Psalm 36: Priceless Covenant Love

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Intro:

ON MAY 11, 1960 a team of Israeli Mossad agents kidnapped Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann off the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina and spirited him back to Israel to stand trial. Eichmann had deported millions of Jews to concentration camps. Now he would stand trial before Jews in Israel.

This was the first trial in history to be broadcast on television in its entirety. The eyes of the world were riveted on the courtroom in Jerusalem. The most dramatic moment may have been when Yehiel Dinur, a concentration camp survivor, took the stand.

A film clip shows Dinur walking into the courtroom and stopping as he saw Eichmann. This was the first time Dinur had seen him since Eichmann sent him to Auschwitz eighteen years earlier. Dinur began to sob uncontrollably, then collapsed on the floor as the judge pounded his gavel for order in the crowded courtroom. Mike Wallace later interviewed Dinur and asked about that moment.

Was Dinur overcome by hatred? Fear? Horrid memories? No; it was none of these. Rather … all at once he realized Eichmann was not the god-like army officer who had sent so many to their deaths. This Eichmann was an ordinary man. “I was afraid about myself,” said Dinur. “… I saw that I am capable to do this. I am … exactly like he.”

Wallace summed up Dinur’s terrible discovery with a terrifying phrase: “Eichmann is in all of us.” This horrifying statement captures a central truth about man’s nature. Because of the fall, sin is in each of us—not just the susceptibility to sin, but sin itself.

Johnston, J. A. (2015). Preaching the Word: The Psalms: Rejoice, the Lord Is King— to 41. (R. K. Hughes, Ed.) (Vol. 1, p. 367). Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

Three Points of Discussion:

P1. The Absence of Hesed(v. 1-4)

P2. The Embodiment of Hesed(v. 5-9)

P3. The Dependence for Hesed (v. 10-12)

P1. The Absence of Hesed(v. 1-4)

Oracle, authoritative word, is usually used of what the Lord speaks.

Regardless of your translation, the key point here is David has an observation: There is no fear or dread of God in the wicked and ungodly.

The trouble does not come from some one evil person or group who threatens the one who prays. The trouble lies, rather, in the very brave and bold reality and character of the wicked. At the center of their character is a basic orientation. In their secret hearts they listen to the oracle of rebellion. As a consequence it is on the self and its deceitful autonomy rather than on the fear of God that their attention is fixed.

Mays, J. L. (1994). Psalms (pp. 155–156). Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.

Interestingly enough, this is not an issue of whether God exists but whether he matters; not his reality but his relevance. It is the position of many people all the time; it is the position of believers some of the time—not as a stated creed but in practice.

Motyer, J. A. (1994). The Psalms. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st century edition (4th ed., p. 508). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.

“… sin is a deep interior dislocation of the soul. It’s a desire to keep control of the life, and the only way to justify the control of the life you have, you have to blind yourself to how dependent you are on Him.”

1-4 is a reflection on the thoughts and deeds of those outside of the Covenant Love of God.

(v.2) Pride blinds them from their own sin; it turns them into a vicious, mindless beast of passion and ego, ex.

What’s more is that pride is not even limited to the outright wicked. Suppose you say, “I don’t have control of my life. I’m a religious/relational person, I’m a Christian, I have a nice guy/gal.” This is how the human heart works even if you’re religious. You say, “I’ll take into consideration religious tradition or a moral code. I’ll take into consideration, but I am the final one who determines what I do with my body. I am the final one who determines what I do with my tongue, with my mind, with my money. Me! I’ll have to decide whether it’s practical to obey the Bible.” If you ever, ever think like that, you’re still in charge, and the only way to justify that is to say, “I’m not utterly dependent. I’ve earned.” ***God says what? Do you want to know what humility is? Do you want to know what pride is? Paul says in , “Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?” You will not take pride in one over another, for what makes you different? What do you have that you didn’t receive as a gift? The Bible says that’s what humility is. A joyous life is that which receives everything as a gift, and a self-absorbed, and therefore, miserable life is that which looks at everything, “I’m owed this. I’m owed this. I’m owed this.”

Dorothy Sayers says sin is a deep interior dislocation of the soul. It’s a desire to keep control of the life, and the only way to justify the control of the life you have, you have to blind yourself to how dependent you are on him. You say, “I don’t have control of my life. I’m a religious person.”

