Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to Psalm chapter 36.
! Psalm chapter 36.
We're continuing our series through the Psalms this morning.
And when you found that, Psalm 36, would you please stand in honor of the reading of the Word of the Lord.
Psalm 36 is to the choir master of David, the servant of the Lord.
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.
O 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.
There the evildoers lie fallen.
They are thrust down, unable to rise.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
But the word of the Lord endures forever.
Father God, we pray now.
Would you show us the greatness of your steadfast love for us in Christ?
Help us not only to see it, but to marvel at it.
And not only to marvel at it, but to be satisfied in it.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
You may be seated.
With all the rain that we've gotten over the past week, every now and then, the lights
at our house flickered on and off and threatened the possibility of a power outage.
And I remembered how much bigger a deal a power outage was when I was younger than they are
today.
I grew up in the time when we didn't have smartphones in our pockets with instant flashlights that
you could press at any moment to provide light in the room.
And so I distinctly remember every now and then there would be a storm.
The lights would go out and we couldn't see a thing.
And so my parents would be scrambling in the dark to find a match or a candle or a flashlight.
And until that light was lit, darkness had complete control of the room.
But once the light came on, the darkness was dispelled.
I wonder if you have ever been overwhelmed by darkness.
darkness.
And the world that we live in can often be described as dark.
And I know that it's sometimes hard for us to remember that, especially where we live
here in this beautiful place of the world here in Allendal or Mount Pleasant, often called
Mount Perfect or Mount Plastic even.
But when you peel back the shiny, luxurious exterior, the world that we live in, even here where we
live in a place of luxury, is dark.
And sometimes that darkness can be overwhelming.
I remind you of what I mentioned last week.
We live in a country where over a million unborn babies are aborted in this country legally
by the law of the land every single year.
We live in a world where Christians are often persecuted, maybe socially here, but beyond
this country, persecuted physically and even killed for professing their faith.
We live in a place where advancements in technology are a good thing, but now especially with the
rise of artificial intelligence, financial scams have become all the more sophisticated with
AI-fabricated distress calls that mimic the exact voices of your loved ones and contribute
to scamming the elderly out of billions of dollars every single year.
It's estimated that here in the U.S. there are over a million people trapped in conditions
of modern-day slavery and forced labor.
I don't tell you all this to depress you, although it is disheartening, but to illustrate the fact
that all of us are aware of, the world that we live in is very, very dark.
And sometimes you can wonder, well, where can we look when the darkness seems so overwhelming?
Where can God's people look to find comfort and assurance, even hope or security in light
of the great wickedness all around us?
And what hope do we have to offer others who are living here in the midst of this dark world?
Well, here in Psalm chapter 36, David gives us the answer to all of these questions.
And he tells us that here in a dark world, we must cling to the light of the glory of God.
In the midst of darkness, God's people look to Him and satisfy our soul in Him.
So let's take a look as we ask the question, how do God's people navigate the darkness?
This will be our outline this morning if you're taking notes.
How do God's people navigate the darkness?
And we'll see it in three parts this morning.
First, David shows us we must examine the wickedness of man.
Examine the wickedness of man.
We see this here in verses 1 through 4.
Look there with me.
And here David shows us what it is like in the dark.
This is the darkness when the lights are off.
And here's my disclaimer.
This picture of wickedness is not pretty.
This is a very blunt and honest, unattractive look at the sinfulness of man.
This is not an attractive, popular message, but it's here before us and so we deal with it.
David gives us a full picture here of the wickedness of man.
And what we see here is a picture of what we call total depravity.
It's not that we're all as bad as we possibly could be,
but rather that every single part of us, inside and out, has been corrupted by the darkness of sin.
Look at this description that he gives us here of the wicked man.
He goes head to toe here in verses 1 through 4.
He says in verse 1,
Their heart is corrupt.
Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart.
Here transgression itself is personified,
almost like wisdom is personified in the book of Proverbs.
And transgression speaks to the wicked.
It has this deep hold on the heart of the wicked.
It's not just empty words in his ears.
It's resonating with him deep in his heart.
The darkness, the wickedness begins here in the heart.
And we should understand that the wicked actions and the sinful words and the sinful attitudes
that we see coming out of the exterior,
those are like warning lights on the dashboard
that show us that something is wrong on the interior.
