The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
Psalm 36:3 continues David’s description of the wicked man. The psalm begins with the root: “There is no fear of God before his eyes” (v.1). It then shows his self-flattery, by which he hides his iniquity from himself until it is found hateful (v.2). Verse 3 moves from inward pride to outward speech and conduct. The wicked man’s mouth, mind, and life are all corrupt. His words are iniquity and deceit, and he has abandoned wisdom and good works.
“The words of his mouth.” The mouth is named for the speech that comes from it. God describes the man by his words because words reveal the heart. Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). The wicked man in Psalm 36 does not fear God with his eyes, flattereth himself in his own eyes, and then speaks evil with his mouth. His speech is not a separate accident; it is the overflow of his inward condition.
This is an apt description of the wicked. Scripture often marks them by their speech. Psalm 10:7 says, “His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.” Psalm 5:9 says, “there is no faithfulness in their mouth.” Psalm 12:2 says, “They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.” Romans 3 gathers the same testimony: “with their tongues they have used deceit” and “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness” (Romans 3:13-14). The wicked man’s mouth is one of the clearest witnesses against him.
“Are iniquity.” His words are not only about iniquity; they are iniquity. Speech itself can be sin. A lie is sin. Flattery is sin. Slander is sin. Cursing is sin. False accusation is sin. Proud boasting is sin. Corrupt counsel is sin. Wicked speech is not less serious because no hand is raised and no blood is shed. God weighs words. Jesus warned that men shall give account in the day of judgment for every idle word they shall speak (Matthew 12:36).
This should make every man fear loose speech. The wicked man treats his mouth as his own, but Psalm 12:4 records the proud thought: “With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?” Psalm 36:3 answers: the Lord is over the mouth. He hears, judges, and condemns words of iniquity. The absence of the fear of God before the eyes soon becomes iniquity in the mouth.
“And deceit.” Deceit is added to iniquity because wicked speech is often false, crooked, and designed to mislead. The wicked man may lie openly, but he may also deceive by half-truth, silence, insinuation, exaggeration, flattery, or a careful arrangement of facts to give a false impression. Deceit is not measured by how smooth the words sound, but by whether they serve truth before God.
Deceit belongs to the devil’s family likeness. Jesus said of the devil, “he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). When men lie, twist, conceal, flatter, and manipulate by words, they speak after that pattern. The serpent deceived Eve with words that questioned God, denied God’s warning, and promised advantage from disobedience (Genesis 3:1-5). Deceitful speech has been murdering souls since Eden.
“He hath left off.” The wicked man is not just weak, ignorant, or unfortunate. He has left off. These words show abandonment. He has turned away from the path he ought to have pursued. He has ceased from wisdom and good. He does not stumble toward righteousness while wishing he could find it; he forsakes it. His own proud heart has chosen another way.
This phrase agrees with verse 1. Since there is no fear of God before his eyes, there is no true wisdom governing his life. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). When the fear of God is absent, wisdom is soon despised, then neglected, then abandoned. The wicked man leaves off to be wise because wisdom would require him to bow before God.
“To be wise.” The wicked may be clever, educated, successful, persuasive, and skilled in earthly matters, but he is not wise. Wisdom begins with God, judges by God, and ends in obedience to God. A man who does not fear the LORD may know how to gain wealth, win arguments, manipulate men, hide sin, or advance himself; but that is not wisdom. Jeremiah described such men well: “they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (Jeremiah 4:22).
True wisdom is moral and spiritual, not only mental. It is not the ability to speak sharply, plan carefully, or succeed visibly. James says the wisdom from above is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). The wicked man’s mouth is iniquity and deceit, so whatever cunning he possesses is not the wisdom from above. His words expose the source.
“And to do good.” The final phrase shows that wisdom and good works belong together. The wicked man has left off both. He does not speak truth, and he does not do good. The same man whose mouth is deceitful has a life barren of righteousness. Scripture never separates true wisdom from obedience. Job said, “the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).
