Psalm 36

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 36:4

He deviseth mischief upon his bed - He seeks the silent and undisturbed watches of the night, in order to fix his plans of wickedness. He setteth himself - Having laid his plans he fixes his purpose to do what is bad; and he does it without any checks of conscience or abhorrence of evil. He is bent only on mischief, and lost to all sense of God and goodness. A finished character of a perfect sinner. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 36:5

Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens - That is, thou art abundant, infinite in thy mercy; else such transgressors must be immediately cut off; but thy long-suffering is intended to lead them to repentance. Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds - שחקים עד ad shechakim , to the eternal regions; above all visible space. God's faithfulness binds him to fulfill the promises and covenants made by his mercy. Blessings from the heavens, from the clouds, from the earth, are promised by... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 36:6

Thy righteousness is like the great mountains - אל כהררי keharerey El , like the mountains of God; exceeding high mountains; what, in the present language of geology, would be called primitive mountains, those that were formed at the beginning; and are not the effects of earthquakes or inundations, as secondary and alluvial mountains are supposed to be. Thy judgments are a great deep - רבה תהום tehom rabbah , the great abyss; as incomprehensible as the great chaos, or first... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 36:7

How excellent is thy loving-kindness - He asks the question in the way of admiration; but expects no answer from angels or men. It is indescribably excellent, abundant, and free; and, "therefore, the children of Adam put their trust under the shadow of thy wings." They trust in thy good providence for the supply of their bodies; they trust in thy mercy for the salvation of their souls. These, speaking after the figure, are the two wings of the Divine goodness, under which the children of men... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 36:8

They shall be abundantly satisfied - ירוין yirveyun , they shall be saturated, as a thirsty field is by showers from heaven. Inebriaduntur, they shall be inebriated - Vulgate. That sal be drunken of the plenteuoste of thi house. - Old Psalter. This refers to the joyous expectation they had of being restored to their own land, and to the ordinances of the temple. Of the river of thy pleasures - אדניך נחל nachal adaneycha , (or עדנך edencha , as in four MSS)., the river of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 36:9

For with thee is the fountain of life - This, in Scripture phrase, may signify a spring of water; for such was called among the Jews living water, to distinguish it from ponds, tanks, and reservoirs, that were supplied by water either received from the clouds, or conducted into them by pipes and streams from other quarters. But there seems to be a higher allusion in the sacred text. חיים מקור עמך כי ki immecha mekor chaiyim , "For with thee is the vein of lives." Does not this allude to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 36:10

O continue thy loving-kindness - Literally, "Draw out thy mercy." The allusion to the spring is still kept up. Unto them that know thee - To them who acknowledge thee in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. And thy righteousness - That grace which justifies the ungodly, and sanctifies the unholy. To the upriabt in heart - לב לישרי levishrey leb , to the straight of heart; to those who have but one end in view, and one aim to that end. This is true of every... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 36:11

Let not the foot of pride come against me - Let me not be trampled under foot by proud and haughty men. Let not the hand of the wicked remove me - תנדני tenideni , shake me, or cause me to wander. Both these verses may have immediate respect to the captives in Babylon. The Jews were, when compared with the Babylonians, the people that knew God; for in Jewry was God known, Psalm 76:1 ; and the psalmist prays against the treatment which the Jews had received from the proud and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 36:12

There are the workers of iniquity fallen - There, in Babylon, are the workers of iniquity fallen, and so cast down that they shall not be able to rise. A prophecy of the destruction of the Babylonish empire by Cyrus. That it was destroyed, is an historical fact; that they were never able to recover their liberty, is also a fact; and that Babylon itself is now blotted out of the map of the universe, so that the site of it is no longer known, is confirmed by every traveler who has passed over... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 36:1

Verse 1 1.Ungodliness saith to the wicked in the midst of my heart Commentators are not agreed as to the interpretation of the first verse. Literally it is, The saying [or speech ]of transgression, or rather, Transgression saith to the wicked As, however, the letter ל , lamed, is in Hebrew sometimes used for מן , min, some translate it thus, Ungodliness or transgression speaketh of the wicked in my heart; as if the prophet had said, I clearly perceive from the wickedness which the ungodly... read more

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