Suppose you say, “I don’t have control of my life. I’m a religious person.”

My friends, listen. This is how the human heart works even if you’re religious. You say, “I’ll take into consideration religious tradition. I’ll take into consideration, but I am the final one who determines what I do with my body. I am the final one who determines what I do with my tongue, with my mind, with my money. Me! I’ll have to decide whether it’s practical to obey the Bible.” If you ever, ever think like that, you’re still in charge, and the only way to justify that is to say, “I’m not utterly dependent. I’ve earned.”

Listen, friends. You’re so self-made. How much of what you are is really under your control? You did not choose your race. You did not choose your gender. You didn’t choose the century in which you were born. You have nothing to do with the fact you were born here and now instead of in fourteenth-century Europe during the bubonic plague. You don’t think that has a little impact on what you are today?

God says what? Do you want to know what humility is? Do you want to know what pride is? Paul says in , “Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?” You will not take pride in one over another, for what makes you different? What do you have that you didn’t receive as a gift? The Bible says that’s what humility is. A joyous life is that which receives everything as a gift, and a self-absorbed, and therefore, miserable life is that which looks at everything, “I’m owed this. I’m owed this. I’m owed this.”

You say, “I’ve worked hard.” With what? With the mind, with the talents, with the abilities, with the friendships, with the connections God and God alone gave you. You didn’t choose your parents. You didn’t choose your siblings. You didn’t choose any of your early childhood experiences, all of which we all say are so formative. You didn’t choose your basic abilities and talents and the level of those abilities.

Pride is a cancer that eats that up in you too. You’re never more human than when you’re compassionate. You’re never more human than when you’re able to sense what somebody else feels. But what is pride? Pride is a way of justifying to yourself the control you have over your life. The only way to justify that is to be constantly saying, “I deserve this. I’m owed this.” It consumes your humanity. Pride makes you like an animal, unable to empathize, it drives you to deceive and destroy, either yourself or others.

God says what? Do you want to know what humility is? Do you want to know what pride is? Paul says in , “Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?” You will not take pride in one over another, for what makes you different? What do you have that you didn’t receive as a gift? The Bible says that’s what humility is. A joyous life is that which receives everything as a gift, and a self-absorbed, and therefore, miserable life is that which looks at everything, “I’m owed this. I’m owed this. I’m owed this.”

So you might ask, “Why is this so?” C.S. Lewis makes an important observation. He says pride makes the heart want to keep well away from anything better or stronger or higher than it, anything that might make it feel small or that shows it it doesn’t have the right to be the center of the universe it wishes to be. And so we have it here. There is no desire to repent, to be humbled.

Now Nebuchadnezzar becomes an animal. We understand what happened. We understand now he went insane. It was a physiological thing. It was a brain chemistry thing. We know something about this. He thought he was an animal. He began to live as an animal for seven times, which probably means seven months or maybe seven seasons, which would’ve been a year and a half or so, but for a period of time he thought he was an animal.

Pride is a cancer that eats that up in you too. You’re never more human than when you’re compassionate. You’re never more human than when you’re able to sense what somebody else feels. But what is pride? Pride is a way of justifying to yourself the control you have over your life. The only way to justify that is to be constantly saying, “I deserve this. I’m owed this.”

It’s pride that makes you walk into a room … I see this happen all the time. You come to a new church. Maybe you’re coming to a new church. You look around, and you say, “Are these the kind of people I want to be with? Are these the kind of people I feel like will understand me? Are these the kind of people who will sympathize with me? Are these the kind of people who will enhance my sense of who I want to see myself as?” That’s eating up your humanity.

Pride makes you only think, “Are they weeping with me? Are they rejoicing with me?” Pride makes you so miserable because you’re so absorbed in yourself that you cannot even notice people weeping over in this corner, and you can’t even notice people over in this corner. Pride makes you like an animal, unable to empathize.

Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

Let me give you another one. Pride makes you, like an animal, driven by ego survival instincts. There’s a great place in C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity.

Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

P2. The Embodiment of Hesed(v. 5-9)

The main force of the psalm’s witness is precisely that God’s character and God’s actions cannot be separated—that God is faithful is known in God’s deliverance and in the blessings of God’s bountiful creation; that God’s creation is bountiful and God’s deliverance is known are signs of God’s gracious character.

