Seeing Jesus in Psalm 36

How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 36:7 NLT

 Psalm 36

We are confronted with a description of wickedness that is frightening. The seemingly unbounded wickedness of humans denying God is followed by the truly limitless love of God. I have heard people say that we don’t see the grace of God until we get to the new testament but I have seen the grace of God continually since I have begun to write in response to the Psalms. Grace, mercy and love are fountains and rivers flowing from God toward all humanity. The quality and quantity of God’s love is determined by God and His character, not by the recipient. David asks for justice but recognises that God’s love is in the first place indiscriminate. 

MAIN POINT: God’s unfailing love is greater than mankind’s wickedness.

7 How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. 8 You feed them from the abundance of your own house, letting them drink from your river of delights. 9 For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see. Psalm 36

We live in a broken, fallen, wicked, twisted world where evil seems to have no boundaries and never rests from doing further horrific things. Recognising the evil in this world could scare you. Being aware of the plots of the wicked could get you down. BUT God is greater!

1. Wickedness seems superlative.

1. Wickedness is intrinsic. v.1 wickedness is a heart problem.

2. Wickedness is blind. v.2 wickedness is self-deceiving. 

3. Wickedness is enslaving. vv.3-4 wickedness is addictive.

2. God’s love is greater than wickedness.

1. God’s love is unfailing and vast v.5 heavens, skies, mountains, oceans could not contain it.

2. God’s love shelters all creation vv.6-7

1. “You care for people and animals alike” v.6

2. “All humanity finds shelter…” v.7

3. God’s love flows out to all in concrete tangible ways of essential provision. vv.8-9

1. Food v.8

2. Drink v.8

3. Delights v.8

4. Life v.9

5. Light v.9

3. God’s love is just and brings justice.

1. David recognises that God is loved by some and that those who love God see a love of God that is not ultimately indiscriminate in the end. vv.10-12

2. A love for God produces an honest heart.

3. A love for God produces a trust in God that knows He will protect them from the wicked. vv.10-12

Conclusion:

Many focus their attention on the power and plots of the wicked, but we can see that God is far more vast than wickedness. There are voices in this world who claim to  be speaking for God but they fail to bring due attention to God’s love, grace, power and justice as God has revealed Himself. David speaks to the heart of someone overcome by the depths of wickedness relentlessly overwhelming them. And David comforts his own heart with the truth. God is unfailing in His love, which is vaster than all that is measurable and unmeasurable. It is so great that it covers all man and animals alike, wicked and righteous alike. The life and love of God is greater than the wicked plots of humanity. 

When we love God and look at His love, we understand that the plots of wickedness can’t diminish the all-encompassing, gracious love of God for all His creatures and the ultimate justice over wickedness that God gives to those who love Him.