---
title: "Clarke"
description: "The title in the Hebrew is, To the conqueror, to the servant of Jehovah, to David. The Syriac and Arabic suppose it to have been composed on occasion of S"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/psalms/36"
---

The *title* in the Hebrew is, *To the conqueror, to the servant of* *Jehovah, to David*. The *Syriac* and *Arabic* suppose it to have been composed on occasion of Saul's persecution of David. *Calmet* supposes, on good grounds, that it was written during the Babylonish captivity. It is one of the finest Psalms in the whole collection.
Verse [Psalms 36:1](../../../kjv/psalms/36/1). ***The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart*** — It is difficult to make any sense of this line as it now stands. How can *the transgression of the wicked speak within my heart*? But instead of לבי *libbi, MY heart*, four of *Kennicott's* and *De* *Rossi's* MSS. have לבו *libbo, HIS heart*. "The speech of transgression to the wicked is in the midst of his heart." "There is no fear of God before his eyes." It is not by *example* that such a person sins; the *fountain* that sends forth the impure streams is *in his own heart*. There the spirit of transgression lives and reigns; and, as he has no *knowledge* of God, so he has no *fear of* *God*; therefore, there is no check to his wicked propensities: all come to full effect. Lust is conceived, sin is brought forth vigorously, and transgression is multiplied. The reading above proposed, and which should be adopted, is supported by the *Vulgate, Septuagint, Syriac, AEthiopic, Arabic*, and *Anglo-Saxon*. This latter reads the sentence thus: [Anglo-Saxon]; which I shall give as nearly as possible in the order of the original. "Quoth the unrightwise, that he do guilt in himself: is not fear God's at fore eyes his." That is, The unrighteous man saith in himself that he will sin: God's fear is not before his eyes. The old *Psalter*, in *language* as well as *meaning*, comes very near to the Anglo-Saxon: *The unrightwis saide that he trespas in hym self: the* *drede of God es noght before his een*. And thus it paraphrases the passage: *The unryghtwis*, that es the kynde [the whole generation] of wyked men; *saide in hym self*, qwar man sees noght; *that he* *trespas*, that es, he synne at his wil, als [as if] God roght noght [did not care] qwat he did; and so it es sene, *that the drede of* *God es noght by fore his een*; for if he dred God, he durst noght so say."
I believe these *versions* give the true sense of the passage. The psalmist here paints the true state of the *Babylonians*: they were *idolaters* of the grossest kind, and worked iniquity with greediness. The account we have in the book of *Daniel* of this people, exhibits them in the worst light; and profane history confirms the account. Bishop *Horsley* thinks that the word פשע *pesha*, which we render *transgression*, signifies the *apostate* or *devil*. *The devil says to the wicked, within his heart, There is* *no fear*; i.e., no cause of fear: "God is not before his eyes." Placing the colon after *fear* takes away all ambiguity in connection with the reading HIS *heart*, already contended for. The *principle of transgression, sin in the heart, says*, or suggests to every *sinner, there is no cause for fear*: go on, do not fear, for there is no danger. He obeys this suggestion, goes on, and acts wickedly, as "God is not before his eyes."

Verse [Psalms 36:2](../../../kjv/psalms/36/2). ***For he flattereth himself*** — He is ruled by the suggestion already mentioned; endeavours to persuade himself that he may safely follow the propensities of his own heart, *until his* *iniquity be found to be hateful*. He sins so boldly, that at last he becomes detestable. Some think the words should be thus understood: "He smootheth over in his own eyes with respect to the finding out of his iniquity, to hate it. That is, he sets such a false gloss in his own eyes upon his worst actions, that he never finds out the blackness of his iniquity; which were it perceived by him, would be hateful even to himself." - Bishop *Horsley*.

Verse [Psalms 36:3](../../../kjv/psalms/36/3). ***The words of his mouth are iniquity*** — In the principle; *and deceit* calculated to pervert others, and lead them astray.
***He hath left off to be wise*****, and*****to do good.*** — His heart is become foolish, and his actions wicked. He has cut off the connection between himself and all righteousness.

Verse [Psalms 36:4](../../../kjv/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.

