Depraved in Deceit or Delighted in the Divine

Psalm 36 sets two ways before the church with painful clarity. David sees wickedness speaking deep in the heart, and that wickedness is not strange or new. Transgression flatters the wicked man until there is no fear of God before his eyes, no reverence, no trembling, no willingness to hear the Lord’s speech. The words of his mouth become trouble and deceit, and even his bed becomes a place where evil is plotted. That sounds like the present age because depravity has always been the state of humanity apart from the restraining and saving hand of God.

David does not let the church pretend that modern darkness is somehow outside the Bible’s categories. Total depravity explains the world’s hatred of God, its changing definitions, its flattering phrases, and its refusal to be found out. Abortion on wheels, identity politics, “my body, my choice,” “love is love,” and “sky daddy” mockery all flow from the same root: there is no fear of God before their eyes. Psalm 36 does not call for nostalgia or hand-wringing. Psalm 36 calls for boldness, charity, clarity, and hope before a post-Christian world that no longer grants common ground.

David then turns sharply from man’s darkness to God’s goodness. “Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens.” God’s love is not a feeling that rises and falls. God’s love is founded in who God is, and it is shown most clearly in the gift of his Son. That kind of love changes marriage, stabilizes faithfulness, and exposes the emptiness of a culture that calls desire love and divorce freedom.

God’s righteousness stands like the mountains of God, and his judgments are like the great deep. Human courts, politicians, and cultural slogans shift, but the court of God does not move. The wicked may plead the fifth now, but final judgment will silence every excuse. Psalm 36 therefore sends the church into the world with mercy enough to warn, not cruelty enough to stay quiet.

God’s goodness also gives refuge under the shadow of his wings. The children of mankind may feast on the abundance of his house and drink from the river of his delights. That abundance is not only future; it breaks in now. Psalm 36 ends with dependence: “Continue your steadfast love to those who know you.” The wicked may still press hard, but God remains faithful, and sweet refuge is still found in the faithful Father.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Wickedness flatters itself blind Transgression does not merely tempt from the outside; it speaks deep in the heart until sin starts sounding reasonable. The wicked man cannot see his iniquity because pride has become his mirror. Psalm 36 names that blindness so the church will not be shocked by it, but also so the church will not imitate it. [11:50]
• 2. God’s love outlasts feelings The world calls love whatever the self wants in the moment, and then changes the definition when the desire changes. God’s steadfast love is not built on mood, attraction, or convenience. Christ’s love reaches to the heavens because it comes from God’s own being and is displayed in the giving of the Son. [18:13]
• 3. True justice belongs to God Human systems can rename evil, legalize wickedness, and call it righteousness, but God’s judgments are like the great deep. The final court is not controlled by votes, robes, headlines, or cultural pressure. That truth gives believers both patience when justice is delayed and courage to warn when sin is being excused. [22:01]
• 4. Refuge is found under God’s wings Psalm 36 offers more than an argument against the world; it offers a shelter for weary people. God’s refuge is not divided by wealth, status, race, or political tribe. The church becomes a visible contrast when anxious, angry people see joy, unity, and abundance rooted in Christ. [26:52]
• 5. Abundance begins even now The feast of God’s house is not only a distant future hope. Psalm 36 speaks in the present: God gives drink from the river of his delights, and with him is the fountain of life. Christian joy is therefore not denial of darkness, but life already breaking into the middle of it.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:35] - Psalm 36 and Dark Times
• [03:03] - Cultural Depravity and Despondency
• [05:24] - Two Ways of Life
• [07:22] - Living in the Last Days
• [09:26] - Total Depravity and Biblical Wickedness
• [11:50] - Transgression Speaks to the Wicked
• [14:21] - Engaging a Post-Christian Culture
• [17:31] - God’s Goodness as the Antidote
• [18:13] - Steadfast Love to the Heavens
• [22:01] - God’s Righteousness and Justice
• [26:52] - Refuge Under His Wings
• [29:24] - The Fountain of Life Now
• [30:59] - Continuing in God’s Steadfast Love

Bible Reading

Psalm 36
“Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil. Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.” [00:06]

1 John 4:8
“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” [20:37]

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” [20:58]

Matthew 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” [31:55]

Observation questions

1. In Psalm 36:1-4, what specific marks of wickedness are listed, and where does that wickedness seem to begin? [11:50]
2. What images does Psalm 36 use to describe God’s love, righteousness, judgment, and refuge?
3. According to Psalm 36:8-9, what present blessings are given to those who take refuge in God? [29:24]
4. In Matthew 5:10-12, what kinds of treatment does Jesus say his people should expect from the world?

Interpretation questions

1. Psalm 36 moves quickly from the darkness of man to the goodness of God. Why is that turn so important for Christians living in a confused and hostile culture? [17:45]
2. Psalm 36 says the wicked flatter themselves so that their sin cannot be found out and hated. How does self-flattery help explain why people defend evil instead of confessing it? [15:36]
3. If God’s love is rooted in who he is, and shown in the giving of his Son, how does that challenge the common idea that love is mainly a feeling that changes over time? [20:18]
4. Psalm 36 says God’s judgments are like the great deep. How does the certainty of God’s final justice shape the way believers respond when evil is celebrated or excused in public life? [22:01]

Application questions

1. Psalm 36 says, “there is no fear of God before his eyes,” but that warning is not only for the world out there. Where has reverence for God grown thin in daily life lately—speech, entertainment, private thoughts, or habits—and what would repentance look like there? [12:14]
2. Transgression speaks deep in the heart before it shows up in public. What lies has sin been whispering lately that sound reasonable at first—self-justifying thoughts, bitterness, impurity, pride, or despair? How can those lies be answered with truth before they grow? [12:03]
3. God’s steadfast love is not built on mood, convenience, or changing desire. How could that truth reshape the way love is practiced this week in marriage, family life, friendship, or church relationships? [21:17]
4. The church is called to engage a post-Christian world with clarity, charity, boldness, and hope. In what setting does bold speech about Christ feel hardest right now—home, work, school, online, or with extended family? What might faithful, calm courage look like there? [14:21]
5. God’s justice does not move with polls, courts, or slogans. When anger rises over the state of the culture, does that anger usually turn into fear, silence, harshness, or prayer? What would it look like to speak warnings and truth as an act of mercy instead of just frustration? [24:34]
6. Refuge is found under God’s wings, and that refuge is meant to be visible. What practices are helping or hurting joy and stability right now? Is too much news, scrolling, or outrage making it harder to feast on the abundance of God’s house? [26:52]
7. Psalm 36 says the river of God’s delights and the fountain of life are not only future realities but present ones. Where is there evidence of that life even now? What concrete ways has God been giving light, joy, fellowship, or strength in the middle of dark times? [30:03]