Psalms 36:3-6

3 The words of his mouth are ¹trouble and deceit; ²he has ceased to act wisely and do good.

4 He ³plots ⁴trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in ⁵a way that is not good; ⁶he does not reject evil.

5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.

6 ⁷Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; ⁸your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you ⁹save, O LORD.

Psalms 36:3-6 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, [a Psalm] of David, the servant of the Lord. This title, which the psalmist takes to himself, regards him not only as a creature, every man being the servant of the Lord as such, of right, though not in fact; but as a king, he being a minister of God for good to good men, and for evil to evil men; and also may respect him as a renewed man; and it is here used in opposition to and distinction from the wicked, who are the servants of sin and Satan, of whom he speaks in this psalm. The Syriac and Arabic versions in their titles suggest that this psalm was written when David was persecuted by Saul, and which is the sense of some interpreters; but R. Obadiah thinks Ahithophel is designed by the wicked man in it; and so it was penned on account of Absalom's rebellion.

Cross References

• 1. [Psalms 12:2]
• 2. [Jeremiah 4:22]
• 3. Micah 2:1; [Proverbs 4:16]
• 4. Psalms 10:7
• 5. Isaiah 65:2
• 6. [Psalms 97:10]
• 7. [Psalms 71:19]
• 8. Psalms 92:5; Romans 11:33
• 9. Psalms 104:14, 15; Psalms 145:9, 15, 16; Nehemiah 9:6