What happens when evil begins to fill the whole horizon? Psalm 36 begins by looking directly at twistedness. Self-flattery distorts vision. Words become deceitful. Harm occupies even the imagination. Then the Psalm suddenly looks up. Persistent-Love reaches to the heavens. Faithfulness reaches the clouds. Alignment rises like mountains. Justice is like the great Deep. The darkness is real, but it is not infinite. Psalm 36 leads us beneath the shadow of God’s wings, into the abundance of God’s House, beside the river of delight, and toward the fountain of life. For followers of Jesus, its language of life and light resonates with the Messiah who confronts deception without becoming deceptive and domination without becoming dominating. This prayer teaches us to resist evil without allowing evil to become the organizing center of our lives. We look clearly at the darkness, then look farther: “In Your light we see light.”