Psalm 52 is a psalm written by David in the midst of a time of great distress. This is one of the few psalms that provide a historical setting that lies behind its writing, so in order to understand the psalm, we should understand the story that birthed it.
The story is found in 1 Samuel 20-22. David, in light of the fact that Saul is trying to take his life, flees from Jerusalem and goes to Ahimelech the priest at Nob. Without telling Ahimelech his reasons (and actually telling him false reasons so as to protect Ahimelech from guilt), David procures food and a weapon and flees to a cave at Adullam where he gathers some loyal followers around him. While David is at Nob, Doeg the Edomite – a servant of Saul – sees Ahimelech provide David with food and a weapon. Later, when Saul finds out that David has been discovered, he asks his servants why none of them had provided him with details of David’s escape. At this point, Doeg speaks up and tells Saul that Ahimelech provided David with food and a weapon. In response, Saul summons Ahimelech and tells his guards to kill him, but they refuse. Saul then tells Doeg to kill him. Doeg not only kills Ahimelech but all the other priests of Nob as well as everyone else in the city. The whole city is slaughtered because one priest (unwittingly) helped David escape from Saul. And the whole city is slaughtered because Doeg wanted to be in Saul’s good graces.
The story ends with one (and only one) of Ahimelech’s sons escaping and telling David what has happened. Presumably, according to its own superscript, David then penned Psalm 52. This setting is extremely helpful in understanding the psalm itself. No doubt, David is feeling guilty and overwhelmed. It seems as if he has tried to honor the Lord and yet evil has come. It seems that the perpetrators of this evil have gotten away with it. It seems as if God has chosen not to prevent this wickedness – or even punish it. How is David supposed to react in such a situation? Psalm 52 is the answer. Let us examine it and heed God’s wisdom spoken to us through David.
David begins the psalm by crying out, “Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day” (52:1). It is crucial for us to notice David’s starting point – he begins with what he knows to be true rather than what he perceives to be happening. Rather than thinking that it might actually be possible to get away with evil or that God does not care about what has happened, he begins this meditation by declaring something that he knows to be true.
This declaration will be fleshed out as the psalm progresses, but the substance of David’s thought is clear: it is foolish for the evil person to boast in their evil because that evil never has the final word, God does. There is almost a taunting quality to David’s question – as if he knows something that the evil man does not know. And, in fact, this is exactly the case: he knows that the steadfast love of God – regardless of the appearance that evil has triumphed – endures all the day.
Before meditating on the reality of God, David expands his description of the evil man of verse 1 – probably with Doeg (and maybe Saul) in mind. He says, “Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue” (52:2-4). This brief mediation on the character of the evil man focuses on the tongue (presumably understanding that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” – Matt. 12:34), and the description is sobering. This evil man’s words are revealing that he desires destruction, and that his intention is to wound those around him as with a razor – an appropriate image for the sharp and cutting nature of this person’s words. Moreover, this person delights in evil, and he desires to see evil things happen more than good things. He desires lying over telling the truth. In summation, the evil person loves to speak whatever will destroy others – even lies, most likely with the assumption that such destruction will make him look better. David is putting flesh on his description of the evil man – making identification easier and more specific.
David is about to describe what awaits this evil man, but before we move to that, I want us to pause for a moment and heed the biblical counsel to “examine our ways” (Lam. 3:40; see also 2 Cor. 13:5). No doubt, many of us – in hearing the context of this psalm – immediately placed ourselves (maybe correctly) in the place of David. I doubt there are any here who immediately put themselves in the place of the evil man. But, in order to fully feel the weight of this psalm, we need to examine ourselves rightly in light of this description. Too often, we are horribly self-deceptive when it comes to our own character, and the key to fighting this is asking specific questions. What do our words reveal about us? Do we plot destruction – maybe not the destruction of cities or even murder but the destruction of another person’s character and reputation through gossip? Do our words cut like a razor or do they edify and build up (Eph. 4:29)? Do our words reveal that we love what is evil or what is good? Even (and especially) on a small-talk level, do we reveal our love for an immoral show or movie or song or do we reveal our love for that which is holy and honorable and right? And on a very explicit level, are our words true or false? Do our words reveal that we love lies – because those lies seem to make things easier or better – or that we love truth – even when it does not make things easier or better? Before skimming over this description of the wicked man, we should provide an honest answer to these questions so as to ensure that we are fleeing such evil.
Having described the evil man, David lays out God’s response to this evil person. David writes, “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” (52:5). In essence, David is fleshing out the details of his confident declaration in verse 1. In that first verse, David made it sound as if it was ludicrous for the mighty man to boast in his evil. In actuality, that is exactly what David was saying, and this verse provides the ground of that thought. David is fully aware that, eventually, the evil person will face the judgment and wrath of God. We should take note of David’s vivid imagery so that we feel the weight of these statements. Just as the evil man sought to destroy and devour, there will come a day when God breaks him down as one would demolish a wall. Moreover, God will reach into this person’s tent and rip them out – presumably to call them to count, demand explanation and judge. And like a person working in their yard and ripping weeds or dead plants up by their roots, God will uproot the evil person from their place. These are graphic images used to portray the frightening and dangerous position in which the evil person resides.
There are some central points that we should recognize regarding this judgment from God. For one thing, God is actively involved in it. In fact, he is the executor of judgment. This is not simply a picture of God allowing judgment or delegating judgment but of Him actively serving as the agent of judgment. It is crucial to David's argument to understand that the evil person incurs the active wrath of God. Moreover, in time, that wrath results in action. The reason that David can question the mighty man as he does in verse 1 is because he knows of this terrible judgment that awaits that man. In light of verse 5, it is as if David is saying, “Are you really going to boast of the very thing that is assuring your destruction in the future? Are you really going to gloat in the fact that you did something that will ultimately result in your condemnation?” The central reality in David's thought that keeps him from collapsing in despair and hopelessness when he hears of Doeg's treachery is the belief that God will judge the wicked fully and completely. That is why David goes on to declare, “The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, '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'” (52:6-7). David knows that Doeg's sin will not be overlooked or go unpunished, but that God will make it right.
