Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 36:12

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 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.

ANALYSIS OF THE THIRTY-SIXTH PSALM

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.

II. He makes a narrative in commendation of God's mercy, 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.

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."

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 36:0 Human sin and divine love

When people habitually do what they know is wrong, the principle of lawlessness takes control of their lives. It hardens their hearts against God and blinds their eyes to their own failures, so that they cannot see the terrible judgment for which they are heading (1-2). Their wrong attitude shows itself in deceitful speech, evil actions and mischievous plottings (3-4).
God, on the other hand, is characterized by covenant love that is limitless (5), acts of righteousness that are unshakable (6), and loving provision that is inexhaustible (7-9). Blessing awaits those who trust in his faithful love; devastating ruin, those who persist in their wickedness (10-12).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE CONCLUDING PRAYER

“Oh continue thy lovingkindness to them that know thee, And thy righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. There are the workers of iniquity fallen: They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.”

This beautiful prayer concludes the psalm.

“Let not the foot of pride come against me” “This statement is considered as a mark of Davidic authorship, because, `Every Psalm of David that speaks of danger points to the pride of his enemies as the source of it.’“The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 276.

“There are the workers of iniquity fallen” David here seems to see in a kind of vision the overthrow of the wicked. “Whereas the righteous may indeed fall into misfortune and recover themselves through God’s grace, the workers of iniquity, when their time comes to fall, will perish.”Ibid.

“There” The psalmist here speaks as if he indeed sees the fallen hosts of wickedness. Perhaps those are correct who see this as an example of, “The man of faith who endures as seeing the things that are invisible.”

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

There are the workers of iniquity fallen - The meaning of this seems to be, that the psalmist saw his prayer answered already. He speaks as if that which he desired and had prayed for was already done, and as if he himself saw it. He was so certain that it would be done, he had such an assurance that his prayer would be answered, that he seemed, by faith, to see the events already occurring before his own eyes, and felt that he might speak of what he prayed for as if it were already granted. Such is the nature of faith; and such strong confidence in God, and in his faithfulness to his promises, may all have who pray in faith. It is remarkable, as has been observed already in reference to the Psalms, how often a psalm begins in depression and ends in triumph; how often the author is desponding and sad as he surveys, at the beginning of the psalm, the troubles which surround him, and how in the progress of the psalm the clouds disperse; the mind becomes calm; and the soul becomes triumphant.

They are cast down, and shall not be able to rise - They are utterly overthrown. Their discomfiture is complete. They shall never be able to rally again. So faith looks on all enemies of truth and righteousness as hereafter to be utterly overthrown, and it regards this as so certain that it may speak already in the exulting language of victory. So certainly will all the spiritual foes of those who trust in God be vanquished - so certainly will the righteous triumph - that, on the wings of faith, they may look beyond all conflicts and struggles, and see the victory won, and break forth into songs of exulting praise. Faith often converts the promises into reality, and in the bright anticipations and the certain hopes of heaven sings and rejoices as if it were already in our possession - anticipating only by a few short days, weeks, or years, what will certainly be ours.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

12.There the workers of iniquity are fallen. Here he derives confidence from his prayer, not doubting that he has already obtained his request. And thus we see how the certainty of faith directs the saints to prayer. Besides, still farther to confirm his confidence and hope in God, he shows, as it were, by pointing to it with the finger, the certain destruction of the wicked, even though it lay as yet concealed in the future. In this respect, the adverb there ⁽¹³⁾ is not superfluous; for while the ungodly boast of their good fortune, and the world applaud them, David beholds by the eye of faith, as if from a watch-tower, their destruction, and speaks of it with as much confidence as if he had already seen it realised. That we also may attain a similar assurance, let us remember, that those who would hasten prematurely the time of God’s vengeance upon the wicked, according to the ardor of their desires, do indeed err, and that we ought to leave it to the providence of God to fix the period when, in his wisdom, he shall rise up to judgment. When it is said, They are thrust down, the meaning is, that they are agitated with doubt, and totter as in a slippery place, so that in the midst of their prosperity they have no security. Finally, it is added, that they shall fall into utter destruction, so that it can never be expected that they shall rise again.

