Psalms 36: Fountain of Life
Against the dark portrait of the wicked who do not fear God, David lifts up the boundless, heaven-high loving kindness of the Lord in whose light we see light.
Psalms 36 (WEB)
1 An oracle is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked: “There is no fear of God before his eyes.”
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes, too much to detect and hate his sin.
3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4 He plots iniquity on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He doesn’t abhor evil.
5 Your loving kindness, Yahweh, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God. Your judgments are like a great deep. Yahweh, you preserve man and animal.
7 How precious is your loving kindness, God! The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings.
8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of your house. You will make them drink of the river of your pleasures.
9 For with you is the spring of life. In your light shall we see light.
10 Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11 Don’t let the foot of pride come against me. Don’t let the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There the workers of iniquity are fallen. They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.
Psalms 36 (KJV)
1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
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.
Psalms 36 (ASV)
1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, That his iniquity will not be found out and be hated.
3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: He hath ceased to be wise and to do good.
4 He deviseth iniquity upon his bed; He setteth himself in a way that is not good; He abhorreth not evil.
5 Thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, is in the heavens; Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the skies.
6 Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God; Thy judgments are a great deep: O Jehovah, thou preservest man and beast.
7 How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge under the shadow of thy wings.
8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; And thou wilt 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 Oh 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 drive me away.
12 There are the workers of iniquity fallen: They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.
Summary
This psalm sets a sharp contrast between human sin and divine love. It begins with an unflinching portrait of the wicked: there is no fear of God before his eyes, he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin, his words are iniquity and deceit, and he plots evil even on his bed. Then, without transition, the psalm soars upward into one of the most beautiful descriptions of God's character in all the Psalms. Yahweh's loving kindness reaches to the heavens and his faithfulness to the skies; his righteousness is like the great mountains and his judgments like the deep sea. David marvels at how precious this loving kindness is, so that the children of men take refuge under the shadow of his wings. They feast on the abundance of his house and drink from the river of his pleasures, for with God is the fountain of life, and in his light we see light. The psalm ends with a prayer that God would continue his loving kindness to those who know him, keep the foot of pride from David, and that the workers of iniquity would fall. The fountain of life and the light in which we see light find their fullest meaning in Jesus, the Light of the world and the giver of living water.
Voices
- David — The psalmist who exposes the heart of the wicked and then lifts his eyes to the immeasurable loving kindness of God.
- Yahweh (the LORD) — The God whose loving kindness fills the heavens, who shelters his own under his wings and is the fountain of life and light.
- The wicked — The self-flattering person with no fear of God, whose words are deceit and who plots iniquity on his bed.
Key Verse
Psalm 36:9 (WEB)
For with you is the spring of life. In your light shall we see light.
Lessons Learned
- Sin begins with the loss of the fear of God and grows through self-flattery.
- God's loving kindness is not small or measured; it is vast as the heavens and deep as the sea.
- True life and clear sight come only from God, the fountain of life and the source of light.
- The shelter of God's wings is offered to all the children of men who will take refuge there.
- Sin starts where the fear of God ends. "There is no fear of God before his eyes" (Psalm 36:1, WEB). Paul cites this in Romans 3 to summarize humanity's condition; reverence is the root that sin first tears up.
- Self-flattery blinds us to our sin. "For he flatters himself in his own eyes, too much to detect and hate his sin" (Psalm 36:2, WEB). We rarely repent of what we have first excused.
- God's love is immeasurable. "Your loving kindness, Yahweh, is in the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the skies" (Psalm 36:5, WEB). His love is measured by the cosmos, not by our deserving.
- God is the source of all life. "For with you is the spring of life" (Psalm 36:9, WEB). Every good thing flows from him as from a fountain; cut off from him we run dry.
- We see clearly only in God's light. "In your light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9, WEB). Truth, beauty, and meaning come into focus only when illuminated by God himself, fulfilled in Christ the Light of the world.
- How does the psalm describe the inner life of the wicked in verses 1-4?
- What images does David use for God's loving kindness and righteousness in verses 5-6?
- What does it mean that God is the "fountain of life" (verse 9)?
- How does the phrase "in your light shall we see light" describe the way we come to know truth?
- Where do you most need to drink from God's fountain or walk in his light right now?
- The wicked has no fear of God, flatters himself so he never hates his sin, speaks deceit, and plots evil even at rest (36:1-4). It is a portrait of a heart turned inward and upward only toward itself—a sobering mirror that warns us where unchecked self-deception leads.
- David uses the heavens, the skies, the great mountains, and the deep sea (36:5-6) to picture love and righteousness too vast to measure. The point is sheer immensity: God's steadfast love is not rationed to our worthiness but towers over us like creation itself.
- As the fountain of life, God is the original source from which all true life flows (36:9). We are not self-sustaining; vitality, joy, and existence itself spring from him. To leave the fountain is to wither, as the wicked do.
- It means we cannot generate clarity on our own; only God's light reveals reality truly (36:9). Apart from him we grope in self-flattery and shadow. Christ, the Light of the world, makes this most concrete: in him we finally see ourselves, God, and life rightly.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name a place of spiritual thirst or confusion, and to bring it to the fountain and the light. As leader, keep the tone hopeful—the same God who exposes sin freely offers abundance, refuge, and clear sight to all who come.