Psalm 52

To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

1 Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

This has got to be one of the most remarkable pairing of lines in a verse in the entire psalter. In the first line we have a reference to one of the most evil men in all of the Bible. While there is not much text devoted to him, Doeg is remembered for his heartless slaughter of innocent men, women, and children for the sake of personal advancement. Doeg informed on Ahimelech and the village of Nob after they sheltered David and his men. Saul ordered the destruction of this town of priests, and none of his men were willing to raise a sword. Then Doeg stepped up and did the deed single handedly, apparently while the men of Israel stood by choosing to stay alive themselves by doing nothing to intervene. When David receives word of this evil, he writes this psalm in anger and probably guilt. (“If only I hadn’t gone to the village, they would all be alive”). In one verse, David laments the presence and nature of evil embodied in this one man, while simultaneously acknowledging the enduring faithful love of God. The word boast is elsewhere translated as praise, it is the Hebrew word hallal. This man praises evil, brags about his power, relishes his crimes against the innocent. I can’t understand the thinking of a sociopath, but I know this level of evil still exists in the world. There are mighty men (and women) who are bent on the destruction of the innocent for their own advancement. It may be more sanitized and secretive these days, but pornography, human trafficking, abortion are a some of the major ways that innocence is slaughtered. And yet, the steadfast love of God is also evident every day. Where? Where does a victim of human trafficking see the love of God? Where does a woman facing the trauma of abortion see the love of God? Where do workers in the sex industry see the love of God? I would hope that they see his love in the face of the church, men and women who love unconditionally and respond to evil and hate with goodness and love. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). Faced with an unthinkable crime, David chooses to focus on the faithful love of God which will outlast every evil deed of men. This psalm is personal because the victims in the event this psalm is referring to have names and faces that David recalls. This is not evil in a general, philosophical sense. It is personal, actual -- the kind of evil that makes you want to punch someone in the face and then breakdown and sob. This kind of evil exists today. What is your response? David’s response was to lament and to worship. 

2 Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.

3 You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah

It’s interesting that rather than focusing on the deeds of Doeg, which were pure evil, David emphasizes his words. His tongue plots destruction, as destructive to flesh as a sharp razor. He is a worker of deceit. Deceit is telling the truth while misleading others, speaking half-truths, a thing that is technically true but effectively false. He loves evil more than good and lying more than speaking what is right. If Doeg had remained silent about Ahimelech, the chain of events that was set in motion would not have happened. Rather than vent his anger at Saul who ordered the genocide, David points the finger at Doeg, whose words made the genocide possible. There’s no question that deceit destroys the social fabric. Society is built upon the assumption that generally speaking, we can trust one another. We can trust our government, our media, our teachers, our auto mechanics, our real estate agents, and our pastors. When that trust is broken by lies and deceit, we will naturally become protective and act in our own self interest. This is one of the reasons the Soviet Union and Eastern European communistic societies ultimately crumbled - no one could be trusted. The same is true on a personal level. Lying and deceit are eventually revealed and credibility is lost. Words are far more powerful than we think. I’ll give Doeg the benefit of the doubt and suggest that his betrayal of Ahimelech was purely a political move to put himself in greater favor with his boss. Perhaps he didn’t know what Saul would do with the information. He just wanted to get ahead with his boss. But before you know it, he was the one shoving his bloody sword through the women and children of Nob. What started with words, ended in deadly trauma. Giving quarter to one form of evil makes us more willing to entertain other evils. This is the path that Doeg walked: deceitful words that led to horrific actions. One of the lies we tell ourselves is that a little lie won’t hurt anyone, and a little bit of gossip is no big deal, everyone does it. Our words may seem insignificant and powerless, but they can become like cuts of a razor on the flesh of others. Death by a thousand cuts. Guard your tongue; it is a deadly poison or a life-giving tonic. 

4 You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

5 But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

In addition to loving evil and lying, this mighty man that David speaks of, loves words that destroy. His tongue is deceitful. In some ways, we might prefer a bald faced lie over deceit. Deceit is a lie that is meant to sound like the truth. It is a statement of fact that is incomplete or exaggerated in some way. It has the ring of truth and it may be spoken authoritatively, but the effect is to mislead. For example, in Doeg’s case, he simply told Saul the truth: David was hiding in the village of Nob. It was a simple question with a simple answer. However, the effect of Doeg’s true answer was to almost guarantee the slaughter of the village. I completely understand where Doeg is coming from. He desires his master’s favor so of course he will reveal the whereabouts of the man he is hunting. One might argue that Doeg didn’t know how far Saul would go in his rage and the blame does ultimately rest with Saul. But Doeg’s words betraying David’s location were the key to setting off the tragic chain of events. Thus it is possible to speak the truth with ulterior motives. Politicians and journalists trade in this language. They may speak the truth, often passionately, but it is often an exaggeration or a partial truth. Issues are usually much more complex that a sound bite or a two minute news segment allows for. This is the inherent problem with Twitter in particular and social media in general. The result is often the demonization and dehumanization of political opponents. The consequence for using the power of language to destroy is sudden and ultimate. God will break you down forever, snatching you up and tearing you from your tent, uprooting you from the land of the living. This presents the image of some wild animal (like a lion, see Psalm 50:22) suddenly entering your tent, pulling you from it, and mauling you. The second metaphor is that of a tree uprooted by a powerful storm, impossible to replant. Those who trade in destructive language will find themselves destroyed suddenly and completely. This is the promise of God because this is the way that reality works. Words and actions have consequences in a world that is ruled by a just God. The uprooting of Doeg and those like him is in sharp contrast to the planting of David in verse 8, an olive tree in the house of God. 