This is another searching mark of the wicked. He may do things that men call useful, generous, respectable, or successful, but he does not do good before God while living without the fear of God. Paul’s summary of natural man is plain: “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12). Good is not measured by human praise, but by God’s rule, God’s glory, and a heart rightly ordered before Him.
Verse 4 will show the progression further: “He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.” The wicked man’s words, plans, path, and affections agree. He speaks deceit, stops pursuing wisdom, ceases from good, plans mischief, chooses an evil way, and does not hate evil. Psalm 36 gives a whole portrait, not one accidental blemish.
There is a plain warning here about the downward course of sin. A man who flatters himself will not correct himself. A man who will not correct himself will speak more boldly in iniquity and deceit. A man who speaks that way will soon leave off wisdom and good. Sin hardens by degrees, but the result is terrible. The mouth becomes corrupt, the mind rejects wisdom, and the life turns from good.
The verse also teaches that words and works cannot be separated. Many want to excuse evil speech while claiming a good heart or respectable life. David allows no such division. Wicked words belong with the man who has left off wisdom and good. A corrupt mouth is not a small defect in an otherwise sound life; it is evidence of deeper ruin. “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:18).
Jesus Christ is the perfect contrast. His words were never iniquity or deceit. When His enemies tried to catch Him in His talk, they failed (Mark 12:13). When officers were sent to take Him, they returned saying, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46). He was full of wisdom, and He went about doing good (Luke 2:40; Acts 10:38). The union broken in the wicked man was perfect in Christ: holy words, perfect wisdom, and righteous works.
Psalm 36:3 therefore exposes the wicked by his speech and by his abandonment of wisdom and good. His mouth is not safe. His words are not clean. His wisdom is not from above. His works are not good before God. Let every reader judge speech as God judges it. Let no man excuse deceit because it is useful, iniquity because it is common, or lack of good because others praise him. A man without the fear of God will speak and live like Psalm 36:3. The righteous must seek the opposite: truth in the mouth, wisdom in the heart, and good in the life before Jehovah.
The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
Psalm 36:3 continues David’s description of the wicked man. The psalm begins with the root: “There is no fear of God before his eyes” (v.1). It then shows his self-flattery, by which he hides his iniquity from himself until it is found hateful (v.2). Verse 3 moves from inward pride to outward speech and conduct. The wicked man’s mouth, mind, and life are all corrupt. His words are iniquity and deceit, and he has abandoned wisdom and good works.
“The words of his mouth.” The mouth is named for the speech that comes from it. God describes the man by his words because words reveal the heart. Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34). The wicked man in Psalm 36 does not fear God with his eyes, flattereth himself in his own eyes, and then speaks evil with his mouth. His speech is not a separate accident; it is the overflow of his inward condition.
This is an apt description of the wicked. Scripture often marks them by their speech. Psalm 10:7 says, “His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.” Psalm 5:9 says, “there is no faithfulness in their mouth.” Psalm 12:2 says, “They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.” Romans 3 gathers the same testimony: “with their tongues they have used deceit” and “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness” (Romans 3:13-14). The wicked man’s mouth is one of the clearest witnesses against him.
“Are iniquity.” His words are not only about iniquity; they are iniquity. Speech itself can be sin. A lie is sin. Flattery is sin. Slander is sin. Cursing is sin. False accusation is sin. Proud boasting is sin. Corrupt counsel is sin. Wicked speech is not less serious because no hand is raised and no blood is shed. God weighs words. Jesus warned that men shall give account in the day of judgment for every idle word they shall speak (Matthew 12:36).
This should make every man fear loose speech. The wicked man treats his mouth as his own, but Psalm 12:4 records the proud thought: “With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?” Psalm 36:3 answers: the Lord is over the mouth. He hears, judges, and condemns words of iniquity. The absence of the fear of God before the eyes soon becomes iniquity in the mouth.
“And deceit.” Deceit is added to iniquity because wicked speech is often false, crooked, and designed to mislead. The wicked man may lie openly, but he may also deceive by half-truth, silence, insinuation, exaggeration, flattery, or a careful arrangement of facts to give a false impression. Deceit is not measured by how smooth the words sound, but by whether they serve truth before God.
