Title: Two Truths/ Topic: Sin and God's Love

Today’s Reading: Deuteronomy 3; Deuteronomy 4; Psalm 36; Mark 13

Scripture: Psalm 36:1,2, 7,8

1 An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: [a] There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.

7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find [b] refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.

Observation: Two different sections of Psalm 36 caught my attention as I read them. Verses one and two speak of the thoughts of a “wicked” person (wicked intimates someone who either doesn't care about God and his sinfulness or someone who is religious and doesn't detect his sin due to an attitude of arrogant pride). Such a person has no fear of God. In other words, they do not believe God will punish them. Judgment is of no concern to them. They also are ones who flatter themselves. In other words, they think more highly of themselves than they ought to and they also value their own opinion more than God's opinion. This renders them incapable of seeing their own sin for what it is. Verses seven and eight extol the preciousness of God's love toward us and all the benefits of being his child. Comfort, protection and provision are spoken of as aspects of his love. The last sentence is particularly poetic in its depiction of God's love: He gives us drink from the river of his delights!

Application: The first application is that I must keep my heart humble and value God's opinions more than my own. Otherwise, I will not detect my own sin and repent of it. The second application is to always be thankful for God's incomparable blessings in my life. I need to rehearse and bring to mind all his benefits so that I don't take them for granted.

Prayer: Father, I love you. May my heart remain both humble so that I can receive correction and continually be being transformed into a person like you and thankful so that I express my gratitude to you constantly for all your goodness and kindness to me.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.