Great Prayers of the Old Testament
Part 19: God Wants Us to Pray for His Protection
Psalm 36:1-12
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared January 31, 2025)
MESSAGE:
*God is watching over us all the time. I can think of a dozen times when I would have been seriously hurt or killed, if the Lord hadn't protected me. About two weeks after I got my driver's license, I was on the Upper River Road in Macon, Georgia. It's a very hilly, curvy, dangerous, country road. My girlfriend's father had been killed in a wreck on that same road.
*Coming home one day, my back, right wheel went off the edge of the road. It was a drop-off of about six inches. This was in 1967, long before most young people took Driver's Ed, and I didn't know enough to slow down before I got back on the road. So, I wound up on the wrong side, and a lady was coming right at me, head on. She was so close, I could see her 5-year-old grandson standing on the front seat beside her. She was so close, I could see the terrified look on her face.
*Then, at the last possible second, I jerked the wheel, and I missed her. But I flipped over into the ditch, with the window open, and no seatbelt on. It could have been the worst of the worst. But by the grace of God, all I got was a scratch on my arm.
*And I was as lost as I could be at the time. But God was watching over me. Praise the LORD! And when we get to Heaven believers, we will see countless times God was watching over us, not because we prayed, but because God was always watching over us! And that's because He loves us, and He always has loved us!
*At the same time though, God wants us to pray for His protection. This is one of the main lessons for us here in God's Word. So let's explore what God's Holy Spirit inspired David to write in Psalm 36. The title of this Psalm is "Precious Is Your Steadfast Love." And the introduction is "To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the Servant of the LORD." Let's get started by reading Psalm 36:1-12.
1. GOD WANTS US TO PRAY FOR HIS PROTECTION SO FIRST, HE EXPOSES THE EVIL THAT WE FACE.
*In vs. 1 David wrote, "An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes." God used 15 different words in the Old Testament to describe our sins. And the original word for "transgression" has the idea of harsh defiance, revolt, open rebellion against God. It's the "Get out of my face!" attitude. "I'm gonna do what I want to do!" That's transgression. So vs. 1 could say, "The hard-hearted rebellious sin of the wicked tells my heart that there is no fear of God before their eyes."
*Here, King David was thinking about ungodly people. And he realized that the ultimate reason for their unbridled evil was this: THEY HAD NO FEAR OF GOD.
*But what is godly fear? Last year we had a Sunday School lesson on Genesis 22. There God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only promised son, Isaac. Abraham trusted the LORD enough to fully obey Him. Of course, the LORD stopped Abraham at the very last moment, and the LORD Himself provided a lamb. God's test for Abraham was a picture of what God Himself would do through the cross of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
*But in Genesis 22:12, God described Abraham's faithful obedience as "fearing God." And our lesson explained that godly fear is not the kind of fear that makes you want to run away. It's just the opposite. Abraham's godly fear was inspired by his reverent love for the LORD, and made him willing to submit to and obey the LORD. (1)
*John Gill explained that godly fear has "a childlike reverence with fervent love, strong affection, and genuine heartfelt worship with awe of the divine Being, submission to His will, faith in Him, love for Him, and obedience to Him. (2)
*Here are several Scriptures that help us understand godly fear:
-Psalm 40:3-4 says, "He has put a new song in my mouth -- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies."
-Psalm 130:1-4 says, "A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD; Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared."
-Psalm 147:11 says, "The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy." And Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction."
*Here in Psalm 36:2-4, David spelled out 6 different evil ways of the ungodly, and all of the depths of their sin go back to this one key thing: THEY HAD NO FEAR OF GOD.
*In vs. 2, David said that an ungodly, wicked person "flatters himself in his own eyes, when he finds out his iniquity and when he hates." There are people who have gone beyond having no shame for their sin. They have gotten so callous that they are actually proud of their evil ways. Then in vs. 3, "The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit." And "He has ceased to be wise and to do good." And in vs. 4, "He devises wickedness on his bed." This is a person who spends all his waking hours plotting more ways to be evil. Also in vs. 4, "He sets himself in a way that is not good." In other words, he is taking a firm stand to do the wrong thing. And in vs. 4, he does not "abhor evil." This means he doesn't despise, refuse or reject evil. (3)
*David shows us six evil ways of the ungodly. But they all go back to one key thing: THEY HAD NO FEAR OF GOD. This kind of ungodliness has mushroomed in our society over the last 60 years. Depravity is defended, even celebrated by people, while godliness is condemned. I know this is true because I am 73 years old, and I was one of these atheistic people from the age of 16 until 22.
*I was desperately lost and did not know it. I literally thought that Jesus Christ was as much of a myth as Zeus or the other Greek gods. And I HAD NO FEAR OF GOD. I remember sitting in my car one night with a friend, and one of us asked, "Which would you rather do, be in Heaven with your grandmother, or be in hell with your friends? We both laughed and agreed that we would rather be in hell with our friends! How could anyone be so foolish to choose hell? WE HAD NO FEAR OF GOD!
