Speaking about the Master should be the easiest thing to do since He’s “altogether lovely” (Song 5:16).
Psalm 36 is one of the few psalms where David claims a title. It isn’t “David the Hometown Hero of Bethlehem” or “David the Fearless Champion of Elah’s Vale.” Nor is it the biblical “Man After God’s Heart” or “Sweet Singer of Israel.” No, he calls himself simply “David the servant of the Lord.” Is there a link between this and the theme of the 12 verses in Psalm 36? Let’s see. In verses 1-4 we find the exact opposite of a servant of the Lord. David records “An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked” (v 1). This is the portrait of a self-serving rebel. He measures everything by his own spiritual astigmatism. “There is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes” (vv 1-2). He greatly underestimates God and overestimates himself. You know he’s lying if his lips are moving; therefore his wisdom has evaporated, and his wickedness begins before he gets out of bed in the morning (vv 3-4). “He sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not abhor evil” (v 4). He commits double jeopardy against his own soul, doing his worst to avoid good and his best to enjoy evil. With great relief we now turn expecting to see the man who serves the Lord. But no. A true servant doesn’t want to talk about himself; he wants you to meet his Master! And that’s exactly what he does. “Your mercy, O Lord,…Your faithfulness…Your righteousness…Your judgments…Your lovingkindness…” (vv 5-7). You provide “the shadow of Your wings…the fullness of Your house…the river of Your pleasures” (vv 7-8). There’s so much more in the rest of the chapter (vv 9-10), but he wants nothing to eclipse his Sun or stop up his Wellspring (vv 11-12), “for with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light” (v 9).