Psalm 36 (35):3Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Many individuals are insincere in their pursuit of wrongdoing, as they neither genuinely seek it nor abhor it. However, the very nature of this insincere quest transforms it into a justification for evil. When you admonish them, saying, "Do not engage in this," their response often is, "Everyone else does it; who is exempt? Will God condemn all to the depths?" Others may assert, "If the Lord had disapproved, would He not have struck down those who commit such acts?" Had you approached the matter with sincerity instead of duplicity, you could have uncovered iniquity and detested it. Instead, you not only recognize it but also defend it, revealing the deceitfulness in your endeavor to seek it.

I am like a cloak before him. He chooses to remain in this state of ignorance, unwilling to acknowledge his actions or to despise the wrongs committed against him. He discovers his transgressions and detests them. He does not consider that God sees his sin, and upon seeing it, God detests both the sin and the sinner.

It is recorded: There is no reverence for God in his sight, for he has become blinded by his own actions, believing that he has uncovered his misdeeds and has faced hatred (Psalm 35:2-3). What does it mean to seek out? Everyone who seeks shall find (Matt. 7:8), thus if one searches for wickedness, they pursue and discover it. The individual who seeks and discovers goodness deserves commendation, but one cannot receive forgiveness for striving to unearth the evil they desire. Our efforts should be directed towards virtuous deeds rather than shameful or sinful pursuits. Therefore, is it not utter foolishness to seek animosity, to discover through deceitful means an injustice that none among the righteous have pursued?

Yet, by his own choice, he chooses to remain in this state of unawareness, for he is unwilling to reflect on the actions that have occurred and despise the fact that they were done poorly.

For, as it is stated, the lawless individual acted this way: he employed deceit against himself, engaging in wrongdoing without any desire to scrutinize or assess his actions, aiming to avoid confronting his transgressions so that he might detest them. And the esteemed Basil interprets it this way: it is not merely he who acknowledges his fault, proclaiming, "I have sinned," yet remains entrenched in his sin, but rather the one who, in line with the Psalmist's words, recognizes his wrongdoing and abhors it. What benefit does a physician's diligence offer to a patient if the patient continues to engage in behaviors that jeopardize life? Likewise, forgiving the sins of an individual who persists in wrongdoing is of no use.

In this passage, the Prophet illustrates the previously mentioned idea that the unrighteous lack reverence for the Lord. They are led to believe—albeit mistakenly—that God will not remove their transgressions, which results in their failure to genuinely detest those sins. If they truly feared God, they would approach their iniquities with a desire to renounce them. Some interpret this scripture to suggest that the wicked may seem to show a willingness to turn toward repentance and confess their wrongdoings, yet their actions are merely a pretense. They do not sincerely seek to confront their sins when introspecting on their conscience to truly despise them; rather, their intentions are to manipulate both God and humanity. This interpretation aligns with Augustine's view, which draws from the Hebrew text, where it is stated that the unrighteous indulge in self-deception when they acknowledge their wrongs, all to avoid hating them.

The treacherous Judas, despite being in the presence of the Lord as an apostle, was also an adversary filled with deceit, motivated by the spirit of the times to betray Him (Matt. 26:16).