The human heart, left to itself, apart from the grace of God, is wicked.
Jeremiah tells us the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick.
You should know, follow your heart is terrible advice.
David says the wicked's heart is corrupt.
Not only that, but his eyes are corrupt.
He says there is no fear of God before his eyes.
This is someone who lives in open rebellion against God
and simply does not care.
He doesn't fear God's wrath.
He laughs off all this religious talk about hell.
He thinks all that religious talk of a God who sees every act
and hears every word and knows every thought
and can discern every intention of the heart.
That's just a bunch of nonsense.
He cares nothing about the coming day of judgment
when all will be exposed.
All he wants to do is live free from all of this
and so he suppresses it.
He has no fear of God in his eyes.
In fact, he says he flatters himself in his own eyes.
He convinces himself that his iniquity cannot be found out
and cannot be hated.
This wicked man is self-deceived.
And he's deceived himself into thinking,
what I do in the privacy of my own home is my business.
It can't be found out.
It can't be hated.
It can't be dealt with at all.
Now Moses warned the Israelites about this exact sort of attitude
all the way back in Deuteronomy chapter 29.
Listen to what he says.
He warns the community of Israel,
Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit,
one who when he hears the words of this sworn covenant,
blesses himself, flatters himself in his heart,
saying, I shall be safe although I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.
This will lead to the sweeping away of the moist and the dry alike.
The Lord will not be willing to forgive him,
but rather the anger of the Lord and his jealousy will smoke against that man.
And the curses written in this book will settle upon him,
and the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven.
The wicked man does not fear God.
He lives in open rebellion.
And so, verse 3,
The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit.
His mouth is corrupt.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 12 that a tree is known by its fruit.
He looks the Pharisees right in the eye and he says,
You brood of vipers, how can you speak good when you are evil?
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good,
and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.
I tell you, on the day of judgment,
people will give account for every careless word that they speak.
For by your words you will be justified,
and by your words you will be condemned.
He says the wicked man's mouth is corrupt.
He says his hands and feet are corrupt.
He has ceased to act wisely and to do good.
His mind is corrupt.
He plots trouble while he's on his bed.
I mean, this is where all the AI scams and the abortion industry
and the human trafficking and all the other evil in the world begins.
It's in those quiet moments where you're left with your own thoughts.
What is it that your mind goes to?
The wicked, David says,
is plotting wickedness from a corrupt mind.
In fact, his very will is corrupt.
Look what he says.
He sets himself in a way that is not good.
He does not reject evil.
This is the will of a sinner.
You know, we often maybe talk about free will,
and what that means biblically is that people actually choose what they do.
That is true.
You choose what you do.
What it doesn't mean is that your will is neutral.
All of us choose according to our nature.
There's a reason that birds don't swim and fish don't fly
and dogs don't quack and ducks don't bark
and the wicked don't reject evil.
What is it?
It's because we all act and choose according to our nature.
And biblically, David is telling us his very nature,
the nature of a wicked man is that from head to toe he is ruled by sin.
The biblical word for that isn't freedom.
It's slavery.
It's a dark picture, isn't it?
When we look around and we see the darkness of the world all around us,
we should understand it for what it is.
This is a world that is lost and enslaved by the powers of sin.
But we should also understand that apart from the grace of God
that liberates the sinful nature,
that frees us from the power of sin,
apart from the grace of God,
friend, this is not just darkness out there around us.
This is us.
This is the point that Paul makes in Romans chapter 3
when he quotes this exact passage and others
and says,
None is righteous.
No, not one.
No one understands.
No one seeks for God.
Not even you.
Not even me.
All have turned aside.
Together they have become worthless.
No one does good.
Not even one.
Their throat is an open grave.
They use their tongues to deceive.
The venom of asps is under their lips.
Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood.
In their paths are ruin and misery.
The way of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.
The picture that the Bible gives us is dark.
The wicked are totally, absolutely consumed with evil.
And friend, if the psalm ended here,
we would leave here in absolute despair, wouldn't we?
But notice what David does next.
David shifts the perspective back here in verses 5 through 9
to give us just about the greatest contrast you can possibly imagine.
Against this dark backdrop of sin,
in the midst of this great darkness,
he shows us the light of the glory of God.
And he calls us to fix our eyes there.