Before moving on, we should think of the implications of this reality. First of all, for those in this room who would refuse to follow God and instead choose to pursue wickedness, you need to understand the stark reality that God will judge evil. More specifically, God will punish those who do evil. You need to understand that the picture of God as a lovable grandfather who just cannot bring himself to punish anyone is false. Instead, if you walk in wickedness and refuse to submit to God's law, God himself – as one of our other pastors, Lee Tankersley has often said – will throw you into hell. It will be entirely just and right. You should also notice that though David says God will do this, he does not specify a time. It could be that God's time to uproot you and rip you from your tent is only seconds away. It could be that it is mere weeks or months away. You do not know, but you do need to know that it is coming. That said, you also need to know that God has made a way for this wrath on your wickedness to be taken away. God, because of his love for the whole world, sent Jesus to die on the cross and take the wrath of God that should have come to those who believe. Jesus died and was raised from the dead, and if you turn from your sins and believe in Jesus (that he has been raised from the dead and lives as Lord) then you will be saved. God has made a way of salvation that allows him to remain just (by placing punishment for your wickedness on Jesus Christ) and yet also be your justifier (by giving you the incredible blessings that Jesus earned by living a perfect life on this earth). You need to reckon with the seriousness of evil and the consequences it brings.
For those of us who are Christians and find ourselves in the place of David, this reality is important for us as well. First of all, it is vitally important because every one of us is by nature a wicked person like Doeg. We all deserve to be uprooted and torn from our place and judged. The fact that God has made a way of salvation – a way for us to move from Doeg to David – is due to His sovereign grace. Hearing about the terrible judgment that awaits the wicked should cause us to rejoice again that such judgment will not come to us. It should cause us to love our Savior and praise our God. Second, this reality should give us hope in the midst of rampant wickedness. In the context of this psalm, David is using this reality of God's judgment to strengthen his heart and give himself hope (as we will see more in a moment), and we can do the same. In the midst of horrible sin (both against us and against others) we can be confident that the evil man will be judged. We can be assured that there will be a reckoning. Judgment will come. Third, the reality of this judgment should cause our hearts to break for the wicked. Notice that David's documentation of the joyful response of the righteous appears after God executes judgment. On that day, the righteous will rejoice in the righteous judgment of their God. But until that day, we have a message of reconciliation for the lost. Until that day, we have a task to take the gospel to those wicked people. May we never use the reality of God's judgment as an excuse to shrink back from speaking the gospel. We as Christians would have no hope had not someone had compassion on us as wicked people and spoken the gospel. This is our role. This reality of God's impending judgment is crucial for all of us.
Understanding David's situation in this psalm, these last two verses are crucial to grasping the full message that David is proclaiming. So far, we have seen David meditate on the wickedness of the evil man and the judgment of God that will one day fall on that evil man. In these final verses of the psalm, David moves to a meditation of his own security in God (as opposed to the transitoriness of the wicked man) and lays out the emotions that well up in his heart as a result of this series of meditations.
We saw in verses 5-7 a graphic depiction of the future state of the wicked which stands in stark contrast to David's place in God's house described in the beginning of verse 8a: “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.” This image of a righteous man as a tree firmly planted echoes Psalm 1 which declares: “He [the righteous person] is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither” (Ps. 1:3). In contrast to the wicked person who is ripped up by their roots in God's judgment, the righteous person remains and bears great fruit. The wicked person is rejected, and the righteous person is accepted.
And contemplating this incredible contrast drives David to a response of faith. He closes the psalm by declaring, “I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. 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” (v. 8b-9). Here we see David declaring that because he is firmly planted in the house of God, he will trust in the God who has planted him. Because God has done this for him, he will thank forever the one who has done it for him. And because God has revealed Himself to be who He is, David will wait patiently for that God to reveal Himself. In short, based on what David knows to be true about God, David will have faith, offer thanksgiving and persevere in hope. In the midst of this terrible situation involving Doeg and the slaughter of all of these innocent people, David is going to trust in the Lord and thank the Lord and wait for the Lord, because he knows that God will judge the wicked one day and because he knows that God has shown him favor in the past.
These final words of David are extremely instructive for us because they lay out for us the culmination of a process: this psalm, in its entirety, is a picture of David battling through a situation that appears terrible and hopeless. More specifically, this psalm is a picture of David preaching to himself truths about God so that his heart will respond rightly. As I mentioned earlier, it is crucial to note that David begins with things that he knows to be true and uses those truths to discipline his emotions into line. No doubt, as David hears of the slaughter by Doeg, his emotions are going crazy – there is temptation to despair and fear and fail to trust in the Lord. But David responds by reminding himself of what is true so that those emotions – though not wrong in moderation – will not dominate him and overtake him.
Likewise, for us, though we may not find ourselves in the exact position of David, we do find ourselves surrounded by wickedness and sin. We do find ourselves in situations that tempt us to fear and despair and fail to trust in the Lord. While those emotions are not inherently wrong, we must follow the example of David and confront our emotions with truth. We must discipline our emotions with truth. We must train our emotions with truth. We must preach to ourselves and to each other the truths of God and of Jesus and of salvation, so that our hearts might respond rightly to God and the world and the situations we encounter. Amen.