Sin proceeds from wickedness

¹ I have a message from God in my heart
    concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:^[b]
There is no fear of God
    before their eyes.

² In their own eyes they flatter themselves
    too much to detect or hate their sin.
³ The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful;
    they fail to act wisely or do good.
⁴ Even on their beds they plot evil;
    they commit themselves to a sinful course
    and do not reject what is wrong.

Psalms 36: 1-4

In this Psalm we see a picture of what wickedness truly is. If you bear with me, I would like to unpack each verse and discuss the characteristics of what the Bible says the wicked means:

1. No fear of God before their eyes (verse 1): Why do any of us sin? Because we desire the sin more than the consequence. If we truly fear God, we would not sin. Would we ever speed if we knew every time we would get a ticket? The picture in this Psalm however is more than a Christian who struggles with sin but refers to the “wicked.” Those who do not care about doing right. Those far removed from the thought of serving God rather than man. As Christians we may sin, but we fear God. We work towards knowing God more and his fullness, something that separates us from the definition of the “wicked” in the OT.

2.  Flatters himself (verse 2): The definition of flatter is to give an unrealistic favorable impression of one’s self. To make yourself feel honored and pleased. To lavish insincere praise and compliments on one’s self, especially to further one’s own interest. The wicked person flatters themselves to the point of being unable to detect or hate their own sin. This is evident in our own time. We see a world that loves to flaunt themselves regarding what they deem as their right in their own eyes when in reality they give an unrealistic favorable impression of themselves that give a pride that refuses to see their own sin.

3. Words wicked and deceitful (verse 3): Here are the traits of the world. Those who are wicked and have no fear of God. Their very words are wicked. Wicked being that which is not righteous or that which is wrong. So, their words are filled with what is wrong. Also, we see their words are filled with deceit. Trying to convince others that sin is not so bad. That their way is the true light and the righteous are wrong. This is the picture from the Biblical side. But, on the other side of the wicked, they see themselves as right, as righteous, as doing what is good. They point back at the righteous to condemn us, even with words of deceit.

4. Ceases to do good (verse 3): This is an interested verse. Ceasing to do good to me means they just give up. They quite fighting any hope of good in themselves and give wholly over to sin. Romans tells us that they gave themselves over to a “depraved” mind. I like to think when a Christian back-slides or finds themselves in a situation where they should not be, they hold on to that which they know and that which they were taught, fighting to keep hope alive that the road back to God is through repentance. The wicked are then those who have given up the fight and let the darkness of sin take a hold of them until there is no light left.

5. Always plotting evil, even on his own bed. I think of laying in bed as a time to collect your thoughts. To review your day, and to truly think about who and what you are. Here in the moment of true reflection, we see the wicked not only refusing to see their own wickedness, but plotting more wickedness.

6. Commits himself to a sinful course. (verse 4): To go through life reactively is easy. To let life push you along and react to the moment. As Christians, we find it harder to be proactive and make decisive decisions that will change our future direction. Decisions to pray, read the Word, reach out in grace to others, and so on. This is committing oneself. We do this not only in our spiritual walk but also at work and with family. Now, in this verse we see the wicked doing the same thing but in the wrong direction. They are not just going to let sin dictate to them where to go, they are going to control sin in their lives to enable a life that takes the sinful life to it’s fullest potential.

7. Does not reject what is wrong. (verse 4b): It is no wonder after looking at the prior list that the wicked do not reject what is wrong. Why would they? They want to pursue it, love it, and take every opportunity to cuddle with it. No, rejecting wrong is not in the code of conduct for the wicked. This is a reminder that in life we are constantly moving towards God or away from God. We cannot be still. We must make a conscious decision to move toward God everyday.