This is our hope in the midst of darkness.
This is what he shows us in verses 5 through 9.
Look there.
Second, David says,
we must exalt our glorious God in the midst of the darkness.
Exalt our glorious God.
Look there to 5 through 9.
There could not be a more drastic contrast than what we see here.
This is darkness and light, night and day.
David draws our attention here to the covenant attributes of our God.
He says, fix our eyes on the steadfast love of the Lord.
Fix your eyes on the steadfast love of the Lord.
We've heard that term,
but it's possible that you may not know exactly what that means.
The steadfast love of the Lord.
This is God's covenant love for His people.
This is God's faithfulness to the promises that He has made to His people.
And ultimately, we know that this is God's love for His covenant people in Christ.
Isaiah says in Isaiah 54 verse 10,
the mountains may depart and the hills may be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you.
This steady, rock solid, enduring love is ours in Christ's church.
But even on His side of the cross,
David's able to look at the steadfast love of God
and marvel that His steadfast love extends to the heavens.
His faithfulness extends to the clouds.
He says, look there if you're overwhelmed by the darkness.
But also, he says, fix your eyes on the righteousness of the Lord.
He is perfectly pure.
I remember going to pick out Amanda's engagement ring,
and you learn all sorts of new stuff when you go to buy a ring.
All the four C's and all that.
Cut clarity, carrot, and I forget the fourth one.
I don't know what it is.
But where they really get you is in the purity of the diamond, right?
They hold it out against this black cloth.
They slide it out to you.
They put it under the microscope.
You spin it around,
and you can see every little minor imperfection.
Not so with God.
Here, against this black backdrop of our sin,
we see that there is not the slightest imperfection in our God.
There is not the slightest hint of evil.
There is not the slightest inclination to wickedness.
John tells us, God is light.
In him there is no darkness at all.
Our God is not just holy.
He is holy, holy, holy.
This is the refrain of heaven.
Revelation chapter 4.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come.
His righteousness, David says,
is like the mountains of God.
It's strong.
It's stable.
It's towering.
It's enduring.
It's beautiful.
And again,
the righteousness of our God,
it shines forth most clearly in Christ Jesus,
who is the perfect Son of God,
who is the radiance of the glory of God
and the exact imprint of His nature.
He is the embodiment of holy God in human flesh.
David says,
would you just marvel at this faithful holy God?
His judgments are like the great deep.
All life owes itself to the work of this great God,
man and beast alike.
Who can comprehend the ways of God?
And when we stand back and we just think for a moment,
and when we zoom out of all the chaos of life
and all the overwhelming darkness of day-to-day life
here in a fallen world,
when we think about God's works of salvation
and creation and providence,
but especially salvation,
what He's done for us in Christ,
we say with Paul,
oh, the depths of the riches and the wisdom
and the knowledge of God.
How unsearchable are His judgments
and how inscrutable are His ways.
You just marvel at the wisdom
and the ways of this God.
Can you imagine a greater contrast
in what David shows us here?
Derek Kidner says,
here is a whole world to explore,
a broad place to be brought into,
unsearchable, impregnable, inexhaustible,
yet for all that, welcoming and hospitable.
He says,
it is only man's world that is cramping.
Human fickleness makes a drooping contrast
to this towering covenant love and faithfulness.
Human standards where all is relative
are a marshland beside the exacting,
exhilarating mountains of His righteousness.
Human assessments are shallowness itself
in comparison with His judgments.
David holds this diamond of God's glory
in his hand against the black backdrop
of the wickedness of man
and he turns it every which way
and says,
would you just look and marvel
at the glory of God?
Church, do you ever marvel
at the glory of God?
Do you find yourself considering His attributes
when you're overwhelmed
by the darkness of this world?
David says,
fix your eyes on Him.
Remember who He is,
but we can't stop there.
We can't stop there.
Pay close attention to this church
because this is absolutely crucial for us to get.
David moves from talking about the glory of God
in verses 5 through 6
to treasuring God
in verses 7 through 9.
And this is just an incredible shift
that takes place here.
Look what he says in verse 7.
How precious is your steadfast love,
O God, he says in verse 7.
How precious is your steadfast love.
The children of mankind
take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
See, there is an eternity of difference.
between knowing that God is faithful
and knowing that God is righteous
and knowing that God is just
and knowing that God is wise,
knowing that God is good,
and actually experiencing
these glorious truths for yourself.
