By The Rev. Ron Purkey
Guest Columnist

Read Psalm 36:1-12

“Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.” (Psalm 36:5)

The Rev. Ron Purkey

Young people talk a lot about love. Most of their songs are about love.

“The supreme happiness of life,” Victor Hugo said long ago, “is the conviction that we are loved.”

“Love is the first requirement for mental health,” declared Sigmund Freud.

The Bible teaches that “God is love” and that God loves you. To realize that is of paramount importance. Nothing else matters so much. And loving you, God has a wonderful plan for your life. Who else could plan and guide your life so well? God’s will for your life! Let us look at Psalm 36.

First, The Human Nature (Psalm 36:1–4). King David had seen a good deal of life and knew what human nature was like. He knew his own heart as well!

But in this psalm, he shared a special truth that God gave him. The sinner flatters himself that he “gets away” with sin. He lives on lies as he plots against the godly. His words and his works are evil, but that does not bother him.

Second, The Lord’s Faithfulness (Psalm 36:5–7). What a vivid contrast to the unfaithfulness of the sinner! God can be trusted always to do what is right, and the safest place in the world is under his shadow in the Holy of Holies.

“How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings” (Psalm 36:7).

Third, The Believer’s Blessedness (Psalm 36:8–12). The Lord satisfies his people with the water of life and the light of life. He protects them from the enemy and provides for every need.

“They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures” Psalm 36:8).

The word “pleasures” in verse 8 is Eden in the Hebrew. When you dwell in God, you are in the Lord’s Paradise!

INSIGHT: The portrayal of love and relationships in movies, books and television shows is getting more extreme. One noted preacher has said, “The conscience of America seems to be paralyzed. Our Western society has become so obsessed with doing wrong, that it seeps from all the pores of our national life.”

Violence, selfishness and lust are not ways God intended for us to define or show love. The Bible (God’s Word) teaches us why people can distort love and how we may overcome them.

The most blessed verse in the 66 books of the Bible is: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). That, my friends, is true love — faithful love!

Read Ron Purkey’s Bible study outlines free at rcpbibleoutlines.com. Purkey has been an ordained Baptist minister for 50 years.