Fountain of Life

DEVOTION

PSALMS

FOUNTAIN OF LIFE

 Ps 36

An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. 3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. 4 Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.

5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. 7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

10 Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart. 11 May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 See how the evildoers lie fallen — thrown down, not able to rise!

NIV

To be able to discern the sinfulness of the wicked is a good thing. We cannot just go about living our lives ignoring the sinful attitudes and behaviors of the wicked. They lift themselves up for their achievements, their success and their humanitarian efforts. They flatter themselves so much they are not aware of their sin is what the psalmist says. We must be aware of them, and not get drawn into their kind of thinking. We know our sin, we have knowledge of our weaknesses and failings. If we were to think that we have completely overcome sin, whether in word, thought or deed, we would be deceiving ourselves and would be no better than the wicked who cannot detect their sin. However, we have the love of the Lord in our lives. His love reaches beyond the bounds of the physical. His love reaches into the heart of man. His love reaches into the depths of our heart cleansing us from within. He is faithful, never failing to live out his righteousness within us. He preserves our life, he gives us eternal life, so that we will never have to experience eternal death. We should also be aware that just because we experience the love of God, we are not any different than anyone else. He does not show us favoritism, for he gives life to whomsoever believes no matter the condition of a person’s life. Rich or poor, educated or not, he loves them all. It matters not the nationality, the ethnic origin or language, he loves them all and will give eternal life to whomsoever believes. We are so blessed to have found the light, to have been brought out of the darkness and into his light. We have found that refuge under his wing. As a small young chick finds refuge under the wing of the parent bird, we have found that refuge, he will protect us from those who would devour us. We feast in his house, we live in abundance within our heart, our spirit, the temple of the Lord. We sing within, we rejoice within, we are lifted up by the Lord. We drink in his delight in us, we delight in him, for he is our God and he loves us so much. We delight in drinking in his goodness, his faithfulness, his unfailing love. We delight in the Lord. We drink from his fountain of life.