Psalms 36 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~1010 BC, David's reign, preserved in the temple songbook compiled over the following centuries
Location
Jerusalem and the temple precincts, where the imagery of shelter, house and river was drawn from sanctuary life
Audience
Israelites gathering for worship, led by the temple music director named in the heading
Situation
The psalm opens with a cold portrait of a person who has stopped fearing God and now flatters himself, then swings without warning into a wide description of God's loyal love reaching to the skies. It ends asking that the arrogant foot not trample the singer.
Key Background
The heading calls David the servant of the Lord, a title normally reserved for Moses and for royal officials, marking the king as God's appointed steward rather than an absolute ruler. The picture of taking refuge in the shadow of God's wings draws on the two carved winged figures over the ark inside the sanctuary, so the worshipper is imagining himself sheltering at the most protected spot in Israel. Feasting on the abundance of God's house and drinking from a river of delights echoes both the shared meals eaten at the temple after sacrifices and the garden of Eden, where a river watered the whole land.