Doeg, slaying the priests at Nob Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org /w/index.php?curid=4275500 |
Against this backdrop, David writes the
words of this short psalm. The opening verses poetically describe Doeg the
worker of destruction, particularly focusing on what he had said. The
description indicates that Doeg said more than the brief report of 1 Sam.
22:9-10.
“I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech
the son of Ahitub, and he inquired of the Lord for him and gave
him provisions and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”
These words sound like a simple report
of the facts. However, David’s description suggests that much more was
involved—either in its content or its intent.
Why do you boast of evil, O mighty
man?
The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
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. Selah
You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue. (Psalm 52:1-4)
Doeg loved evil and lying more than
good. Upon such a genuinely wicked man, David pronounced God’s coming judgment.
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 (v.5)
I am impressed with the parade of
parallel imprecatory verbs associated with what God would do to Doeg and those
like him.
Break you down: This word communicates a repeated beat down, pulling down and breaking off as of branches from a tree, stones from a wall (2 Kings 25:10), or beams from a house. Another interesting use of this term is regarding the contamination of a house by dread disease/toxic mold (Lev. 14:45). Could we connect Doeg’s inner contagion and the rules for cleansing a house? It sounds like David might have done just that.Photo by Zhang Kenny on Unsplash - Snatch you up: the picture of being seized quickly for destruction and then dropped like a fiery coal. One moment it was business as usual and the next everything changed for the worse. Judgment is often postponed, but when it comes it snatches suddenly and irrevocably.
- Tear you away: used of being plucked out of one’s house, tent, or land. While God prefers to plant and sow, he also will pluck up and tear down the wicked and treacherous (àProv. 2:22; 15:25; Deut. 28:63)
- Uproot you from: God will pull you out roots and all. No trace will be left in “the land of the living” (àIsa 40:23-24). Where else is such imagery for the traceless demise of the wicked found? Psalm 1:4 may have been in David’s mind since a couple of verses later he refers to himself as a green olive tree (v.8) which correlates with the tree metaphor used for the righteous man in Psalm 1:3.
The folly of wickedness and
shortsightedness in trusting our wealth and power instead of making God our
refuge becomes evident. It is a pattern from which we should learn to go the
other way. Esau despised his birthright for a bowl of soup (Gen. 25). Nabal
trusted his wealth and despised David’s request (1 Sam. 25). Many kings sought
worldly wealth and power instead of the peace and eternal life found in the One
True God. Jesus told the story about the rich fool who built bigger barns
without consulting the Lord’s counsel for his selfish indulgence instead of
graciously sharing his abundance with others (Luke 12:13-21). In the early
church, there was the episode with Ananias and Saphira who made a show of
giving but still held back wealth for themselves (Acts 5:1-10). This is only a
small sample from an extensive list.
These things were written for our
instruction… but will we learn the lesson? Will we be servants of
Christ, who though shrewd as serpents are innocent as doves (Mt. 10:16) loving
one another and working for the common good? Or will we be like Doeg, excusing
our evil desires and shockingly brutal actions as faithful service to an unjust
political or economic power? Saying, “I was just following orders,” is no
longer an adequate defense. Perhaps it never was.
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash |
Take away the dross
from the silver,
and the smith has material for a vessel;
take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
and his throne will be established in
righteousness. (Prov. 25:4-5)
Notice that not only are there parallels between dross/the wicked, and between the smith/the king, but a righteous throne is like a silver vessel, a serving tool to share with others.
Here, in the situation addressed by
Psalm 52 David saw himself like the one
described in Psalm 1:1-3 who does not learn the ways of the wicked or
participate with sinners and scoffers in their ways and works. Again, his son Solomon
would later say something similar in Prov. 24:1-2
Be not envious of evil
men,
nor desire to be with them,
for their hearts devise violence,
and their lips talk of trouble.
Olives in Jerusalem. Photo: Greg K. Dueker |
But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever. (v.8)
Remember, the psalms
give us the vocabulary to express our feelings honestly to the Lord. This one
is no different. Here David processes his anger, outrage, and dismay, at what
Doeg had done. Yet, instead of taking vengeance into his own hands, he trusted
God to handle the situation. He wrote with the confidence of one who has
already seen it happen, though it had not. David’s early years are challenging
to our culture of self-advancement and demanding our rights. David, though
anointed to be king, never took the timing of the fulfillment of that anointing
into his own hands.
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.9)
Filled with gratitude and goodness, not hate, let us
wait for the Lord Jesus Christ along with the community of faith! And while we
are waiting, maybe we should cooperate with the Holy Spirit as he cleans our
hearts, our words, and our ways… today.