There is further contrast between the way of righteousness and the way of wickedness in Psalm 36.
The first verse of this Psalm is a challenge to translate. It says something about the transgressions of the wicked, an oracle from God, and someone's heart---either the psalmist's or the wicked person's.
The NIV says, "I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked."
The ESV says, "Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart."
The KJV says, "The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes."
The message seems to be that either God or the actions of the wicked person have made it clear to the psalmist that the wicked person has no respect for God at all. A person like that believes that he is a law unto himself and is firmly entrenched in his wickedness, thinking continually about how to carry out more evil (vv. 2-4).
The importance of having a proper fear of God is emphasized in the Bible's wisdom literature. Proverbs 1:7 says that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."
A midrash on Psalm 36 identifies the Philistine giant Goliath (1 Sam 17) as an example of someone who has no fear of God. This midrash says that when David heard Goliath blaspheme God, David knew that Goliath was likely to be defeated, since those who have no fear of God are courting disaster. The sages quote Jer 2:19 in this connection: "Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord GOD of hosts."
In contrast to the ways of the wicked, God's character is rooted in love, faithfulness, and justice (vv 5-6) and is reflected in the beauty of creation. Verse 6 reminds us of the example of Gen 8:
"Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD."
Verses 7-9 extol God's love and the Edenic blessings of righteousness. Verse 9 says, "For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light." Understandably, the sages associate these verses with the blessings of the world to come. They associate these verses with Isa 60:19: "The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory." We in turn connect Isa 60:19 with Rev 21:23 about the New Jerusalem: "And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb."
There is a parable in the midrash about a man who goes out at night with his lamp, but his lamp keeps going out. Finally he decides to just go out in the daytime when there is a more reliable light source. Similarly, the sages said, Israel had often been rescued by God but then had lapsed into sin and gone into exile. But one day they will finally decide that the best thing to do is rely on the illumination of God's light.
In verses 10-12, the psalmist prays for continued blessings and for protection from the wicked. He is confident that evil will be defeated.
No comments:
Post a Comment