Light Day 2: Psalm 36:1-9

The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil. Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. ~ Psalm 36:1-9

This passage gives a striking contrast: the lifestyle of the sinner and the goodness of God. Our sinful flesh inclines to lifting up ourselves: flattering ourselves, not fearing God because we think we’re good enough, walking in our own self-will and iniquity, speaking only to forward our personal goals, walking in fleshly wisdom and goodness instead of true wisdom and goodness, making plans to forward our selfish desires, pursuing fleshly dreams, and becoming desensitized to evil.

Yet if only we would continually fix our eyes upon our mighty God, we would see such a different picture, one both refreshing and empowering. He is goodness; He is infinite mercy; He is faithfulness; He is righteousness; He is perfect satisfaction. The darkness of a selfish life fades to its true insufficiency by the side of the goodness of God.

“Mercy” and “lovingkindness” in this passage are both translated from the Hebrew word hesed, meaning steadfast covenant love. This is the covenant love that reaches out to us in our fleshly state and draws us to Himself. He has made a covenant with us of life and peace, and He is always and eternally faithful to keep both sides of this covenant. It is only because of the infinite greatness of this covenant love that when we place our trust unreservedly in Him, He is 100% faithful to keep us walking in His covenant and implanting His own covenant love and righteousness in our lives. Covenant love is God’s very nature.

And as we abide in this covenant love, we indeed are abundantly satisfied with the richness of dwelling in Him. Pursuing our own selfish dreams and goals, we cannot even begin to imagine the vastness of the riches of His house and the depth of the river of His pleasures. As Psalm 21 joyfully reminds us:

The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah. For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever. His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance. ~ Psalm 21:1-6

All this flows from the fountain of Life found in Him. “In thy light shall we see light” – this passage brings to mind a picture of gazing into a clear, sparkling fountain bubbling over into a peaceful pool on a bright day, the numerous refractions of light dazzling our eyes – yet the more we continue to look, the more facets of light we see, continually changing yet always the same. He is a neverending well of light – the deeper we go into Him, the more light we find. The more we gaze on the light of Jesus’ countenance, the more facets of the Father’s Light we see and the more intimately we come to know and live in Him!

How have you seen light in His light in your own life?