Psalms 36:1 - Meaning and Application

David is called, in the title of this psalm, the servant of the Lord. The reason for that special title here, and not in other psalms except Psalm 18, is not given. But David truly was the Lord’s servant, not only as every good person is, but also as a king and prophet who served God’s kingdom among people more directly and more fully than most others in his day. He himself took honor in that name (Psalm 116:16). It is no shame, but a great honor, for even the greatest person to be the servant of the great God. It is the highest rank a person can hold in this world.

In these verses, David describes the wickedness of the wicked. It is not certain whether he means his persecutors in particular, or all openly wicked sinners in general. Here we see sin in its cause and in its results, in its root and in its branches. The root of all this bitterness is, first, contempt for God and no real respect for him (Psalm 36:1). The transgression of the wicked, as it is described later in verses 3 and 4, convinces David in his heart that there is no fear of God before their eyes. If they truly feared God, they would not talk and act so wildly. They would not dare break God’s laws and violate their covenant with him if they had any awe of his greatness or fear of his wrath. That is why our laws rightly say in criminal charges that a person acted without the fear of God before his eyes. The wicked may not openly deny the fear of God, but their sins quietly show it. David concluded that those who lived carelessly were living without God in the world.

Second, the root of sin is self-conceit, and the false comfort people give themselves (Psalm 36:2). He flatters himself in his own eyes. That means that while he keeps on sinning, he thinks he is doing well for himself. He either does not see, or refuses to admit, the evil and danger of his behavior. He calls evil good and good evil. He excuses his loose living as freedom, his cheating as wisdom and skill, and his persecution of God’s people as necessary justice. If his conscience warns him, he tells himself that God will not call him to account and that he will still have peace if he keeps going. Sinners destroy themselves by flattering themselves. Satan could not deceive them if they did not first deceive themselves.

But will this trick last forever? No. A day is coming when the sinner will be exposed and will see that his sin is hateful. Sin is a hateful thing. It is that awful thing the Lord hates, and his pure and jealous eyes cannot stand to look on it. It is harmful to the sinner himself, and should therefore be hateful to him. Yet he treats it like a sweet morsel because of the money or pleasure it brings. Still, what seems pleasant at first will turn bitter in the end, like poison in the body (Job 20:13, 14). When conscience is awakened and sin shows its true face, making people afraid of themselves, when the cup of trembling is placed in their hands and they must drink its dregs, then they will see how hateful their sin is. Then they will also see that their self-flattery was great foolishness, and a heavier reason for their condemnation.

From this bitter root come the cursed branches. The sinner challenges God and practically makes himself into his own god. What else can be expected except ruin? These are the first openings through which sin came in. People do not fear God, so they flatter themselves. Then they go on to the next steps. First, they no longer care what they say, whether it is true or false, right or wrong (Psalm 36:3). The words of his mouth are sin and deceit, made to do wrong while hiding it under fair and believable excuses. It is no surprise if those who lie to themselves also plan to deceive everyone else. If a person is false to his own soul, whom will he be true to?

Second, any good that once remained in them is gone. The sparks of virtue have gone out, convictions have been silenced, and good beginnings have come to nothing. They have stopped being wise and stopped doing good. They may have seemed to live under wisdom and religion, but they have broken those bonds. They have thrown off both religion and the wisdom that went with it. Those who stop doing good also stop being wise.

Third, after they leave off doing good, they begin to plan harm and trouble for the people around them who are good and do good (Psalm 36:4). He plans mischief on his bed. When people stop doing good, stop praying, and stop attending to God’s commands and worship, they become easy tools for the devil. He uses them to draw others into sin, and, for those who will not be drawn that way, into trouble. Those who leave off doing good start doing evil. The devil, once he fell from innocence, quickly became Eve’s tempter and righteous Abel’s persecutor.

It is bad to do harm, but it is worse to plan it. To devise evil means to do it on purpose, with determination, and with careful skill. It means setting the mind to work in order to carry it out as effectively as possible, with the craft and malice of the old serpent. To plan it on the bed, where we should be thinking about God and his word (Micah 2:1), shows a heart fully set on evil.

Fourth, once they have entered the path of sin, the path that is not good, where there is nothing good in it or at the end of it, they keep going and decide to remain there. He sets himself to carry out the harm he has planned, and nothing will hold him back from what he has decided to do, even though it is against both duty and true self-interest. If sinners did not harden their hearts and grow bold in shame, they could not keep walking so directly against what is just and good.

Fifth, those who do evil themselves have no dislike for evil in others. He does not hate evil, but takes pleasure in it and is glad to see others as bad as he is. Or this may mean that he has no repentance for his sin. If God grants repentance, people come to hate the evil they have done, and even hate themselves because of it. Sin is bitter in memory, though it may have been sweet in the doing. But hardened sinners have consciences so dulled and seared that they never look back on their sins with regret. They stand by what they have done, as if they could defend it before God himself.

Some think that David is speaking especially about Saul, who had lost the fear of God and given up all good conduct. Saul had acted kindly toward David when he gave him his daughter as a wife, but at the same time he was planning harm against him. Still, we do not have to limit the psalm to Saul alone. Many people fit this description, which is deeply sad.