The Book of Psalms Psalm 36: In Your Light, We See Light

The main force of the psalm’s witness is precisely that God’s character and God’s actions cannot be separated—that God is faithful is known in God’s deliverance and in the blessings of God’s bountiful creation; that God’s creation is bountiful and God’s deliverance is known are signs of God’s gracious character.

The psalmist brings together Yahweh’s “love” (ḥesed [“covenant loyalty”]) with his “faithfulness” (ʾemunah), “righteousness” (ṣidqah), and “justice” (mišpaṭ) to form a complete and secure foundation for human trust and dependence... The psalmist—and those who hear—have confidence to let themselves go into the loving, faithful, righteous, and just arms of God, who is concerned with the welfare of humans but preserves “both man and beast”

Wilson, G. H. (2002). Psalms (Vol. 1, p. 593). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

The enduring love that filled heaven and earth in verse 5 is proclaimed as “priceless” in verse 7. The precious character of that love is understood in terms of its effects on humans. It is a source of protection and refuge for “both high and low among men” but goes far beyond this to provide “abundance” of delight.

The enduring love that filled heaven and earth in verse 5 is proclaimed as “priceless” in verse 7. The precious character of that love is understood in terms of its effects on humans. It is a source of protection and refuge for “both high and low among men” but goes far beyond this to provide “abundance” of delight

Not only does Yahweh’s love provide abundant pleasures, but it also offers access to the life-sustaining refreshment of the “river of delights” (36:8) and the “fountain of life” (36:9). The paradisiacal connections are even more explicit in the reference to Yahweh’s “river of delights” (naḥal ʿadaneka). The second word here is the same word (ʿeden) that provides the name for the paradisiacal garden from which the four rivers flow to provide life-giving water to the earth ()

Wilson, G. H. (2002). Psalms (Vol. 1, p. 593). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Not only does Yahweh’s love provide abundant pleasures, but it also offers access to the life-sustaining refreshment of the “river of delights” (36:8) and the “fountain of life” (36:9). The paradisiacal connections are even more explicit in the reference to Yahweh’s “river of delights” (naḥal ʿadaneka). The second word here is the same word (ʿeden) that provides the name for the paradisiacal garden from which the four rivers flow to provide life-giving water to the earth ()

(v.9) By means of His light, we see. We mentioned previously the godless are blind to their own sins and the Psalmist provides a contrast here. By Him, we see. (, Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path; , *Jesus is the True Light* The true light that gives light to everyone, was coming into the world)

Wilson, G. H. (2002). Psalms (Vol. 1, p. 593). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

P3. The Dependence for Hesed (v. 10-12)

In the midst of his own recognition that God was One whom David could rest in, it still did not keep him from invoking the direct intervention of God from his enemies. Essentially, “Continue to hold over over us Your faithful love; don’t let us be snuffed.”

Conclusion: It is done.

Conclusion:

teaches us to confess, In your light we see light. C. S. Lewis said it best: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.”

teaches us to confess, In your light we see light. C. S. Lewis’s famous dictum, which is inscribed on his memorial, is an apt commentary on this truth: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.”

The psalm understands that life—indeed “fullness of life”—is not something that the individual generates for himself or herself. It is a gift that comes from only one source: the Lord. The poetry and theology of the psalm all point to this confession.

The psalm understands that life—indeed “fullness of life”—is not something that the individual generates for himself or herself. It is a gift that comes from only one source: the Lord. The poetry and theology of the psalm all point to this confession. Mays sums it up beautifully: “Life as existence, as full and good living, as community, as restoration—life in every sense is the gift of the Lord. The source of life is ‘with him.’ … Wherever there is life, there is a receiving from the source.”

It has been once summed up beautifully: “Life as existence, as full and good living, as community, as restoration—life in every sense is the gift of the Lord. The source of life is ‘with Him.’ … Wherever there is life, there is a receiving from the source.”

Jacobson, R. A., & Tanner, B. (2014). Book One of the Psalter: . In E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr. (Eds.), The Book of Psalms (pp. 346–347). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Psalm 36: Priceless Covenant Love

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