(13) Heb. שם sham, there, that is, (pointing with the finger to a particular place,) see there! lo! the workers of iniquity are fallen. “It represents strongly before the eye,” says Mudge, “the downfall of the wicked. Upon the very spot where they practice their treachery, they receive their downfall.” A similar mode of expression occurs in Psalms 14:5

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 36:1-12

Psalms 36:1-12 :

The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise and to do good. He devises mischief upon his bed; he sets himself in the way that is not good; he does not hate evil. Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures ( Psalms 36:1-8 ).

Can you foresee that, "Drinking of the rivers of God's pleasure"?

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. O continue thy loving-kindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me. There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise ( Psalms 36:9-12 ).

And so the psalm you'll see in the first four verses, David is speaking again of the wicked and his enemies and the things that they were saying against him. And then in verse Psalms 36:5 , he turns to God, and to the mercy of the Lord, and the faithfulness of the Lord, and the righteousness of the Lord, and the judgments of the Lord, and the loving-kindness of God. And how blessed are those people who experience God's mercy and God's faithfulness and God's righteousness and His loving-kindness, but they shall be abundantly satisfied, drinking of the river of God's pleasures. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 36

This primarily wisdom psalm, with elements of individual lament and praise, contains an oracle that David received from the Lord concerning the wicked. In contrast to them, he rejoiced in the loyal love and righteousness of God. One writer titled his exposition of this psalm, "Man at His Worst, God at His Best." [Note: Armerding, p. 76.]

"This is a psalm of powerful contrasts, a glimpse of human wickedness at its most malevolent, and divine goodness in its many-sided fullness. Meanwhile the singer is menaced by the one and assured of victory by the other. Few psalms cover so great a range in so short a space." [Note: Kidner, p. 145.]

"The coexistence of three literary types within a poem of thirteen verses points up the limitations of the form-critical approach to the Psalter." [Note: Dahood, 1:218.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. Request concerning the future 36:10-12

David prayed in closing that God’s loyal love and righteousness would continue to captivate his affections so that the evil philosophy of the wicked would not win his heart. He wanted to abide in humble submission to the Lord rather than rising up in pride and disregarding Him. The ultimate end of the wicked would be destruction from which they could not recover.

"Our best defense against violence is still prayer." [Note: Leupold, p. 297.]

We may contemplate the two philosophies of life, espoused by the wicked and the God-fearing, as well as their consequences. The godly should appreciate the superiority of recognizing God and living in the light of His revealed character. Nevertheless, we should realize that the wicked person’s viewpoint is attractive, and we should guard against slipping into it.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

There are the workers, of iniquity fallen,.... Either in the pit they dug for others; or into hell, where they shall be turned at last; :- and

:-;

they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise; which will be the case of Babylon when fallen, Revelation 18:21, and this distinguishes the falls of the wicked from those of the righteous; for though the righteous fall, whether into sin, or into any calamity, they rise again; not so the wicked; see Psalms 37:24; and thus, as the psalm begins with the transgression of the wicked, it ends with their ruin.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      5 Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.   6 Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.   7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.   8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.   9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.   10 O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.   11 Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.   12 There are the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast down, and shall not be able to rise.

      David, having looked round with grief upon the wickedness of the wicked, here looks up with comfort upon the goodness of God, a subject as delightful as the former was distasteful and very proper to be set in the balance against it. Observe,

      I. His meditations upon the grace of God. He sees the world polluted, himself endangered, and God dishonoured, by the transgressions of the wicked; but, of a sudden, he turns his eye, and heart, and speech, to God "However it be, yet thou art good." He here acknowledges,