There is an eternity of difference
between being able to list off attributes
and loving this great God for who He is.
If you're freezing out in the dark,
you don't need a lecture,
a bunch of true facts about the heat.
You need to get up close to the fire
and feel His warmth
and see by His light.
And this is what David's getting at here.
He says God's steadfast love
is not just true.
It is precious to those who love Him.
God's people don't just know
that He's able to save.
They take refuge in the shadow of His wings.
It is not enough
just to be able to talk about this God.
You must treasure Him in your heart.
No one has been more helpful for me
in understanding this
than my good friends John Piper
and Jonathan Edwards.
John Piper has famously coined the phrase,
God is most glorified in us
when we are most satisfied in Him.
God is most glorified in us
when we are most satisfied in Him.
Church, this is why our mission as a church,
what is it?
We exist to magnify the glory of God
in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
How?
Way number one,
by enjoying Him.
Do you realize that Christianity
is a religion of joy?
Christianity is a religion
of unlimited pursuit
of the deepest,
most infinitely pleasurable,
exhilarating source of satisfaction
imaginable in all the universe.
Christianity is a religion
of unlimited pursuit of pleasure.
And we believe that there's nothing
more satisfying to your soul
than the God who made it.
And the gloriously good news
is that when you satisfy your heart in God,
you can come and have as much as you want.
This is what David says in Psalm 1611.
In your presence,
there is fullness of joy.
At your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Do you see the abundance language in this psalm?
Do you hear this?
We're not just fed by God.
We feast on the abundance of His house.
We don't just sip from a faucet.
We drink from the river of God's delights.
We don't just squint by candlelight.
It says,
When your heart is satisfied in God,
in His light we see light.
And so Edwards,
he says,
Persons need not and ought not
set any bounds
to their spiritual and gracious appetites.
He says,
There is no such thing
as any ordinateness
in holy affections.
There is no such thing
as excess in longings
after the discoveries
of the beauty of Christ Jesus
or greater degrees of holiness
or the enjoyment of communion with God.
Men may be as covetous as they please,
if I may so speak,
after spiritual riches.
They may be as eager as they please
to heap up treasure in heaven.
They may be as ambitious as they please
of spiritual and eternal honor and glory.
They may be as voluptuous as they please
with respect to spiritual pleasure.
In other words,
he says,
If you want to be satisfied,
come and get it.
As much as you want.
The table is set.
He says elsewhere,
in a sermon that has shaped my life,
what is glorifying God
but rejoicing in the glory
that He has displayed?
Merely understanding
the perfections of God
cannot be the end of creation.
God is glorified
not only by His glory being seen
but by its being rejoiced in.
When those that see it
delight in it,
God is more glorified
than if they only see it.
Friend,
do you treasure God
as the only
and all satisfying
source of delight
for your soul?
Do you see Him
as the greatest satisfaction
that your soul
could possibly ever have?
Friend,
if you are overwhelmed
by the darkness
of this world,
Christian,
the invitation,
come feast your soul
on the glory of God.
And if you are discouraged
by the sin in your own heart,
Christian,
come drink
from the life-giving stream
of the steadfast love
of God for you in Christ.
And friend,
if you are the wicked man
of verses 1-4
who has lived in rebellion
against this great God,
come all who are thirsty,
He says in Isaiah 55.
Come everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters,
come he who has no money,
come buy and eat,
and you will find life
and satisfaction in Christ.
Come to Christ.
find in Him
full atonement
for the greatest wickedness
and full satisfaction
for the hungry heart.
Because of course,
it is in Christ
and only in Christ
that we see
the full expression
of this psalm
most clearly.
The Gospel of John
most clearly,
probably more clearly
than anywhere else,
sheds light
on the language
of this psalm.
In fact,
I've often wondered
if John was reading
Psalm 36
as he composed
his Gospel.
Because it's there
in the Gospel of John
that Jesus says,
I am the light
of the world.
It is by His light
that we see light.
It is there in John
that Jesus meets
with a Samaritan woman
and invites her,
ask me
and I will give you
living water.
He says there in John,
whoever believes in me
as Scripture has said,
out of His heart
will flow rivers
of living water.