*Millions more people are just as blind today. May God have mercy on them! And may God deliver us from their evil plans. God certainly wants us to pray for these ungodly people, just as I am sure that my godly friends prayed for me! His Word makes this clear in 1 Timothy 2:1-6, where Paul wrote:
1. Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
2. for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
3. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4. who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6. who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
*Yes, God wants us to pray even for dangerously evil people to be saved, and when we do, some of them will be saved! Imagine how thankful they will be when we meet them in heaven. But many of them will harden their hearts against God so they are still dangerous, and will be dangerous to us.
2. GOD WANTS US TO PRAY FOR HIS PROTECTION, SO HE EXPOSES THE EVIL THAT WE FACE. HE ALSO EXPLAINS THE EXCELLENCE OF OUR LORD GOD.
*We see the Lord's infinite excellence in vs. 5-9. Please listen to these verses again:
5. Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
6. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
7. How precious (or "excellent" in the KJV) is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
9. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
*What a wonderful God we have! And here David exalted the LORD for nine different ways that He is great. For example, in vs. 5 David said, "Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds." Then in vs. 7 David said, "How precious Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings."
*Those two words, "mercy" and "lovingkindness" here are the same word in the original language. And this quality of God is very important to Him. We know this, because He included this word 247 times in the Old Testament.
*For example, in Psalm 40:11 David lifted up this prayer to the Lord, "Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD; Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me." And in Psalm 51:1 David prayed, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions."
*God's "lovingkindness" -- Most of the time the original word is translated as "mercy." Sometimes it is translated as "goodness," "pity," or just plain "kindness." So God's lovingkindness is His eternal, unchangeable love. It's His abundant mercy, grace, kindness and devotion.
*And in vs. 5: "Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds." John Phillips explained, "God's love is as high as Heaven and His faithfulness or loyalty soars to the skies! It cannot be matched. How high is Heaven? Where does the sky end? God would have to betray His own character if He let down anyone trusting in His love. His love stands alone, unique, unsurpassed. There's nothing like it in the universe." (4)
*The Lord's merciful lovingkindness reaches all the way to the heavens! That's great, because I need sky-high mercy! -- We all do. So again in vs. 7 David said, "How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings."
*One preacher who raised chickens explained that whenever he came near, "The old hen would cluck, and it was to give them a warning of danger. They understood it to mean they were to come to her. I could not understand that language. But those little things that had never been to school knew instantly what she said. She gave her whole self to them, and their instinct was to run to her, -- and find warm shelter under her wing. I have watched them as they did this again and again. What a picture of the loving relationship the Lord Jesus Christ wants to have with us." (5)
*Church: This is also the kind of relationship David had with the Lord. -- So in Psalm 57:1 David also said, "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by."
*Richard Fairchild reported the story of a man who grew up in Mission, Canada. His name was Ike, and he told of the day his grandfather's hen house burned to the ground. Ike got there just in time to help put out the last of the fire. Then, he and his grandfather began to sort through the wreckage. They came upon one hen lying dead near the door of the hen house. Her top feathers were singed brown by the fire's heat. Her neck was limp. Ike bent down to pick up the dead bird. -- And as he did, the hen's 4 chicks came scurrying out from under her burned body. (6)
*The chicks survived because they were sheltered under the wings of their mother. And Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross to save everyone who will trust in the shelter of His wings. What a wonderful, wonderful, God we have!
*And there is so much more. In the first part of vs. 6, "Your righteousness is like the great mountains." John Phillips explained, "A mountain is the very symbol of things unmovable. If we brought our picks and shovels, even our trucks and tractors, how long would it take us to shovel the Rocky Mountains to the sea? That is what God's righteousness is like. It cannot be moved!
*Then at the end of vs. 6, "Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD, You preserve man and beast." An old children's chorus put it this way:
"Wide, wide as the ocean
High as the Heaven above;
Deep, deep as the deepest sea
Is my Savior's love." (4)
*What a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful God we have! And there is more in vs. 8-9:
8. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
9. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
3. GOD WANTS US TO PRAY FOR HIS PROTECTION, SO HE EXPLAINS THE EXCELLENCE OF OUR GOD. AND HE GIVES US A GREAT EXAMPLE OF PRAYER.
[1] VERSES 5-9 SHOW US THAT DAVID'S PRAYER WAS RICH WITH PRAISE.
*Please listen to his praise again from the Amplified Bible:
5. Your mercy and loving-kindness, O LORD, extend to the skies, and Your faithfulness to the clouds.
6. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, Your judgments are like the great deep. O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
7. How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8. They relish and feast on the abundance of Your house; and You cause them to drink of the stream of Your pleasures.
9. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light.
