Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 36:4
He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way [that is] not good; he abhorreth not evil.
4. mischief ] Iniquity, as in Psa 36:3 ; Psa 36:12.
upon his bed ] In the stillness of the night, the time for repentance (Psa 4:4), and recollection of God (Psa 63:6), he is restlessly planning his crimes. For illustration see Mic 2:1 ff.
he setteth himself &c.] Evil courses are his deliberate choice; conscience is blunted, and wrong excites no abhorrence. Cp. Psa 1:1; Pro 16:29; Isa 65:2.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He deviseth mischief upon his bed – Margin, as in Hebrew: vanity. That is, when he lies down; when he is wakeful at night; he plots some scheme of iniquity – some vain, wicked enterprise. So in Pro 4:16, For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
He setteth himself – That is, he takes his stand or his position; he assumes this attitude. See Psa 2:2, The kings of the earth set themselves, where the same word occurs. The meaning is that what is done by him is the result of a calm and deliberate purpose. It is not the effect of passion or temporary excitement, but it is a deliberate act in which the mind is made up to do the thing. The conduct here referred to is thus distinguished from rash and hasty acts, showing that this is the settled character of the man.
In a way that is not good – In a bad or wicked way; in a way in which no good can be found; in conduct which allows of no redeeming or mitigating circumstances, and for which there can be no apology.
He abhorreth not evil – He has no aversion to evil. He is not in any manner deterred from doing anything because it is wrong. The fact that it is sinful is not allowed to be a consideration affecting his mind in determining what he shall do. In other words, the moral quality of an action does not influence him at all in making up his mind as to how he shall act. If it is right, it is by accident, and not because he prefers the right; if it is wrong, that fact does not in any way hinder him from carrying his purpose into execution. This is, of course, the very essence of depravity.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 36:4
He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good.
The state and condition of an habitual sinner
I. The character of an habitual sinner. He is one who deviseth mischief upon his bed, his hours of leisure are employed upon it.
1. The time of retirement is the fittest and most likely season for religious influences to take place, and to have a due effect (Psa 119:55). If ever our reason re-asserts its authority, it should be when there is nothing from without to interrupt its pretensions, or to oppose its claim. If ever religion can raise up our souls to God, it should be when our souls are free from all external impediments.
2. When this time of solitude and leisure is misapplied to contrivances for vice, it must needs improve those ill dispositions which it finds in the mind, and overspread it more and more with the contagion of sin.
II. To give some accounts, and to show some cause of his thus proceeding; of the abuse he puts upon his hours of leisure. He setteth himself in a way that is not good.
1. The abuse of a trust reposed in us all by a gracious Providence. We have a work to do, and a time assigned us for it. The work is improving our souls, and disposing all our faculties to a ripeness and capacity for eternal bliss. But how great will be the guilt which is contracted when the time allotted us to do the work of Him who sent us into this world for His glory, is employed to His dishonour, and in disobedience to His laws! To somewhat to forget, but more to betray a trust.
2. He who makes no advances forwards will certainly go backwards; he who has not laid in a fit provision for a good use of his time will certainly put it to a bad one. The ground we might gain in virtue will be gained to vice.
III. A further aggravation, and indeed a further reason of his sin. He abhorreth not evil. His affections are all wrong turned; and, being so, it is no great wonder that they should run riot upon wickedness.
1. That he abhorreth not evil is an aggravation of his sin, for it implies that his reason is subdued to it, and grace extinguished. It is a common progress to defend upon principle what had its rise from frailty; to proceed from infirmity to wilful guilt; and, from sinning against conviction, to sin away all conviction.
2. If a man loves and likes it, he will, at one time or other, be gained upon to embrace it. For a state of neutrality between vice and virtue is impracticable, and impossible to human nature. He who abhorreth not evil will soon abhor that which is good. (N. Marshall, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. He deviseth mischief upon his bed] He seeks the silent and undisturbed watches of the night, in order to fix his plans of wickedness.
He setteth himself] Having laid his plans, he fixes his purpose to do what is bad; and he does it without any checks of conscience or abhorrence of evil. He is bent only on mischief, and lost to all sense of God and goodness. A finished character of a perfect sinner.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He deviseth mischief upon his bed; which notes that he doth it,
1. Constantly and unweariedly, preferring it before his own rest.
2. Earnestly and seriously, when his mind is freed from all outward distractions, and wholly at leisure to attend that business about which it is employed: compare Psa 4:4.