Verse [Psalms 36:5](../../../kjv/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*** — עד שחקים *ad* *shechakim*, to the eternal regions; above all visible space. God's *faithfulness* binds him to fulfil the *promises* and *covenants* made by his mercy. Blessings from the *heavens*, from the *clouds*, from the *earth*, are promised by God to his followers; and his *faithfulness* is in all those places, to distribute to his followers the mercies he has promised.

Verse [Psalms 36:6](../../../kjv/psalms/36/6). ***Thy righteousness*****is*****like the great mountains.*** — כהררי אל *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*** — תהום רבה *tehom rabbah, the* *great abyss*; as incomprehensible as the *great chaos*, or first matter of all things which God created in the beginning, and which is mentioned [Genesis 1:2](../../../kjv/genesis/1/2), *and darkness was on the face*, תהום tehom, of the deep, the vast profound, or what is *below all* conjecturable *profundity*. How astonishing are the thoughts in these two verses! What an idea do they give us of the mercy, truth, righteousness, and judgments of God!
The old *Psalter*, in paraphrasing *mountains of God*, says, *Thi* *ryghtwisnes*, that es, ryghtwis men, er gastly hilles of God; for that er hee in contemplacioun, and soner resayves the lyght of Crist. Here is a metaphor taken from the *tops* of *mountains* and *high hills* first catching the *rays of the rising sun*. "Righteous men are spiritual hills of God; for they are *high* in contemplation, and *sooner* receive the *light of Christ*." It is really a very fine thought; and much beyond the rudeness of the times in which this Psalter was written.
***Man and beast.*** — Doth God take care of cattle? Yes, he appoints the lions their food, and hears the cry of the young ravens; and will he not provide for the poor, especially the poor of his people? He will. So infinitely and intensely good is the nature of God, that it is his delight to make all his creatures happy. He preserves the *man*, and he preserves the *beast*; and it is his providence which supplies the *man*, when his propensities and actions level him with the *beasts* that perish.

Verse [Psalms 36:7](../../../kjv/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 take refuge. The allusion may be to the *wings of the cherubim*, above the mercy-seat.

Verse [Psalms 36:8](../../../kjv/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.*** — נחל אדניך *nachal adaneycha*, (or עדנך *edencha*, as in four MSS.,) *the river of thy Eden*. They shall be restored to their paradisaical estate; for here is a reference to the *river* that ran through the *garden of Eden, and* *watered it*; [Genesis 2:10](../../../kjv/genesis/2/10). Or the *temple*, and under it the *Christian Church*, may be compared to this *Eden*; and the *gracious influences of God* to be had in his *ordinances*, to the *streams* by which that *garden* was *watered*, and its fertility promoted.

Verse [Psalms 36:9](../../../kjv/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. כי עמך מקור חיים *ki immecha mekor chaiyim*, "For with thee is the vein of lives." Does not this allude to the great *aorta*, which, receiving the blood from the heart, distributes it by the arteries to every part of the human body, whence it is conducted back to the heart by means of the *veins*. As the *heart*, by means of the great *aorta*, distributes the blood to the remotest parts of the body; so, GOD, by Christ Jesus, conveys the life-giving streams of his providential goodness to all the worlds and beings he has created, and the influences of his grace and mercy to every soul that has sinned. All spiritual and temporal good comes *from* Him, the FATHER, *through* Him, the SON, to every part of the creation of God.
***In thy light shall we see light.*** — No man can illuminate his own soul; all understanding must come from above. Here the metaphor is changed, and God is compared to the *sun* in the firmament of heaven, that gives light to all the *planets* and their *inhabitants*. "God said, Let there be light; and there was light; "by that light the eye of man was enabled to behold the various works of God, and the beauties of creation: so, when God speaks light into the dark heart of man, he not only beholds his own deformity and need of the salvation of God, but he beholds the "light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ;" "God, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself." "In thy light shall we see light." This is literally true, both in a spiritual and philosophical sense.

Verse [Psalms 36:10](../../../kjv/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 upright in heart.*** — לישרי לב *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 genuine *penitent*, and of every true *believer*.

