Psalm 36
August 9, 2026 Father, there is a warning in this Psalm: the mind of the wicked can be seared. Transgression runs deep in his heart. He has no fear of you, for he flatters himself in his own eyes so that he cannot recognize his own sin.
The Apostle Paul no doubt was thinking of this Psalm when he wrote his own warning to the wicked. He said, You, O God, gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity and dishonorable passions. And since they did not acknowledge you, you gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness though they knew your righteous decree: that those who practice unrighteousness deserve to die.
Father, in an unconsidered affirmation of your steadfast love, we can forget what that love covers. As the Psalmist says, Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews calls you a consuming fire; that we should bow the knee to you with reverence and awe.
Are we in danger of becoming like the wicked David or Paul describes? By all means. We should be on guard for entering into a soft kind of arrogance that contributes to a drift in our understanding of the all-consuming fire of your righteousness. But we do not fear, for according to your mercy the all-consuming fire becomes a purifying fire. Through faith in Christ our Redeemer we have been rescued from death. We should live like rescued ones. For Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. We take refuge in the shadow of your wings. We feast on the abundance of your house, and you give us drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
Father, may the fire of your righteousness cleanse our fickle hearts. We take heart in the message the disciples heard from Jesus and declare to us: You, O God, are light; in you there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with you and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as you are in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, your Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, you are faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Father, guard us from the arrogance that infects the wicked. May we not be swayed by their practices. May we reject evil. May we walk humbly before you with thanksgiving. May we live under the affirmation of your steadfast love as we acknowledge you as the fountain of life.
Through Christ our Lord we pray, Amen