" perhaps we should read
"what suits me right now". But before our own righteousness turns into
self-righteousness it would be good to reflect that:
"All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings
of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts" (Ephesians
2:3)
In other words we, too, "did that which was right in our own eyes". Often
people don't deliberately set out to do wrong but to do what seems right
to them. And, if we are honest, we are more than capable of pursuing our
own agenda even as Christians, only now we can cover our sin with a patina
of religious jargon and spiritual self-justification. The wise man knows
that he is not altogether wise but must seek wise counsel if he is to
grow in wisdom.
Your Love O Lord
In the face of this open rebellion we find ourselves in the presence of
a God whose unfailing love is, indeed, priceless. Back in the park it
was a gloriously sunny day, peaceful with that sense of satisfaction only
an awareness of creation can engender. With the psalmist I reflected on
the blessings God lavishes on all, "high and low" and, as I looked at
my canine companion I reflected, "both man and beast".
"Your love, O Lord, reaches the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the
great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast.
How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find
refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast in the abundance of your
house; you give them drink from your river of delights." (36:5-8)
It is, indeed, true that, "He causes his sun to rise on the righteous
and the unrighteous" (Matt.5:45)
The same sun that warmed me warmed them. The same breeze that cooled my
brow cooled theirs. The same trees that shaded me shaded them. The same
day that delighted me brought them delight as they and I "feasted in the
abundance of God's house". God's creation patiently and vividly witnessed
to them and they did not see it. Yet God had allowed them the day, given
them the place and the time, and the health and strength to enjoy it.
God was good to them and they did not know it.
In Proverbs we read: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but
in the end it leads to death." (Prov.14:12)
Here is a remarkable thing. Should they come to realise that the way they
have chosen leads to death, what then, death? Here is the measure of God's
unfailing love to those who come to know him:
"For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light."
(36:9)
Here is the God we serve. In his unfailing love he lavishes his gifts
on people who choose to ignore him, rebel against him, deny his kingship,
and "do that which is right in their own eyes." People who fail to even
see them as gifts and take for granted that tomorrow is theirs with all
that goes with it. Who rail against him when the day he has gifted them
does not live up to their expectations.
Yet, when each man who does that which is right in his own eyes comes
to see with God's eyes that his self-determination is wrong and his ways
rebellious before God this same God has made provision in his Son:
"Everyone who drinks this 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."
(John 4:13-14)
When the rebel lays down his arms; when the unrighteous sees his sin;
when the sinner repents he finds that, "God demonstrates his own love
for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Ro.5:8).When
he realises that the natural streams he has taken for granted were a gift
from a loving God to an ungrateful creation he discovers that this same
God has, in his unfailing love, provided "streams of living water".
The psalmist goes on:
"Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the
upright in heart." (36:10)
But concludes:
"May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the
wicked drive me away. See how the evildoers lie fallen - thrown down,
not able to rise!" {36:11)
God's unfailing love gives this very day as a gift even to the most ungrateful,
offers eternal life to even the meanest sinner who repents. We should
thank him and turn to him while we can because the hand and foot of the
wicked will not continue to prosper if "on his bed he plots evil; he
commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong".
Man cannot ignore him forever. God's righteousness is, indeed, like the
mighty mountains, his justice like the great deep. This is our God of
unfailing love and perfect justice:
"He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just.
A faithful God, who does no wrong, upright and just is he." (Deut.32:4)