      1. The transcendent perfections of the divine nature. Among men we have often reason to complain, There is no truth nor mercy, (Hosea 4:1), no judgment nor justice,Isaiah 5:7. But all these may be found in God without the least alloy. Whatever is missing, or amiss, in the world, we are sure there is nothing missing, nothing amiss, in him that governs it. (1.) He is a God of inexhaustible goodness: Thy mercy, O Lord! is in the heavens. If men shut up the bowels of their compassion, yet with God, at the throne of his grace, we shall find mercy. When men are devising mischief against us God's thoughts concerning us, if we cleave closely to him, are thoughts of good. On earth we meet with little content and a great deal of disquiet and disappointment; but in the heavens, where the mercy of God reigns in perfection and to eternity, there is all satisfaction; there therefore, if we would be easy, let us have our conversation, and there let us long to be. How bad soever the world is, let us never think the worse of God nor of his government; but, from the abundance of wickedness that is among men, let us take occasion, instead of reflecting upon God's purity, as if he countenanced sin, to admire his patience, that he bears so much with those that so impudently provoke him, nay, and causes his sun to shine and his rain to fall upon them. If God's mercy were not in the heavens (that is, infinitely above the mercies of any creature), he would, long ere this, have drowned the world again. See Isaiah 55:8; Isaiah 55:9; Hosea 11:9. (2.) He is a God of inviolable truth: Thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds. Though God suffers wicked people to do a great deal of mischief, yet he is and will be faithful to his threatenings against sin, and there will come a day when he will reckon with them; he is faithful also to his covenant with his people, which cannot be broken, nor one jot or tittle of the promises of it defeated by all the malice of earth and hell. This is matter of great comfort to all good people, that, though men are false, God is faithful; men speak vanity, but the words of the Lord are pure words. God's faithfulness reaches so high that it does not change with the weather, as men's does, for it reaches to the skies (so it should be read, as some think), above the clouds, and all the changes of the lower region. (3.) He is a God of incontestable justice and equity: Thy righteousness is like the great mountains, so immovable and inflexible itself and so conspicuous and evident to all the world; for no truth is more certain nor more plain than this, That the Lord is righteous in all his ways, and that he never did, nor ever will do, any wrong to any of his creatures. Even when clouds and darkness are round about him, yet judgment and justice are the habitation of his throne,Psalms 97:2. (4.) He is a God of unsearchable wisdom and design: "Thy judgments are a great deep, not to be fathomed with the line and plummet of any finite understanding." As his power is sovereign, which he owes not any account of to us, so his method is singular and mysterious, which cannot be accounted for by us: His way is in the sea and his path in the great waters. We know that he does all wisely and well; but what he does we know not now; it will be time enough to know hereafter.

      2. The extensive care and beneficence of the divine Providence: "Thou preservest man and beast, not only protectest them from mischief, but suppliest them with that which is needful for the support of life." The beasts, though not capable of knowing and praising God, are yet graciously provided for; their eyes wait on him, and he gives them their meat in due season. Let us not wonder that God gives food to bad men, for he feeds the brute-creatures; and let us not fear but that he will provide well for good men; he that feeds the young lions will not starve his own children.

      3. The peculiar favour of God to the saints. Observe,

      (1.) Their character, Psalms 36:7; Psalms 36:7. They are such as are allured by the excellency of God's loving-kindness to put their trust under the shadow of his wings. [1.] God's loving-kindness is precious to them. They relish it; they taste a transcendent sweetness in it; they admire God's beauty and benignity above any thing in this world, nothing so amiable, so desirable. Those know not God that do not admire his loving-kindness; and those know not themselves that do not earnestly covet it. [2.] They therefore repose an entire confidence in him. They have recourse to him, put themselves under his protection, and then think themselves safe and find themselves easy, as the chickens under the wings of the hen, Matthew 23:37. It was the character of proselytes that they came to trust under the wings of the God of Israel (Ruth 2:12); and what more proper to gather proselytes than the excellency of his loving-kindness? What more powerful to engage our complacency to him and on him? Those that are thus drawn by love will cleave to him.

