Psalm 36: Relying on His Steadfast Love-Supplication through the Scriptures

Psalm 36

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

Far, far above all comprehension is the truth and faithfulness of God. He never fails, nor forgets, nor falters, nor forfeits his word.
C.H.Spurgeon 

God has promised to His children that He will never leave them nor forsake them (Hebrews 13:6). He has promised to work all things for good to them that love Him and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). He has promised that one day He will return to gather His children to Himself and take them to a place He has prepared for them (John 14:3). What undergirds these precious and magnificent promises He has made to us? His steadfast love.

His steadfast love is His faithful, covenant love toward His children. Throughout Scripture this love can be translated as His lovingkindness, faithfulness, mercy, and favor. It encompasses God’s generous compassion, grace, and mercy toward a people who could never earn it and who could never deserve it. 

In Psalm 36, David cries, “How precious is your steadfast love, O God!” The steadfast love of our Lord is precious, of great value, costly. It is free to us, but came at a high cost: the cost of the precious blood of Christ (1Peter 1:18-19). As we pray through Psalm 36, let’s rest and rejoice in the steadfast love of the Lord that extends to the heavens and has extended toward us for forgiveness of sin, giving us drink from the river of His delights, and will continue toward us for all eternity. 

Forsake the Way of the Wicked

36:1-4 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. 
Lord, I pray:
▫️I ask for forgiveness this morning for the wickedness that I have spoken deep in my heart, that no one knows but You. What sin am I trying to hide, ignore, or be lazy about? What steps can I take to put that sin to death and clothe myself in Christlikeness?
▫️Help me, Lord, to fear You because that is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7) and it will cause me to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13).
▫️Lord, help me to sense my own sin and confess and forsake it. 
▫️Let me not lie to myself that I can hide my sin and it not be found out.
▫️Let me not be like the wicked whose words are trouble and deceit, and he does not act wisely or do good. Rather help me to desire obedience, gracious words, wisdom, and righteousness.

Feast on His Abundance

36:5-9 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. 
Lord, I praise You:
▫️Your steadfast love extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds.
▫️Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, and Your judgments are like the great deep.
▫️You are my Savior, deliverer, place of refuge and safety, my guide, and my helper. 

Lord, I pray:
▫️I would recognize and rejoice in the fact that Your steadfast love is precious.
▫️I would use my privilege as Your child to take refuge in You and in the shadow of Your wing. I would not try and figure things out myself, resist Your care of me, or rebel against Your ways, but rather I would come directly to You in times of trouble and quiet my soul in Your care.
▫️I would feast on the abundance of spiritual blessings I have in Christ. What spiritual blessing can I be thankful for?
▫️I would drink deeply of the river of Your delights, delighting myself in You and the many splendid gifts You freely give us to enjoy. What can I be thankful for this morning and delight myself in, knowing it is a good gift from my Father?
▫️You are the source, the fountain of life, and I have life because of You. Help me to draw my strength from You that I may live abundantly wherever You have placed me.
▫️Fill me with the light of truth, that I may be a light wherever I go.

His Continuing, Steadfast Love

36:10-12 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. There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.
Lord, I pray:
▫️Continue Your faithful, steadfast love toward me: teaching me, training me, pruning me that I may bear much fruit for Your glory.
▫️Increase my knowledge of who You are, for I know that through the true knowledge of You, Your divine power has granted to me everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
▫️You would continue to perfect the work You began in me, conforming me to the image of Christ, having given me His righteousness that I may walk blamelessly and uprightly.
▫️Help me to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares me that I may run with endurance the race You have set before me, fixing my eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2).

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 36 quoted from the ESV.

Photo credit to kalenemsley

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