Subtitle: An Inspired Truth… Rebellion separates us from
God. However,
God’s mercy keeps us from getting what we deserve.
Psalm 36:1-12 (GW)
1 There is an inspired truth about the wicked person who has rebellion in the depths of his heart: He is not terrified of God. 2 He flatters himself and does not hate or {even} recognize his guilt. 3 The words from his mouth are {nothing but} trouble and deception. He has stopped doing what is wise and good. 4 He invents trouble while lying on his bed and chooses to go the wrong direction. He does not reject evil. 5 O LORD, your mercy reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, your judgments like the deep ocean. You save people and animals, O LORD. 7 Your mercy is so precious, O God, that Adam's descendants take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They are refreshed with the rich foods in your house, and you make them drink from the river of your pleasure. 9 Indeed, the fountain of life is with you. In your light we see light. 10 Continue to show your mercy to those who know you and your righteousness to those whose motives are decent. 11 Do not let the feet of arrogant people step on me or the hands of wicked people push me away. 12 Look at the troublemakers who have fallen. They have been pushed down and are unable to stand up again.
1 There is an inspired truth about the wicked person who has rebellion in the depths of his heart: He is not terrified of God. 2 He flatters himself and does not hate or {even} recognize his guilt. 3 The words from his mouth are {nothing but} trouble and deception. He has stopped doing what is wise and good. 4 He invents trouble while lying on his bed and chooses to go the wrong direction. He does not reject evil. 5 O LORD, your mercy reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, your judgments like the deep ocean. You save people and animals, O LORD. 7 Your mercy is so precious, O God, that Adam's descendants take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They are refreshed with the rich foods in your house, and you make them drink from the river of your pleasure. 9 Indeed, the fountain of life is with you. In your light we see light. 10 Continue to show your mercy to those who know you and your righteousness to those whose motives are decent. 11 Do not let the feet of arrogant people step on me or the hands of wicked people push me away. 12 Look at the troublemakers who have fallen. They have been pushed down and are unable to stand up again.
(God’s Word, Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Bible
Society, www.godsword.org)
My first
thought in reading this Psalm is to say,
“Thank God I
am not one of the wicked ones who has rebellion in his heart!”
“Thank God I
know who Jesus is!”
“I have been
given salvation because God knows my motives are decent!”
Really? “I have had nothing to do with my own
salvation.”
“I have been
saved because God is extremely merciful!”
The
difference between me and someone who doesn’t believe in God is the gift of
faith. I know without a doubt that I deserve to spend eternity in HELL. I am
dependent upon the grace and mercy of the ONE who has the power and authority
to punish me forever. I have only one hope – GOD’S MERCY.
God in His
mercy provided a way for us all to be set free from the punishment of sin. God
took that punishment upon Himself by becoming one with us in the God/Man, Jesus
Christ. He came into our world, lived and died in our place, and rose to life
breaking the power of death. (The non-believer
denies that Jesus is God, or that there is a hell, or that their sins will be
punished. They live for themselves, their pride, their legacy, but not for God.)
His mercy
reaches to the heavens… His mercy is so
precious.
His mercy
gives us the fountain of life… His mercy
takes us from the darkness of HELL’S destruction and places us in the light of
God’s Son, our Savior.
His mercy
continues…to be poured out on us…who continue to sin and rebel against Him…even
when we know the truth…and claim Him as Lord. We depend on His mercy…it is our
only hope for salvation.
Allow me to have a healthy fear of you, O
LORD. Keep me humble in your presence.
Let me wash away my guilt and sins in the
mercy of your righteous blood.
You lived and died so I might be free from
the punishment of my own sins.
Sins
of arrogance… sins of rebellion… sins of flattery… sins of deception, trouble,
evil schemes, this list could go on and on… I don’t deserve God’s grace, but I
will rest in it, because it is where my hope comes from.
Here is the
Outreach Promise in this Psalm: God’s mercy extends far beyond the deepest
ocean or even the highest mountain. Mercy is available to everyone who is
crushed by the weight of their sin. Mercy is what mercy does; it spares us from
the punishment we deserve, when we recognize that we deserve to be punished for
our sins and throw ourselves on the mercy of God.
God has
spoken “Call on me for help, and I will deliver you!”
And in other
place, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!”
There are no
sins that God cannot forgive! Call on
Him, today! He will grant you mercy and
forgiveness.
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