By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text: Psalm
36
Psalm
36:5-6
Your
mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the [b]great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
(NKJV)
In Acts
17:6, those preaching the Gospel are accused of turning the world upside down.
The truth is, those preaching the Gospel are returning the world to Godliness,
the state the world was created to exist in. Because the world is in an upside-down
state, it can appear that evil and ungodliness thrive while the Godly are
persecuted. Psalm
36 and the account of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke
16:19-31) tell us of the eternal state of the evil and the righteous,
letting us know that the wicked will spend eternity in torment while the
righteous will thrive.
David begins this psalm
by letting us know it is an oracle within his heart concerning the
transgression of the wicked where there is no fear of God (Psalm
36:1). The wicked flatter themselves with their own eyes and when
confronted with their iniquity, turn to hatred (Psalm
36:2). The wicked person’s words are full of wickedness and deceit with him
ceasing to be wise or good (Psalm
36:3). He devises wickedness on his bed and takes a path that is not good
and does not abhor evil (Psalm
36:4)
In contrast the Lord’s
mercy is in the heavens with His faithfulness reaching to the clouds (Psalm
36:5). The Lord’s righteousness is like the great mountains with his
judgments a great deep, preserving man and beast (Psalm
36:6). The lovingkindness of the Lord is precious with the children of men
putting their trust under the shadow of its wings (Psalm
36:7). Those choosing to dwell under the shadow of the Lord’s sings are
satisfied with the fullness of His house and drink from the river of His pleasures
(Psalm
36:8). The Lord is the fountain of life and in His light, we see light (Psalm
36:9).
David asks the Lord to
continue his lovingkindness to those that know him and His righteousness to the
upright in heart (Psalm
36:10). David asks that the foot of the proud not come against him and to
not let the hand of the wicked drive him away (Psalm
36:11). The workers of iniquity have fallen with no hope they will be able
to rise (Psalm
36:12). The wicked are destined to fall with the upright destined to thrive.
In a fallen world, it can
appear that the wicked are succeeding with those doing good oppressed, but if
we consider things from an eternal perspective, the righteous prevail. In the account
of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke
16:19-31), Jesus provides a glimpse into what happens to both an evil and a
righteous person after death. While some believe this account from Jesus to be
a parable, parables normally do not mention anyone by name, so it is most
likely a real account. In the physical world, the rich man lived luxuriously
while the righteous man lived as a beggar.
After their death, the
scene switches, and we see what happened to these men after their deaths. The
once rich man lives tormented in Hades, begging Abraham for water to cool his
tongue (Luke
16:24). Abraham tells the rich man that while he was alive, he lived in comfort
while Lazarus was tormented and that after death the tables are turned (Luke
16:25). This is a picture of what occurs after death with the righteous
comforted and the unrighteous tormented.
Jesus gave the Church a
simple mission before departing to sit at the right hand of God the Father, to take
the message of the Gospel to the world (Acts
1:8; Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). Sounds simple enough, but since the
Church functions in a fallen world and is in spiritual warfare for the souls of
people, the enemy, Satan, attempts to derail the Church from its appointed
mission. Instead of preaching the message of the Gospel, churches preach a feel-good
self-help message to attract people and contributions. This has resulted in a
prosperity gospel teaching that if you want anything, just claim it and give
money to their church, and you will receive it. While God does promise to meet
our needs (Philippians
4:13), it does not mean He will give us everything we want. God is a good
Father who is interested in the well-being of His children, but He does not
want to spoil them. The Church must stay on its God given mission and not give in
to the temptation to water down the message in the interest of church growth.
While living
unrighteously may result in riches and fame in this world, it leads to torment for
eternity in the world to come. If you are reading this and are currently living
a life that seeks the riches and fame offered by the world, I urge you to
change course and begin living a life for Christ. This change of life course
begins by making Jesus the Lord of your life. I invite you to pray with me now
and begin this turnaround.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23)
and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe
you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
May God convict,
challenge, and bless everyone reading this post.
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