3. Freely, from his own inclination, when none are present to provoke him to it.
He setteth himself; he doth not repent of his wicked devices, but resolutely proceeds to execute them, and persists therein.
That is not good, i.e. which is very bad, as this phrase is used, 1Sa 2:24; Pro 20:23; 24:23, and elsewhere.
He abhorreth not evil: though he sometimes pretends remorse, and desists from his violent practices against me, as Saul did; yet he doth not truly repent of nor abhor his sin, and therefore is ready to return to it, when any occasion offers itself.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
He deviseth mischief upon his bed,…. He casts about in his mind on his pillow, when at leisure from all employment; and consults and contrives schemes how to compass his lusts, and to do injury to others, without doing which he cannot sleep;
he setteth himself in a way [that is] not good, in an evil way, which he chooses and delights in, and determines to continue in, he leaving the paths of righteousness to walk in the ways of darkness:
he abhorreth not evil; which is to be abhorred both because of its nature and effects; see Ro 12:9; but on the contrary he loves it, takes pleasure in doing it, and in them that commit it: thus, by his thoughts, words, and actions, he appears to be devoid of the fear of God.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4. He meditates iniquity upon his bed Here the sacred writer shows that the wickedness of the ungodly man is of a secret and very determined character. It sometimes happens that many, who otherwise are not disposed to wickedness, err and fall into sin, because occasion presents itself all on a sudden; but David tells us, that the wicked, even when they are withdrawn from the sight of men, and in retirement, form schemes of mischief; and thus, although there is not presented before them any temptation, or the evil example of others to excite them to it, they, of their own accord, devise mischief, and urge themselves to it without being impelled by any thing else. Since he describes the reprobate by this distinguishing mark of character, that they devise mischief upon their beds, true believers should learn from this to exercise themselves when alone in meditations of a different nature, and to make their own life the subject of examination, so that they may exclude all evil thoughts from their minds. The Psalmist next refers to their stubbornness, declaring that they set themselves in a crooked and perverse way; that is to say, they purposely and wilfully harden themselves in doing evil. Finally, he adds the reason of their doing this: They abhor not evil Wilfully shutting their eyes, they rush forward in their headlong course till they spontaneously yield themselves the slaves of wickedness. Let us now shortly state the contrast between the ungodly and the people of God, contained in the preceding verses. The former deceive themselves by flattery; the latter exercise over themselves a strict control, and examine themselves with a rigid scrutiny: the former, throwing loose the reins, rush headlong into evil; the latter are restrained by the fear of God: the former cloak or disguise their offenses by sophistry, and turn light into darkness; the latter willingly acknowledge their guilt, and by a candid confession are brought to repentance: the former reject all sound judgment; the latter always desire to vindicate themselves by coming to the open light of day: the former upon their bed invent various ways of doing evil; the latter are sedulously on their guard that they may not devise or stir up within themselves any sinful desire: the former indulge a deep and fixed contempt of God; the latter willingly cherish a constant displeasure at their sins.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
DISCOURSE: 559
SIN TO BE ABHORRED
Psa 36:4. He abhorreth not evil.
THE standard of morals in the Christian world is far below that which is established in the Sacred Records: and hence arises that self-justifying spirit which prevails in every place. Gross iniquities, which affect the welfare of society, are condemned: but less flagrant offences are regarded as venial, and justified as unavoidable in this state of human existence. The person immediately referred to in my text was Saul, who, amidst all his professions of penitence, still entertained evil designs against the life of David. But we need not limit the words to him. They are, like many similar passages cited by St. Paul in the third chapter of his Epistle to the Romans [Note: Rom 3:10-19.], expressive of the state of our fallen nature, and universally applicable to every child of man. To elucidate them, I will shew,
I.
How great an evil sin is
There is scarcely any thing which is vile and lothesome to which sin is not compared. Let us instance this in leprosy; which may be considered as the most spreading, the most defiling, the most incurable of all disorders. In reference to this does the Prophet Isaiah speak of himself and all around him as utterly undone: Woe is me! I am undone: I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips [Note: Isa 6:5.]. But, not to lay an undue stress on figures like these, I will consider sin,
1.
