Psalm 36 (with intoduction of Psalm)

Friday 26^th, august, 2016

1) Who is the wiched ?
The wicked is he who measures himself, he flatters himself in his own eyes. Apparently, he is i

ntelligent and erudite, but he is stupid before God. He is self-satisfied and doesn't see the need to 

believe in God. He is compromising: man who does not totally reject evil.

2) God's steadfast love. God's love, long and large, is priceless. Sometimes God hides his face, but his

steadfast love extends to the heavens. His salvation is large, covers not only men but also beasts. God 

is the founatain of life, he is light. The psalmist is greatly inspired by the immense love of God that c

overs all the wickedness of men. David was overwhelmed but he saw beyond, he saw the immense love 

of God who always remains the same. David doesn't defend himself with a sense of revenge, he makes 

a plea so that God's name is not reduced, but exalted by the manifestation of his righteousness.

John Calvin cites Psalm 36 in his book Institutes of the Christian Religion. He speaks about the 

wickedness of men who deny the existence of God. For to know the Lord, we must know mankind. 

We must know the two in parallel. The knowledge of God is naturally rooted in the mind of mankind. 

Religion is a universal fact, all men recognize that there is an absolute. Calvin said that unbelief is 

impossible. But this knowledge is stifled, corrupted by ignorance and by human wickedness. It takes 

four forms: 1) superstition : it is a seed of religion in the heart, but 1 out of 100 germinates but no one 

fructifies, because there is no piety on earth. 2) The deliberate denial: men strive to reject God's even 

if their instinct revives these thoughts incessantly. They have a false peace. 3) God is not shaped 

according to our ideas : here he speaks about idolatry. 4) Hypocrisy.

When we read Psalms, we have the feeling of wandering in a forest, because Psalms seem like a lake 

that reflects changing human feelings, but it's not like that. Psalms go with us as a friend, which revives 

us, consoles us, strengthens us. Each psalm contains a great truth.
We can divide the Psalms into five parts. 
Part I: Psalm 1 to 41, writted by David. Like Genesis, they deal with the reality of man. What is man? 

How man is evil, and who is the righteous man. 
Part II: 42-72. Like Exodus, they deal with the delivrance. 
Part III: 73-89. Like Leviticus, they talk about the temple, the sanctuary. They are written by Asaph. 
Part IV: 90-106. Like the prayer of Moses, they speak of a time without wickedness, the kingdom of 

God. 
Part V: 107-150. Like Deuteronomy, they talk about thanksgiving for the faithfulness of God, the Word 

of God repeated (119). They are written by an anonymous author, but perhaps Ezra and Nehemiah r

eturned from Babylon. 
To conclude, various authors have written the psalms, each book corresponds to the Pentateuch.