Psalms 36:5

THE LOVINGKINDNESS OF GOD

"Thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, is in the heavens;

Thy faithfulness reaches unto the skies.

Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God;

Thy judgments are a great deep:

O Jehovah, thou preservest man and beast.

How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God!

And the children of men take refuge under the shadow of thy wings.

They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house;

And thou wilt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.

For with thee is the fountain of life:

In thy light shall we see light."

"Thy faithfulness reaches unto the skies" (Psalms 36:5). No matter how depraved and wicked men may be, the contrasting glory of God is here set over against it. "God's covenant faithfulness is seen everywhere on earth and also towers into the very heavens."[12]

"Thy faithfulness" (Psalms 36:5) "... thy righteousness" (Psalms 36:6). "The righteousness of God is here distinguished from his faithfulness. His faithfulness is governed by his promises, and his righteousness is determined by his holiness."[13]

"Thou preserveth man and beast" (Psalms 36:6). "There is not a man nor a beast in the whole earth that is uncared for by the Lord."[14] Jesus himself taught the same thing, declaring with reference to sparrows, "That not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God" (Luke 12:6).

"Mountains of God ... a great deep" (Psalms 36:6). "In these verses, all that is infinite, sublime, and unfathomable in nature is made emblematic of the perfections of Jehovah."[15]

Note also in these verses that (1) God takes care of his Covenant people; (2) he cares for man and beast; and (3) he is the God of "all men," not merely of the Jews. This is powerfully indicated in the next verse.

"How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge under the shadow of thy wings" (Psalms 36:7). The word here rendered God is [~'Elohiym], the God of all men. In passages where his relationship to the Covenant people is considered, Jehovah is used. Although sometimes used interchangeably, there is often a special reason for the choice of one or the other. As Leupold said, "God is here most appropriately designated as [~'Elohiym], because he is regarded as the Father of all the children of men, and not Israel's only."[16]

"They shall be satisfied ... and ... drink of the river of thy pleasures" (Psalms 36:8). "The word here rendered `pleasures' (`delights' in the KJV) comes from the same root as the word Eden, the Paradise of God."[17] The meaning is that God's people shall have an abundance of all joys and satisfactions, suggestive of the very Garden of Eden itself.

"In thy light shall we see light" (Psalms 36:9). What a shame that the world rushes on in the gathering shadows, still neglecting its only true source of light. Christ is "The Light of the World." In his light, that is, in the light of God's Word, men may see light. Otherwise, they shall continue to stumble and grope their way in the darkness.

"These words reveal a highly spiritual conception of the nature of man's fellowship with God, anticipating some of the loftiest teachings of the New Testament."[18] "In him (Christ) was life, and this life was the light of men" (John 1:4). "This is one of the most spiritual pictures of God in the whole Psalter."[19]