Verse [Psalms 36:11](../../../kjv/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*, [Psalms 76:1](../../../kjv/psalms/76/1); and the psalmist prays against the treatment which the Jews had received from the proud and insolent Babylonians during the *seventy* years of their captivity: "Restore us to our own land; and let not the proud foot or the violent hand ever *remove us from our country* and its *blessings; the temple*, and its *ordinances*."

Verse [Psalms 36:12](../../../kjv/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 traveller who has passed over those regions.
The word שם *sham*, THERE, has been applied by many of the fathers to the *pride* spoken of in the preceding verse. *There*, in or by pride, says *Augustine*, do all sinners perish. *There*, in heaven, have the evil angels fallen through pride, says St. *Jerome*. *There*, in paradise, have our first parents fallen, through pride and disobedience. *There*, in hell, have the proud and disobedient angels been precipitated. - *Eusebius*, c. THERE, by pride, have the *persecutors* brought God's judgments upon themselves. See *Calmet*. But the first interpretation is the best.
The object of this Psalm is to implore God, out of his goodness, that he would deliver the upright from the pride and malice of the wicked.
I. The psalmist sets down the character of a wicked man, and his fearful state, [Psalms 36:1-5](../../../kjv/psalms/36/1-5).
II. He makes a narrative in commendation of God's mercy, [Psalms 36:6-10](../../../kjv/psalms/36/6-10).
III. He prays for a continuance of God's goodness to his people, petitions against his proud enemy, and exults at his fall, [Psalms 36:10-12](../../../kjv/psalms/36/10-12).
I. The character of a wicked man: -
1. "There is no fear of God before his eyes" and from this, as an evil root, all the other evils spring: and thus he enters on an induction of particulars.
2. "He flattereth himself in his own eyes." A great sin, in his eyes, is no sin: vice is virtue; falsehood, truth.
3. In this he continues, "until his iniquity be found to be hateful;" - till God, by some heavy judgment, has passed his sentence against it.
4. He is full of hypocrisy and deceit; "the words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit;" he gives goodly words, but evil is in his heart.
5. He has renounced all wisdom and goodness: "He hath left off to be wise, and to do good."
6. He enters deliberately and coolly into evil plans and designs: 1. "He deviseth mischief upon his bed." 2. "He sets himself (of firm purpose) in the way that is not good. 3. "He abhors not evil." He invents wickedness; he labours to perfect it; yea, though it be of the deepest stain, he abhors it not.
II. How comes it that such wicked men are permitted to live? How is it that God can bear patiently with such workers of iniquity? The psalmist answers this question by pointing out God's mercy, from which this long-suffering proceeds; which he considers in a *twofold* point of view: 1. *Absolute* and *general*, extending to all. 2. *Particular*, which is exhibited to the faithful only.
1. *General*. God is good to all; which is seen in his bountifulness, fidelity, justice; and in his preservation of all things: 1. "Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens." Thou preservest them. Thy *faithfulness* reacheth *unto the clouds*. They water the earth, as thou hast promised. 3. "Thy righteousness is like the great mountains." Immovable. 4. "Thy judgments are a great deep." Unsearchable, and past finding out. 5. "Thou Lord, preservest man and beast." In thee we live, move, and have our being.
2. In *particular*. He is especially careful of his followers. The providence by which he sustains them is, 1. A precious thing: "O, how excellent (quam pretiosa) how precious is thy loving-kindness, O Lord!" The operation of which, in behalf of the faithful, is hope, confidence, and comfort in distress: "Therefore the children of men shall put their trust under the shadow," c. 2. The effects of this, the plenty of all good things prepared for them: 1. "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the goodness of thy house." 2. "Thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures." To which he adds the cause: "For with thee is the fountain of life in thy light we shall see light."
III. He concludes with a *prayer*, 1. For all God's people. 2. For himself.
1. He prays that this excellent and precious mercy may light on all those who serve God sincerely: "O continue thy loving-kindness to them that know thee."
2. He *prays* for himself; that he may be defended from the pride and violence of wicked men: "Let not the foot of pride come against me; and let not the hand of the wicked remove me."
3. Lastly, he closes all with this exultation: "There are the workers of iniquity fallen!" There, when they promised themselves peace and security, and said, Tush! no harm shall happen to us; *there* and *then* are they fallen: "They are cast down, and shall not be able to rise."

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