*David's prayer was rich with praise. And that's the way we should pray. Sometimes we are so focused on the needs that we forget to praise God when we pray. But it is always a good idea to praise the Lord in our prayers.
*The main reason why is because our God is worthy of our praise! But praising God also shifts our focus from the problem to our Problem Solver! Praising God lifts our spirits, encourages us, and gives us strength to carry on.
[2] DAVID'S PRAYER WAS RICH WITH PRAISE. THEN HE REQUESTED GOD'S PROTECTION.
*In vs. 10 David prayed to the Lord and said, "Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart." The thing that jumps out at me here is that David wasn't just praying for himself. He was praying for other people. David was praying for all of God's people.
*Then in vs. 11 David prayed, "Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me." David reminds us here that there are many ungodly people in this world who would hurt us emotionally, financially, physically, and spiritually if they could. There are all kinds of practical steps we can take, and we should. But we must remember that our protection must ultimately come from God.
*On the night before the cross, Jesus gave us the right to defend ourselves. In Luke 22:35-36 Jesus said this to His disciples, "'When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything? So they said, 'Nothing.' Then He said to them, 'But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.'"
*Why did Jesus tell His disciples to buy a sword? -- Because self-defense is both necessary and proper at times. And the people who think it's not usually live in the shade of other people who paid a high price for their safety. There are all kinds of practical steps we can take to protect ourselves, and we should.
*But we must remember that ultimately our protection must come from God. Unless you are living in a place like Fort Knox, it's not the lock that keeps the bad guys out. -- It's the Lord! And we must rely on Him!
*That's why Psalm 33:16-22 says, "No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, just as we hope in You.
[3] DAVID REQUESTED GOD'S PROTECTION. THEN HE RESTED IN THE PROMISE OF GOD'S VICTORY.
*In vs. 12, God's Holy Spirit led David to speak of the final victory promised for all people who trust in the LORD. And in vs. 12 David said, "There the workers of iniquity have fallen; They have been cast down and are not able to rise."
*Charles Spurgeon explained that "faith sees the workers of iniquity scattered on the plain. There! -- Before our very eyes sin, death, and hell, lie prostrate. Behold the vanquished foes! 'They are cast down.' Providence and grace have dashed them from their vantage ground. . ."
*No matter how high the powers of darkness may rise today, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will utterly defeat them. In fact, our crucified and risen Savior has already defeated His enemies forever through the blood which he poured out on the cross for our sins. -- Glory be to God!" (7)
CONCLUSION:
*Church: When we see evil rising all over the world, we know that there is no fear of God before their eyes. And we can see evil in the ungodly. But we must not overlook the sin in our own lives. The greatest danger people face from evil is not from the evil around them. It's from the evil inside. So, it's no coincidence that Paul quoted Psalm 36:1 when he showed us the only way to overcome sin.
*In Romans 3:10, Paul said, "There is none righteous, no, not one." Then in Romans 3:18-24, Paul said, There is no fear of God before their eyes.''
19. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22. even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
*Thank God for the cross of Jesus Christ! It's the only reason why Paul could proclaim these great words to all Christians. In Romans 5:6-10:
6. . . When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
*Thank God for the cross of Jesus Christ! Thank God for the final victory we have through our crucified and risen Savior! And until that day comes, keep praying for God's protection, for ourselves, for our church, for our country, and for all of God's people.
*Also keep praying for the ungodly people, because God wants to save them too! Let's do that right now as we go back to God in prayer. And if you have never put your trust in the Lord, I urge you to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior! You can call on the Lord to save you right now.
(1) Adapted from: LifeWay Bible study curriculum - "Exploring the Bible" - The lesson, March the 3, 2024 - Spring quarter, continuing in Genesis 22:1-14
(2) JOHN GILL'S EXPOSITION OF THE BIBLE by Dr. John Gill, D. D. - 1697-1771 - Published in 1746-1766, 1816 - Genesis 22:12 - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(3) Sources:
-BROWN-DRIVER-BRIGGS' HEBREW DEFINITIONS - Published in 1906; public domain- Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
-STRONG'S HEBREW AND GREEK DICTIONARIES - from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance by James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D. - Published in 1890; public domain. - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(4) Adapted from EXPLORING PSALMS Vol. 1 - Psalms 1-41 by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The Righteousness of God's Throne" - Psalm 36:5-6 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
(5) Adapted from THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR by Joseph S. Exell - "Relationship between the Lord and His people" - by H. W. Beecher - Matthew 23 - https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/tbi/matthew-23.html
(6) Rev. Richard J. Fairchild - www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermon.html - Source: Sermonillustrations.com 03/07/2004
(7) Adapted from THE TREASURY OF DAVID Vol. 1, Psalms 1-57 by Charles H. Spurgeon - Psalm 36:12 - Published in 1869-1885; public domain - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