As a violation of Gods holy Law
[The Law of God is said to be holy, and just, and good [Note: Rom 7:12.]. It is holy, as being a perfect transcript of Gods mind and will: it is just, as requiring nothing which does not necessarily arise out of our relation to him and to each other: and it is good, as tending, in every instance, to the happiness of the creature, and to the honour of our Creator. Now sin is a transgression of this Law [Note: 1Jn 3:4.]: and that very circumstance it is which renders it so exceeding sinful [Note: Rom 7:13.]. Were the Law itself less excellent, a departure from it would be less odious: but to rebel against it, is to prefer the mind of Satan to the mind of God, and the service of the devil to the service of our God. If we would see in what light God views it, let us go back to the time of Adam, on whose heart this Law was completely written, and see what one single transgression of it brought on him: and not on him only, but on the whole creation: and then we shall say indeed, that the evil of sin far exceeds all that language can express, or that any finite intelligence can conceive.]
2.
As a contradiction to his blessed Gospel
[To obviate the effects of sin, God sent his only dear Son into the world; that he might put away the guilt of it by the sacrifice of himself [Note: Heb 9:26.]; and that by the operations of his Holy Spirit he might repress its power, and destroy the works of the devil [Note: 1Jn 3:8.]. But sin contravenes all his merciful intentions and defeats all his gracious purposes. Now, let us suppose that the Lord Jesus Christ were now at this time to come into this assembly; and that, instead of receiving him with all that admiring and adoring gratitude that would become us, we were to rise up against him, and beat him down, and trample him under foot; and that, on his exhibiting the wounds once made for us on Calvary, and yet bleeding for us, we were to regard his blood as an accursed thing, and seize upon him, and nail him to a cross, and load him with our execrations till we saw him dead before our eyes: What would be thought of us? Yea, in a moment of reflection, what should we think of ourselves? Yet that is what sin does, and what all of us do whenever we commit sin: for so has the Apostle said, that we tread under foot the Son of God, and count the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing, and do despite to the Spirit of his grace [Note: Heb 10:29]; yea, we crucify the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame [Note: Heb 6:6.]. V No wonder, then, that God, when dissuading us from the commission of sin, addresses us m those pungent terms, O, do not that abominable thing which I hate [Note: Jer 44:4.].]
But instead of our regarding it with the abhorrence it deserves, I am constrained to shew you,
II.
What sad indulgence it meets with at our hands
View the generality of men
[So far from abhorring sin, they love it, they delight in it, and, to use the strong expression of Scripture, they wallow in it, even as a sow wallows in the mire [Note: 2Pe 2:22.]. In fact, it is the very element in which men live. Look all around you: I speak not of those who run into every excess of riot; though they, alas! are very numerous, and, for the most part, glory in their shame: but I speak of the great mass of the community, the rich, the poor, the old, the young: Whom amongst them do you find regulating themselves according to Gods holy Law? Who has not a standard of his own, such as use and fashion have prescribed? and who is not satisfied with conforming to that, without ever once thinking of Gods Law, or so much as desiring to approve himself to him? Verily, the whole world lieth in wickedness, and under the dominion of the Wicked one [Note: 1Jn 5:19. . Eph 2:2.].]
But, passing by these, behold the more decent part of the community
[Doubtless there are many who are more decorous in their conduct, and more observant of a form of godliness. But I ask, even in reference to them, How many of them do really view sin as God views it? That some enormous evils are abhorred, I readily acknowledge: but they are such only as, by a kind of common consent, are stamped with general reprobation. As for sin, as sin, and as a departure from Gods holy Law, who hates it? Who lothes it? Who abhors it? Yea, I ask, Who does not hear it, without offence? and sec it, without disgust? and harbour it, without remorse? Let these questions sink down into your ears: carry them home with you, as tests of your real state: put them home to your conscience, and give an answer to them as before God. You well know, that if any one loaded our parents with deep and unmerited disgrace, he would soon excite our indignation. You know, also, that the sight and smell of a putrid carcase would create in us a lothing which we could scarce endure. Nor need you be told, what feelings of remorse would follow the commission of murder. But sin, whether heard or seen or felt, begets in us no such painful emotions. To abhor it, and abhor ourselves for the hidden workings of it in our souls, as holy Job did [Note: Job 40:4; Job 42:6.], we know not: to lothe ourselves as hateful and abominable on account of it [Note: Eze 36:31.], so as to blush and be confounded before God, and scarcely to dare to lift up our eyes to heaven on account of our conscious vileness [Note: Luk 18:13.], is a state of mind to which we are utter strangers, unless on account of some great iniquity, which, if known, would expose us to indelible disgrace. To abhor evil merely on account of its intrinsic hatefulness, and its offensiveness to God, is an attainment very rare, and even in the best of men very weak and imperfect. I think, then, that every one of us may consider himself as condemned in my text, and may take shame to himself as bearing that humiliating character, He abhorreth not evil.]