6 The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying,

7 “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!” [in his work of destruction]

The sudden end to the mighty man described in this psalm is a lesson to the upright. This is what happens to a person who has no room for God in their life. They trust in their own might, their own wealth, the own words, and when something bigger than themselves comes along, they are powerless to defeat it. The last line of verse 7 is literally, “He strengthened himself in his wickedness.” He used his wickedness to make himself stronger. Psalms like these create a binary of good versus evil. The “mighty man” in the psalm is literally a man, Doeg, but he represents people throughout history who have denied the reality of God and have pushed themselves forward by their own willingness to do whatever it takes to dominate. It began with words and turned to evil actions. The principle stated here adds that this man trusted in his riches. The abundance of his possessions gave him the illusion that he had everything one might need, and so he pushed his weight around as if nothing could harm him. The richest and most powerful man in the world is still subject to reality, namely our mortality and the nagging problem of justice: a man reaps what he sows. The psalmist is confident that Doeg will meet the same type of sudden and bloody end as his victims. The phrase, “those who live by the sword will die by the sword” comes to mind. Seeing justice done against the mighty man causes the upright to fear God and gives them an occasion to mock and laugh. This is reminiscent of God’s activity in Psalm 2:4. In fact it is the same word. The LORD laughs at our futile attempts to work against his justice. So have no fear of the mighty man who may seem to have the upper hand for a moment. He will be relegated to the trash heap of history in a blink of an eye. He is sowing the seeds of his own destruction. What goes around comes around. Let this be a lesson to us if we assert ourselves selfishly and trust in our own power rather than make God our refuge. 

8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.

9 I will thank you forever, because you have done it. I will wait for your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly.

The contrast between David and the mighty boasting man is clear in verse 8 where David asserts that unlike the mighty man who will be suddenly uprooted, David is like a green olive tree planted in the house of God. The olive tree is a symbol of long life, living for hundreds and perhaps more than a thousand years, making these trees among the oldest living things on the planet, spanning multiple generations of humans. So David expects to live a long and fruitful life even while the wicked around him are plucked from life and torn apart by wild animals. Second, he describes the olive tree as “green” in that it is currently fresh and vigorous, actively bearing fruit and providing shade and shelter to others. This metaphor is reinforced in the context by the repeated use of the words forever and steadfast as in God’s steadfast love and the reference to the devoted ones (saints) as well as his promise to wait. This psalm also circles back thematically to the very first psalm where the person who meditates on God’s law is like a tree and the one who disregards the law is likened to chaff that the wind blows. The story of Doeg and David is Psalm 1 lived out, an actual historical example of what this looks like. The wicked will not stand in the judgment; they will be uprooted. With confidence in this truth, David declares that he will trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. He will live in a continuous state of thankfulness because of what God has done, and he will wait patiently for God’s rescue along with those who share his trust in God. This suggests that God’s rescue has not fully come to David at this point. Doeg is still alive and well and Saul is in hot pursuit of David, even as they leave behind the bloody village of Nob. Things are not resolved -- Saul is still hunting him, and David’s next brush with death is certain. Yet, David asserts that he will continue to wait for “God’s name”. This is a great example of how this Hebrew idiom where the name of someone stands for the person. God’s name is good is another way of saying that God is good. He is just and in his steadfast love, justice will be done, and all will look at what has happened and say, “God is good.” Finally, notice the location of the green olive tree. It is planted in the house of God. David is on the run, hiding in caves and desert wastelands, and yet in his perspective he is in the presence of God. He is not in Zion (that’s not even a holy place yet); he is not hanging out with the priests around the ark of the covenant; he is not in a joyful assembly of worshipers -- all of the things that we might associate with the worship and presence of God. And yet he is in the house of God. He is at home with God wherever he is. In New Testament theology we understand this to be the spirit of God that is not contained in a location or a physical body. God is both everywhere and most assuredly with you at the same time. David is practicing the presence of God, aware that he is never alone, even in the darkest of times. David is also in the presence of the godly, the hasidim, the devoted ones, the saints. David is living in community. David has his own mighty men who share his convictions of God and goodness, and together with them, he finds the strength to wait for the name of the Lord to do something.