His Love Reaches to the Heavens and Justice to the Great Deep (Psalm 36)

An oracle is within my heart

concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:

There is no fear of God before his eyes.

For in his own eyes he flatters himself

too much to detect or hate his sin.

The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;

he has ceased to be wise and to do good.

Even on his bed he plots evil;

he commits himself to a sinful course

and does not reject what is wrong.

Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

O Lord, you preserve both man and beast,

How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men

find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

They feast on the abundance of your house;

you give them drink from your river of delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we see light.

Continue your love to those who know you,

your righteousness to the upright in heart.

May the foot of the proud not come against me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

See how the evildoers lie fallen - 

thrown down, not able to rise!

Have you ever read something in His Word and hoped you would find meaning the first time and, for some reason, come up with nothing?  And then you try again and find it hits you square in the face?  I'm sure it is only His grace that this happens and hopefully it is His truth and not your own desires you aim to please.

This is me.  At first, reading Psalm 36 seemed obscure, a bit disjointed, and left me feeling How peculiar?  How does David go from the wicked cannot see their own sin through their great boasting and then immediately, like a light switch, move to God's unfailing love?  It feels like I'm on a train heading westward and then, out of the blue, we hit a railroad switch and now we're heading east.  What just happened?

Then, I read it again...and it hits.  I've been there.  I've been that wicked person, desiring only my sin, seeking after praise, loving my boasting.  I've nearly forgotten the times years ago when evil and depravity wanted to take me to the pit, a place where I was comfortable being in mire because my sin was all I wanted.  These people - me - I would despise.  Yes, right now I would despise the man I was years ago.  If the 'me' of today saw the 'me' of years ago [or insert another time frame] right now, I would despise him!  He would make me sick and in my selfishness I would harbor no grace or mercy for him.  But... God would.  And we hit the railroad switch!... and I see that even though I was heading to the destination called Darkness, God intervened, cleansed me, turned me toward His glorious Light, and invited me to take part in His goodness.

Why?  What did I do to deserve His riches?  What did I do to earn His mercy and to enjoy the shadow of his refuge?  What makes me so special that I can drink from His river of delights or feast on the abundance of His house?

Nothing.  I did nothing.  He intervened.  He rescued me.  I did absolutely nothing...but surrender.

And that, to me, is incredible!  I could have continued to love my sin and wallow in my own version of a glorious human pride and it would be my decision to reject Him.  But, He is inviting me not because I have earned it.  He's inviting me because I am His...I am His creation and He longs for me even when I don't know I need it.

This is why His love reaches to the heavens and His justice to the great deep!  He is mighty in both His justice and His love; neither can be separated from His indescribable character.