Church,
ultimately,
the steadfast love
of God
is shown towards
His people
in Christ.
And no matter
how dark
the world around us
gets,
we take comfort
to know we are
safe and sheltered
in Christ.
Not only from
the schemes of the enemy,
but even from
the wrath of God
against our own sin.
Why?
Because as ugly
and dark
and wicked
of a picture
of our own sin
as we see
in this song,
Christ Jesus,
the perfect Son of God
became sin for us
so that in Him
we might become
the very righteousness
of God.
Jesus Christ
bore the wrath
of God
against our sin
and as God's
righteous judgment
fell upon Him
in our place,
it says,
darkness covered
the face of the earth.
the very darkness
that David describes
here in verses 1-4
reached its peak
at the cross of Christ
as the light
of the world
was slain.
But we praise God
that the darkness
could not hold Him.
He has risen
from the grave
in victory
over the darkness,
victory over our sin,
victory over the enemy,
and victory over the grave.
Christian,
our comfort
and our confidence
in the face of darkness
is the all-satisfying
glory of Christ.
Because of this,
third and finally,
we are compelled
to express
our desires to Him.
Look there to verses
10-12
and would you just
notice here
up to this point
David has asked
for nothing.
He's just examined
the wickedness
and he has extolled
the glory of God.
But now in light
of all of this,
David prays verse 10,
continue your steadfast love
to those who know you
and your righteousness
to the upright of heart.
In other words,
God,
would you be who you are
to those who are yours?
Your steadfast love
is so great,
your righteousness
is so precious,
would you just cover
your people with it
and guard them with it
and comfort us
with your steadfast love
and faithfulness?
And also,
would you,
verse 11,
let not the foot
of arrogance
come upon me
nor the hand
of the wicked
drive me away.
There the evildoers
lie fallen,
they are thrust down
unable to rise.
Again,
we're reminded
of the radical distinction
between the righteous
and the wicked.
James Hamilton
summarizes it perfectly.
He says,
the wicked worship sin
with its fleeting pleasure
and lasting regret,
and in the end,
they gain eternal destruction.
The righteous worship God
with His lofty love
and rooted righteousness,
and in the end,
they drink from the fountain
of life
and ever bask
in His light.
Church,
this is the certain end
of all things.
This is the light
at the end of the tunnel.
You remember our question?
Where do we look
when the darkness
is overwhelming?
Here's your answer,
church.
You look
to the light
of the world,
Jesus Christ.
If you are overwhelmed
by evil in our world,
take heart.
Nothing can separate you
from the covenant love
of God
for you in Christ Jesus.
In fact,
He says,
I have overcome
the world.
If you are discouraged
by the battle
with sin
in your own heart,
take heart.
If you are in Christ,
God is faithful.
He will complete
the good work
He began in you.
Indeed,
His own perfect righteousness
is yours
by faith in Christ.
If you are facing
the fierce attacks
and temptations
and accusations
of the enemy,
take heart.
Christ Jesus
also has been tempted
and tried
in every way
as we are,
yet without sin.
He also endured
the darkness
of this world
so that He might
bring us
out of darkness
and into His
marvelous light.
And if you are
longing for real,
lasting satisfaction
for your soul,
church,
remember that
one day soon
and very soon,
Christ Jesus
will return.
And He will
banish the darkness
forever.
And He will be
our everlasting light.
And all His people
will drop to their knees
and drink from the river
of His everlasting delights
throughout all eternity.
But until that day comes,
church,
guess what?
You can begin feasting
on His goodness
right now.
So if you are thirsty
today, friend,
come to the waters.
If you are empty,
friend,
come to the feast.
If you are terrified
of the dark,
would you turn
to the light
of the world
and take refuge
in the shadow
of His wings?
And would you consider Him
and would you treasure Him
in your heart?
Would you express
the desires of your heart
to Him
and entrust
your very life
to Him?
He is faithful
and He is good.
Let's pray.
Father,
would you show us,
God,
that you are
the all-satisfying
source of joy
for which we were made?
God,
would you show us
the fleeting pleasures
and destructive end
of sin
that we might repent
and put our faith
entirely in Christ
and satisfy our soul
in Him?
And we pray,
Lord Jesus,
would you come quickly
and put an end
to the darkness
and usher in the age
of eternal joys
in your presence?
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.