The Sad Ending of a Beautiful Psalm Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: The Sad Ending of a Beautiful Psalm -------------------------------------------- Date: 9/5/2000 Keywords: "faithfulness" "lovingkindness" "psalm" "righteousness" "transgression" "ungodly" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Psalm 36:1-12* 1. Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2. For it flatters him in his own eyes, concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of it. 3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. 4. He plans wickedness upon his bed; he sets himself on a path that is not good; he does not despise evil. 5. Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Thy faithfulness reaches to the skies. 6. Thy righteousness is like the mountains of God; Thy judgments are like a great deep. Lord, Thou preservest man and beast. 7. How precious is Thy lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Thy wings. 8. They drink their fill of the abundance of Thy house; and Thou dost give them to drink of the river of Thy delights. 9. For with Thee is the fountain of life; in Thy light we see light. 10. O continue Thy lovingkindness to those who know Thee, and Thy righteousness to the upright in heart. 11. Let not the foot of pride come upon me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 There the doers of iniquity have fallen; they have been thrust down and cannot rise. Questions 1. What are two stumbling blocks to the God-lover as mentioned in verse 11?   2. How are you feeling today? If you are sad or afraid, do you know why?   3. Who knows about your struggle with pornography? Who might be a good friend with whom you can share your burdens?   Practical help This is the fifth and final study in a series from Psalm 36. Yesterday we looked at some of the benefits of living a life that includes taking God seriously. Let’s now look at the final three verses. David asks for God to continue His love and grace toward "those who know Thee." This is another way of saying, "I’ll understand it, God, if you finally stop pursuing the ungodly (those who don’t give you a thought — verses 1-4). Because he has now made a distinction between himself and the ungodly, he requests in verse 11 that he not fall into a feeling of superiority or pride. In addition he recognizes that his behavior will be obviously different from theirs, so he then asks that God protect him from their contempt and any scheme they might use to drive him away from his relationship with God. With the idea of distance from God on David’s mind, he then visualizes the ungodly man falling helpless in a place where God will no longer reach Him. Can you think of some names given to this place in the Bible? To sum up this psalm as it relates you, the eXXit reader, viewing Internet pornography is a distraction from establishing and strengthening your walk with God. In addition, it is a snare that "doers of iniquity" (those who profit from porn) use to drive those who know God away from an abundant spiritual life of joy and peace. You loose credibility as a God-lover when you sneak into darkness for personal gratification. You’re not fooling Him, so you might as well come clean. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2000 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."