I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes. In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.
Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

“I just want to do what makes me happy!” “I am only focused on what I see as positive.” “I seek the fun and adventurous in life.”

I hear many today make these types of statements. They sound somewhat good on the surface, but they all have a fatal flaw: they assume that we as sinful humans know what is best for us, compared to the will of a righteous God.

Pleasure-driven life mindsets are shallow in their approach to having lasting fulfillment in life. Why? Because they are self-serving. They focus on a selfish mindset at the core. Sure, some people can do “good things” by themselves, but their core values and priorities are not surrendered to the Almighty God.

David saw this sin condition in his life too and described it like this: 1) There is no fear of God before their eyes. 2) In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. 3) The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; 4) they fail to act wisely or do good. 5) Even on their beds they plot evil; 6) they commit themselves to a sinful course and 7) do not reject what is wrong.

He goes on to say that true virtue and goodness in life is only found in absolute surrender to God. This is because he defines love, faithfulness, righteousness, and justice. Following him wholeheartedly brings protection, abundance, passion and delight in life, and a quenching of our thirst for more. God is the source of light in life in our lives because he is light!

Lord, thank you for the clarity of this psalm from your servant David. Only in obedience to your commands and a trust that your ways are best, comes true fulfillment in life. All other temporary pleasures (not of you) are shallow and ultimately result in an evil heart. Keep me on the true path to life!