GOD WILL NEVER BE
OVERWHELMED BY THE EVIL OF MAN
Psalm 36:1-6
To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
1 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.
This psalm is written by David, the servant of the Lord. His implication, with the title of servant, is that he is submitted to God, willing to do obey and serve faithfully. What a contrast to the description of God’s enemies in the first four verses!
The heart of the wicked is evil, and he has no respect or fear of God. He has no ability to even evaluate himself correctly. His heart is inclined to evil, and so his words and actions manifest themselves according to what he treasures in his heart. He desires evil, he schemes evil and he invites evil.
Dear friend, do you find yourself being frustrated and upset with the evil around you? Although the world believes that men are fundamentally good, or that their evil actions are only the consequences of an evil environment, God explains man’s behavior very differently:
Ephesians 2:1-3
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
The Bible describes men without God in these verses in three ways: 1 – They follow the actions of other sinners
2 – They follow the direction of the devil
3 – They follow their own desires
What can we expect, when we live in a society where we are surrounded by this? But, before you feel any arrogance toward them, remember what Paul says: we walked the same way, before we were transformed by God.
Man was evil at the times of David, at the times of the Apostle Paul, and still continues to live according to his nature today.
Are we victims of our society? Is evil going to overwhelm us? CERTAINLY NOT!
Psalm 36:5-6
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O Lord.
God is loving, God is faithful, God is righteous, God is wise and God saves!
God’s love is everlasting. He loved us when we were unlovable, when we lived each day as described by Paul, with no inclination to do good. His love will never change or ever diminish; God can only love perfectly.
God is faithful. We are and will be unfaithful, but God will always remain true to His word. We never need to fear that God will change His mind about us.
God is righteous; He cannot do or desire evil. He is just, and His justice will prevail. God will never be overwhelmed by the evil of man.
God is wise; His purposes are always perfect. He is always in total control. Although it might seem to us that man’s evil is controlling the events on earth, God’s purposes will always prevail.
Our God saves! We have the privilege to know and enjoy a relationship with God, Himself! We know our eternal destiny. We never could have saved ourselves and we cannot keep ourselves saved, for both are His sovereign gifts. What security we enjoy, knowing that God loves us perfectly, His actions towards us are perfectly wise, and He is perfectly righteous in His character and plans.
To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the Lord.
1 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.
This psalm is written by David, the servant of the Lord. His implication, with the title of servant, is that he is submitted to God, willing to do obey and serve faithfully. What a contrast to the description of God’s enemies in the first four verses!
The heart of the wicked is evil, and he has no respect or fear of God. He has no ability to even evaluate himself correctly. His heart is inclined to evil, and so his words and actions manifest themselves according to what he treasures in his heart. He desires evil, he schemes evil and he invites evil.
Dear friend, do you find yourself being frustrated and upset with the evil around you? Although the world believes that men are fundamentally good, or that their evil actions are only the consequences of an evil environment, God explains man’s behavior very differently:
Ephesians 2:1-3
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
The Bible describes men without God in these verses in three ways: 1 – They follow the actions of other sinners
2 – They follow the direction of the devil
3 – They follow their own desires
What can we expect, when we live in a society where we are surrounded by this? But, before you feel any arrogance toward them, remember what Paul says: we walked the same way, before we were transformed by God.
Man was evil at the times of David, at the times of the Apostle Paul, and still continues to live according to his nature today.
Are we victims of our society? Is evil going to overwhelm us? CERTAINLY NOT!
Psalm 36:5-6
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O Lord.
God is loving, God is faithful, God is righteous, God is wise and God saves!
God’s love is everlasting. He loved us when we were unlovable, when we lived each day as described by Paul, with no inclination to do good. His love will never change or ever diminish; God can only love perfectly.
God is faithful. We are and will be unfaithful, but God will always remain true to His word. We never need to fear that God will change His mind about us.
God is righteous; He cannot do or desire evil. He is just, and His justice will prevail. God will never be overwhelmed by the evil of man.
God is wise; His purposes are always perfect. He is always in total control. Although it might seem to us that man’s evil is controlling the events on earth, God’s purposes will always prevail.
Our God saves! We have the privilege to know and enjoy a relationship with God, Himself! We know our eternal destiny. We never could have saved ourselves and we cannot keep ourselves saved, for both are His sovereign gifts. What security we enjoy, knowing that God loves us perfectly, His actions towards us are perfectly wise, and He is perfectly righteous in His character and plans.
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