For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
The wicked is marked by having no fear or reverence of God before his eyes. His flattering himself in his own eyes goes together with that lack of reverence. To flatter himself is to deceive himself about his own conduct and character. It is to treat his own conduct as acceptable and to imagine that his wrongdoing will not be found out or discovered to be hateful.
By such self-flattery a person works himself into a false feeling of security while his iniquity remains undiscovered as hateful. He can remain in that false confidence and continue in self-flattery until his wrongdoing is exposed as hateful. That exposure comes either in conversion or in perdition. The verse therefore warns against trusting flattering opinions and calls for examining oneself rather than trusting oneself.
The wicked is marked by having no fear or reverence of God before his eyes. His flattering himself in his own eyes goes together with that lack of reverence. To flatter himself is to deceive himself about his own conduct and character. It is to treat his own conduct as acceptable and to imagine that his wrongdoing will not be found out or discovered to be hateful.
By such self-flattery a person works himself into a false feeling of security while his iniquity remains undiscovered as hateful. He can remain in that false confidence and continue in self-flattery until his wrongdoing is exposed as hateful. That exposure comes either in conversion or in perdition. The verse therefore warns against trusting flattering opinions and calls for examining oneself rather than trusting oneself.