52 To the choirmaster. A Maskil1 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.
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
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
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!”2
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.
Section Overview
This psalm enables the faithful to develop confidence in God’s care and protection, particularly when they are surrounded by fierce and ruthless enemies. The title associates the psalm with an incident during David’s flight from Saul (1 Sam. 21:1–7), which led to the slaughter at Nob of the priests who had helped David to flee (1 Sam. 22:9–19). Doeg’s report put the priests’ hospitality to David in the worst light; when none of Saul’s Israelite men would strike the priests down, Doeg did so willingly. Under Saul’s leadership (of God’s own people!) this was a horrendous abuse of God-given power. The incident thus provides an example of the violent use of power that the faithful might face.451
Some have classified the psalm as the lament of an individual, but there is no real request here. Others, more helpfully, have called it a psalm with prophetic themes, since it denounces unfaithful Israelites who have power and wield that power to oppress. In this way it overlaps with the function of the confidence psalms, as it strengthens the faithful by warning the unfaithful.
The opening stanza (Psalm 52:1–4) describes “you,” a particular person who intends to use his strength in violent and deceitful ways against the faithful. The second stanza (vv. 5–7) shifts the focus with “But God,” contending that God will thwart such people. The third stanza (vv. 8–9) shifts the focus again with “But I,” enlisting each singer to join in confident trust toward God and his purposes.
Section Outline
I. The Gloating Evildoer (52:1–4)
II. But God Will Deal With You in the Sight of All (52:5–7)
III. I Am Safe in Your Keeping, O God (52:8–9)
The third stanza comes back to thoughts in the first stanza, with intensification (cf. comment on 52:8–9): “the steadfast love of God,” which “endures all the day” (v. 1), is answered with “trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever” (v. 8).
Response
As indicated above (cf. Section Overview and Outline), this short psalm serves to warn the powerful among God’s people and to comfort the faithful. In doing so the psalm also embodies a set of values: it helps the faithful to disdain the exploitative use of power, to admire the life of trust, and to treasure the proper functioning of God’s people as a loving, safe social system.
Sadly, Christians can testify that powerful members in their own midst have used their power for selfish and oppressive ends. The leaders of worship, and those who participate, have the duty of warning such people of the dire consequences of their choices. At the same time, the faithful renew their confidence in, as well as their commitment to, the right use of authority and power among God’s people.Psalm 52
Psalm 53