Wickedness of Men and Lovingkindness of God.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
36 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within [a]his heart;
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For [b]it flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it.
3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to [c]be wise and to do good.
4 He plans wickedness upon his bed;
He sets himself on a path that is not good;
He does not despise evil.5 Your lovingkindness, O Lord, [d]extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the [e]mountains of God;
Your judgments are like a great deep.
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
8 They drink their fill of the [f]abundance of Your house;
And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.
9 For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.10 O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Let not the foot of pride come upon me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been thrust down and cannot rise.
This chapter could almost be flipped around, as the end ties in with the depravity of the godless in vv. 1-4. That seems strange perhaps, but lets roll with it for a moment. Beginning in verse 5, we see an account of God’s love and faithfulness, His righteousness and also His judgments (think decisions, rather than condemnation).
Continuing on, we see that God is a refuge for all that know Him, and He provides for them the very breath of life, and the light that overcomes darkness. Then David says something in verse 11 that brings us full circle. He asks God to help him avoid even a foot of pride, and to protect him from the wicked. Not because of the harm that the wicked might do to them, but because he might join them.
David admits that inside of him lies the same potential for pride and wickedness that drives the godless to the depths that we see in the first few verses. That if it were not for God, he would take delight in his very sin, rather than being ashamed as he ought.
Following God is not a passive endeavor, we don’t stay in the “shadow of His wings” by accident. If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward, and that’s a dangerous place to be. As David prayed, so should we all, “Let not the foot of pride come upon me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive (or entice) me away.”
Rather, purposefully pursue God, today, and every day. Just as a marriage can go cold for lack of attention, so can our relationship with our Creator. Not for lack of effort on His part, but on our own. We need start each day with the intent to seek His face, and to follow His will. Nothing else will suffice, and otherwise we are just floundering around like a boat without an anchor (or engine). Live life for Him on purpose, die daily that Christ might live in and through you.