See, then,
1.
How little there is of true sanctity amongst us
[Of the saints of old it was said, They could not bear those who were evil [Note: Rev 2:2.]: whereas we can find pleasure in their society [Note: Rom 1:32.], and, provided they wrap up their jests in elegant allusions and witty turns [Note: Eph 5:4. .], can join with them in laughing at thoughts, which, if delivered in coarser language, we should condemn: we even set ourselves in a way that is not good, shewing no aversion to have fellowship in the works of darkness, which we ought rather with decided boldness to reprove [Note: Eph 5:11.]. How unlike are we to David, who says, Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because men keep not thy Law [Note: Psa 119:136.]! Indeed, Brethren, we should see and mourn over our great defects; and, instead of indulging self-complacent thoughts on account of our not being so bad as others, should rather smite on our breasts with conscious guilt, and humble ourselves before God as the very chief of sinners.]
2.
How greatly we need the provisions of the Gospel
[I have before said, that, to remedy the evils which sin has brought into the world, God has sent his only dear Son to make atonement for us, and his Holy Spirit to renew us after the divine image. And now I ask you, Whether any thing less than this would have sufficed? What could you have done to expiate your own guilt? Or how could you ever, with such polluted hearts as yours, have attained a meetness for heaven? You might as easily have built a world, as have effected either of these things. Nor is there any difference between one man and another in these respects. One may differ from another in respect of outward sin: but in respect of alienation of heart from the holy Law of God, and an utter incapacity to restore ourselves to his favour, all are on a perfect level. I entreat you, then, all of you without exception, to wash in the Fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness [Note: Zec 13:1.], and to cry mightily to God for the renewing influences of his Holy Spirit, that so you may have your past iniquities forgiven, and be created anew after the divine image in righteousness and true holiness [Note: Eph 4:24.]. Then will you be brought to that state which every true Christian must attain, abhorring that which is evil, and cleaving to that which is good [Note: Rom 12:9.]; and then will God be glorified in you, both in this world and in the world to come [Note: 2Th 1:10.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 36:4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way [that is] not good; he abhorreth not evil.
Ver. 4. He deviseth mischief upon his bed ] He bendeth his wits and beateth his brains, perdius et pernox, breaking his sleep to plot and plough, to contrive and effect mischief. Vanity or villany is his whole study. He is always either weaving spiders’ webs or hatching cockatrices’ eggs.
He setteth himself in a way that is not good
He abhorreth not evil
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
mischief. Hebrew. ‘aven, as in Psa 36:3, “iniquity”.
setteth himself = taketh his stand.
evil. Hebrew. ra’a”. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
deviseth: Psa 38:12, 1Sa 19:11, Est 5:14, Est 6:4, Pro 4:16, Hos 7:6, Hos 7:7, Mic 2:1, Mat 27:1, Act 23:12
mischief: or, vanity
setteth: Pro 24:23, Isa 65:2, Jer 6:16, Jer 8:6, Jer 9:2-9, Mic 6:8
abhorreth: Psa 97:10, Job 15:16, Amo 5:15, Rom 1:32, Rom 12:9, Rev 2:2
Reciprocal: Exo 32:22 – that they are Jdg 9:32 – by night 1Ki 20:7 – seeketh mischief 2Ki 8:15 – on the morrow Psa 1:1 – way Psa 7:16 – General Psa 12:2 – They Psa 26:10 – In Psa 28:3 – mischief Psa 35:20 – but Psa 50:19 – tongue Psa 119:104 – therefore Psa 140:2 – imagine Pro 6:14 – he deviseth Pro 6:18 – heart Pro 21:10 – soul Eze 11:2 – General Eze 18:24 – when Eze 38:10 – think an evil thought Zec 7:10 – imagine Rom 7:15 – what I hate 2Pe 2:21 – to turn
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
36:4 He {d} deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way [that is] not good; he abhorreth not evil.
(d) By describing at large the nature of the reprobate, he admonishes the godly to beware of these vices.