Deceit belongs to the devil’s family likeness. Jesus said of the devil, “he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). When men lie, twist, conceal, flatter, and manipulate by words, they speak after that pattern. The serpent deceived Eve with words that questioned God, denied God’s warning, and promised advantage from disobedience (Genesis 3:1-5). Deceitful speech has been murdering souls since Eden.
“He hath left off.” The wicked man is not just weak, ignorant, or unfortunate. He has left off. These words show abandonment. He has turned away from the path he ought to have pursued. He has ceased from wisdom and good. He does not stumble toward righteousness while wishing he could find it; he forsakes it. His own proud heart has chosen another way.
This phrase agrees with verse 1. Since there is no fear of God before his eyes, there is no true wisdom governing his life. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). When the fear of God is absent, wisdom is soon despised, then neglected, then abandoned. The wicked man leaves off to be wise because wisdom would require him to bow before God.
“To be wise.” The wicked may be clever, educated, successful, persuasive, and skilled in earthly matters, but he is not wise. Wisdom begins with God, judges by God, and ends in obedience to God. A man who does not fear the LORD may know how to gain wealth, win arguments, manipulate men, hide sin, or advance himself; but that is not wisdom. Jeremiah described such men well: “they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (Jeremiah 4:22).
True wisdom is moral and spiritual, not only mental. It is not the ability to speak sharply, plan carefully, or succeed visibly. James says the wisdom from above is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). The wicked man’s mouth is iniquity and deceit, so whatever cunning he possesses is not the wisdom from above. His words expose the source.
“And to do good.” The final phrase shows that wisdom and good works belong together. The wicked man has left off both. He does not speak truth, and he does not do good. The same man whose mouth is deceitful has a life barren of righteousness. Scripture never separates true wisdom from obedience. Job said, “the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).
This is another searching mark of the wicked. He may do things that men call useful, generous, respectable, or successful, but he does not do good before God while living without the fear of God. Paul’s summary of natural man is plain: “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12). Good is not measured by human praise, but by God’s rule, God’s glory, and a heart rightly ordered before Him.
Verse 4 will show the progression further: “He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.” The wicked man’s words, plans, path, and affections agree. He speaks deceit, stops pursuing wisdom, ceases from good, plans mischief, chooses an evil way, and does not hate evil. Psalm 36 gives a whole portrait, not one accidental blemish.
There is a plain warning here about the downward course of sin. A man who flatters himself will not correct himself. A man who will not correct himself will speak more boldly in iniquity and deceit. A man who speaks that way will soon leave off wisdom and good. Sin hardens by degrees, but the result is terrible. The mouth becomes corrupt, the mind rejects wisdom, and the life turns from good.
The verse also teaches that words and works cannot be separated. Many want to excuse evil speech while claiming a good heart or respectable life. David allows no such division. Wicked words belong with the man who has left off wisdom and good. A corrupt mouth is not a small defect in an otherwise sound life; it is evidence of deeper ruin. “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:18).
Jesus Christ is the perfect contrast. His words were never iniquity or deceit. When His enemies tried to catch Him in His talk, they failed (Mark 12:13). When officers were sent to take Him, they returned saying, “Never man spake like this man” (John 7:46). He was full of wisdom, and He went about doing good (Luke 2:40; Acts 10:38). The union broken in the wicked man was perfect in Christ: holy words, perfect wisdom, and righteous works.
Psalm 36:3 therefore exposes the wicked by his speech and by his abandonment of wisdom and good. His mouth is not safe. His words are not clean. His wisdom is not from above. His works are not good before God. Let every reader judge speech as God judges it. Let no man excuse deceit because it is useful, iniquity because it is common, or lack of good because others praise him. A man without the fear of God will speak and live like Psalm 36:3. The righteous must seek the opposite: truth in the mouth, wisdom in the heart, and good in the life before Jehovah.