SAVED VS UNSAVED CONTRASTED

SAVED VS UNSAVED CONTRASTED 

"O continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee" Psa. 36:10

Thus opens the prayer with which the Psalm closes, and it is the natural and restful conclusion to the contrast preceding it. That is a CONTRAST between the man who lives without the fear of God, and the God in Whom the righteous man is trusting. The description of the evil man is graphic. He has by some means PERSUADED HIMSELF that God does not interfere with men, by having no knowledge of what God says. Consequently he has no fear of God, enthrones himself at the center of his own being, and goes in the way of wickedness in thought and in action. The CONTRAST is not between that man and the man who fears God, but rather, as we have said, between that manner of life and the conception of God which inspires the contrary way of life. God is set forth in His lovingkindness, in His righteousness, in His faithfulness, in all His goodness to men. The prayer is for the continued manifestation of that lovingkindness to those who know this God. Thus the CONTRAST becomes personal. On the one hand are the MEN WHO HAVE NO FEAR OF GOD. On the other are THOSE WHO KNOW HIM. The difference is radical, and all the life is affected. LOSING THE FEAR OF GOD is to go in every way of wickedness, and ultimately to inevitable destruction (see last verse). To KNOW GOD is to worship Him, and in His ways to find refuge, satisfaction, life, and, light. In the ultimate words of Jesus: "This is life eternal, that they should know Thee the only true God, and Him Whom Thou didst send, Jesus Christ." (John 17:3)