Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 36:3-4

"The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: He hath ceased to be wise [and] to do good. He deviseth iniquity upon his bed; He setteth himself in a way that is not good; He abhorreth not evil." — Psalms 36:3-4 (ASV)

From the secret promptings of sin, the description of the ungodly passes on to its outcomes in words and deeds. It is a dreadful picture of the wickedness of a man abandoning himself without check or remorse to the inspiration of his own evil heart. He goes from bad to worse. In a great English tragedy, the murderer, though he has determined to wade further in blood, yet prays against the horror of nightly temptations:

“Merciful powers,
Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature
Gives way to in repose.”

But this man “deviseth mischief upon his bed.”

While even the worst criminals shudder at their own deeds, whispering to their “deaf pillows” the agonies that creep over them with darkness and silence, this ungodly man of the Hebrew poet’s picture is instead occupied with scheming fresh villainies.

Even then, he abhorreth not evil (or, better, rejecteth not); instead, he catches at every fresh suggestion and shapes it to his end.