      (2.) Their privilege. Happy, thrice happy, the people whose God is the Lord, for in him they have, or may have, or shall have, a complete happiness. [1.] Their desires shall be answered, (Psalms 36:8; Psalms 36:8): They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house, their wants supplied; their cravings gratified, and their capacities filled. In God all-sufficient they shall have enough, all that which an enlightened enlarged soul can desire or receive. The gains of the world and the delights of sense will surfeit, but never satisfy, Isaiah 55:2. But the communications of divine favour and grace will satisfy, but never surfeit. A gracious soul, though still desiring more of God, never desires more than God. The gifts of Providence so far satisfy them that they are content with such things as they have. I have all, and abound,Philippians 4:18. The benefit of holy ordinances is the fatness of God's house, sweet to a sanctified soul and strengthening to the spiritual and divine life. With this they are abundantly satisfied; they desire nothing more in this world than to live a life of communion with God and to have the comfort of the promises. But the full, the abundant satisfaction is reserved for the future state, the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Every vessel will be full there. [2.] Their joys shall be constant: Thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. First, There are pleasures that are truly divine. "They are thy pleasures, not only which come from thee as the giver of them, but which terminate in thee as the matter and centre of them." Being purely spiritual, they are of the same nature with those of the glorious inhabitants of the upper world, and bear some analogy even to the delights of the Eternal Mind. Secondly, There is a river of these pleasures, always full, always fresh, always flowing. There is enough for all, enough for each; see Psalms 46:4. The pleasures of sense are putrid puddle-water; those of faith are pure and pleasant, clear as crystal,Revelation 22:1. Thirdly, God has not only provided this river of pleasures for his people, but he makes them to drink of it, works in them a gracious appetite to these pleasures, and by his Spirit fills their souls with joy and peace in believing. In heaven they shall be for ever drinking of those pleasures that are at God's right hand, satiated with a fulness of joy,Psalms 16:11. [3.] Life and light shall be their everlasting bliss and portion, Psalms 36:9; Psalms 36:9. Having God himself for their felicity, First, In him they have a fountain of life, from which those rivers of pleasure flow, Psalms 36:8; Psalms 36:8. The God of nature is the fountain of natural life. In him we live, and move, and have our being. The God of grace is the fountain of spiritual life. All the strength and comfort of a sanctified soul, all its gracious principles, powers, and performances, are from God. He is the spring and author of all its sensations of divine things, and all its motions towards them: he quickens whom he will; and whosoever will may come, and take from him of the waters of life freely. He is the fountain of eternal life. The happiness of glorified saints consists in the vision and fruition of him, and in the immediate communications of his love, without interruption or fear of cessation. Secondly, In him they have light in perfection, wisdom, knowledge, and joy, all included in this light: In thy light we shall see light, that is, 1. "In the knowledge of thee in grace, and the vision of thee in glory, we shall have that which will abundantly suit and satisfy our understandings." That divine light which shines in the scripture, and especially in the face of Christ, the light of the world, has all truth in it. When we come to see God face to face, within the veil, we shall see light in perfection, we shall know enough then, 1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2. 2. "In communion with thee now; by the communications of thy grace to us and the return of our devout affections to thee, and in the fruition of thee shortly in heaven, we shall have a complete felicity and satisfaction. In thy favour we have all the good we can desire." This is a dark world; we see little comfort in it; but in the heavenly light there is true light, and no false light, light that is lasting and never wastes. In this world we see God, and enjoy him by creatures and means; but in heaven God himself shall be with us (Revelation 21:3) and we shall see and enjoy him immediately.

      II. We have here David's prayers, intercessions, and holy triumphs, grounded upon these meditations.

      1. He intercedes for all saints, begging that they may always experience the benefit and comfort of God's favour and grace, Psalms 36:10; Psalms 36:10. (1.) The persons he prays for are those that know God, that are acquainted with him, acknowledge him, and avouch him for theirs--the upright in heart, that are sincere in their profession of religion, and faithful both to God and man. Those that are not upright with God do not know him as they should. (2.) The blessing he begs for them is God's loving-kindness (that is, the tokens of his favour towards them) and his righteousness (that is, the workings of his grace in them); or his loving-kindness and righteousness are his goodness according to promise; they are mercy and truth. (3.) The manner in which he desires this blessing may be conveyed: O continue it, draw it out, as the mother draws out her breasts to the child, and then the child draws out the milk from the breasts. Let it be drawn out to a length equal to the line of eternity itself. The happiness of the saints in heaven will be in perfection, and yet in continual progression (as some thing); for the fountain there will be always full and the streams always flowing. In these is continuance,Isaiah 64:5.

      2. He prays for himself, that he might be preserved in his integrity and comfort (Psalms 36:11; Psalms 36:11): "Let not the foot of pride come against me, to trip up my heels, or trample upon me; and let not the hand of the wicked, which is stretched out against me, prevail to remove me, either from my purity and integrity, by any temptation, or from my peace and comfort, by any trouble." Let not those who fight against God triumph over those who desire to cleave to him. Those that have experienced the pleasure of communion with God cannot but desire that nothing may ever remove them from him.

      3. He rejoices in hope of the downfall of all his enemies in due time (Psalms 36:12; Psalms 36:12): "There, where they thought to gain the point against me, they have themselves fallen, been taken in that snare which they laid for me." There, in the other world (so some), where the saints stand in the judgment, and have a place in God's house, the workers of iniquity are cast in the judgment, are cast down into hell, into the bottomless pit, out of which they shall assuredly never be able to rise from under the insupportable weight of God's wrath and curse. It is true we are not to rejoice when any particular enemy of ours falls; but the final overthrow of all the workers of iniquity will be the everlasting triumph of glorified saints.