1An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before
his eyes.
2For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity
and when he hates.
3The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and
to do good.
4He devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself in a way that
is not good;
He does not abhor evil.
5Your mercy, O Lord, is in the
heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to
the clouds.
6Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great
deep;
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
7How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from
the river of Your pleasures.
9For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
10Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the
upright in heart.
11Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the
wicked drive me away.
12There the workers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been cast down and
are not able to rise.
Commentary
Vs.
1
1An oracle within
my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before
his eyes.
David begins this Psalm in reflection, recalling the ways of the wicked. For in his own meditations, and likely through his own experiences, he has come to understand them thoroughly. And so, he begins by revealing what is at the heart of all of their ways, and that is they do not fear the Lord. For whatever fear they once had of Him, (if they ever had any), that would've retrained them they have now completely cast off. And when one does that one begins a terrible downward journey into the depths of wickedness and depravity. And so, what we have here is an oracle about those who by their own willing choices have thrown away whatever consciences they once held. Their “freedom” then comes with price, and that will be their enslavement to Satan and sin, the chains of which are not easily broken!
Vs. 2 “For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity
and when he hates.”
Such then is their own deception and depravity that they actually now flatter themselves when they recall their own wicked endeavors, for this is what now brings them satisfaction, doing evil, doing violence! And in these things, they now boost to their comrades who give their approval for the same.
Vs. 3 “The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and
to do good.”
Nothing good then comes out of their mouths, just wicked talk, filthy language, evil boasting, all manner of lying and deceit. For in doing and speaking these things, they laugh and boast. Therefore, they have ceased to be wise, ceased to have any wisdom, any understanding. Indeed, doing good to them now is just foreign language which they cannot understand.
Vs. 4 “He devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself in a way that
is not good;
He does not abhor evil.”
Not only does the wicked unashamedly speak and boast of all of their evil desires, but he also mediates on them, devising wicked plots on their bed they dream about how to bring them about. Therefore, he sets himself in a way that is not good, for he does not abhor evil, no, he seeks it out!
Vs. 5-9 5Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to
the clouds.
6Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
7How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men
put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from
the river of Your pleasures.
9For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
One can only stand thinking about the wicked and their ways for so long, and so here we get a reprieve that beautifully recalls the glories and majesty of the Lord. For whereas the wicked breath out vileness and violence to the depths of hell, the Lord’s mercy reaches to endless heights of heaven, His mercy then far and away exceeds and excels them all! And though it is impossible for us to see His mercies end or limits, it can be received and enjoyed by us all who believe in Him! For the Lord’s faithfulness reaches to the clouds, to places where no man has ever been (vs. 5). The Lord’s righteousness then is like the great mountains, utterly unmovable and unshakable, standing steadfast forever. His righteousness then causes mankind to stand in awe of Him! And as for His judgments they are like a great deep that cannot be measured, for it is by these that the Lord preserves both man and beast (vs. 6).
Indeed, the Lord’s lovingkindness is exceedingly precious, for by it He not only sustains everything, but He also brings us to salvation, and so He protects, provides, and preserves us all who believe in Him, therefore the children of men, (that is people from every country, culture, race) who know Him put their trust under the shadow of the Lord’s wings (vs. 7), which is a picture of the eagle protecting and shielding its young. Therefore, we are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of His house, of all of His person, Father Son, Spirit, and all of the eternal treasures He has laid up for us, where He has prepared a place for us. Indeed, He gives us drink from the river of His pleasures (vs. 8), therefore we completely satisfied and can also say, “my cup runs over” with all the goodness and blessings of the Lord! For with the Lord is the fountain of life, everlasting life (John 1:4)! which continually overflows within us who believe in Him (John 7:38). Therefore, in Your light O Lord we see light! (John 8:12; 2 Tim. 1:10).
Vs. 10 “Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the
upright in heart.”
Having declared the immeasurable goodness, righteous and mercies of the Lord. David’s prayer now is that He continue His lovingkindness to all of us who know Him, His righteousness to everyone who is upright in heart. And truly the Lord will, He will always be here for everyone who truly knows Him.
Vs. 11 “Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the
wicked drive me away.”
In declaring the Lord's goodness towards him, David now asks the Lord that He not let the foot of pride, i.e., the people who walk and live in their pride, who always take an offense at us, not be allowed to come against him, that is to take his life. For they have set themselves against him without a cause. Yet they are continually stocking and harassing him, and there is nothing he can do, or we can do, to appease them. Same with the wicked who were also trying to drive him away from his rightful place amongst God’s people, for these also do not want him to reign over them. For just as they will not submit themselves to the Lord, neither will they submit themselves to His anointed servant.
They have been cast down and
are not able to rise.”
Nonetheless through eyes of faith, David now sees their finial end, fallen, cast down and not able to rise, and this by the hand of God!
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.
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