Psalm 52 To the Chief Musician. A Contemplation of David When Doeg the Edomite Went and Told Saul, and Said to Him, “David Has Gone to the House of Ahimelech.”

 ¹Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?

The goodness of God endures continually.

²Your tongue devises destruction,

Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

³You love evil more than good,

Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah

⁴You love all devouring words,

You deceitful tongue.

⁵God shall likewise destroy you forever;

He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place,

And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

⁶The righteous also shall see and fear,

And shall laugh at him, saying,

⁷“Here is the man who did not make God his strength,

But trusted in the abundance of his riches,

And strengthened himself in his wickedness.”

⁸But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;

I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.

⁹I will praise You forever,

Because You have done it;

And in the presence of Your saints

I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

Preamble: This historical background for Psalm 51 is found in 1 Samuel chapters 21, 22. In the context of all the psalms this psalm is the only one that names and then condemns an individual, the person being Doeg the Edomite, who was not an Israelite, but one of Esau’s descendants. Now this man Doeg was a chief herdsman for king Saul, and he was present when David having fled from Saul came to the priestly village of Nob and there sought out Ahimelech the priest who provided David with some bread and gave him Goliath’s sword, not knowing that David had fled from Saul. Later when Doeg heard Saul decrying how everyone was against him, and that his son had made a covenant with David, he saw an opportunity for himself by telling Saul what he saw. Saul then in great anger commanded Ahimelech to appear before him and so he came to Saul, along with the other priests to Saul, but they did so not knowing that evil awaited them. And so when they arrived Saul already enraged immediately interrogated them and then turned on them commanding his men to kill them all. Now when they refused to do so out of their fear of the Lord, Saul turned to Doeg the Edomite and told him to kill them which he did. Afterwards he went and led a party of his own men to the priest’s village and killed every living thing there: men, woman, children, nursing infants, even their livestock they killed, for he murdered them all. Now one person escaped and that was Abiathar one of Ahimelech’s sons, he then came and told David what had been done. This Psalm then is David’s declaration, as God’s anointed servant, of God’s indignation and wrath at Doeg the Edomite.

Commentary

Vs. 1 “Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?

The goodness of God endures continually.”

Such was the evil inside Doeg the Edomite that when he tasted blood not only did he thirst for more, but he even became boastful about his most heinous deed, of killing the Lord’s priests. David’s response then to his demonically horrific act is to reaffirm God’s goodness in the face of it, because whatever evil anyone does to anyone of God’s children, no matter how heinous, God’s goodness towards us will not end with it. Indeed, death for us is not the end, it is just the beginning of our seeing and receiving His goodness forever!

Vs. 2-4 ²Your tongue devises destruction,

Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

³You love evil more than good,

Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah

⁴You love all devouring words,

You deceitful tongue.

David now utterly loathes Doeg and his deceitfully slanderous mouth. For Doeg was not just a common killer, no he was quite skillful in his manipulation of others, he knew how to stir people up and spurn them on through his manipulative speech. Indeed, Doeg took pleasure in his lying, in his controlling others through it, in his devouring words and his deceitful tongue, for this brought him, like all evil people like him, great satisfaction in seeing his desires worked out through his plans and others hands.

Vs. 5-7 ⁵God shall likewise destroy you forever;

He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place,

And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

⁶The righteous also shall see and fear,

And shall laugh at him, saying,

⁷“Here is the man who did not make God his strength,

But trusted in the abundance of his riches,

And strengthened himself in his wickedness.”

God’s own verdict on Doeg is now brought forth through his servant David. For as Doeg destroyed others so God Himself will destroy him, for He will cast him out of his dwelling place and uproot him from the land of the living, Selah! Doeg then shall be made an example to all who observe the ways of God, for the righteous shall see his downfall, they shall see and fear the glorious judgment of God, and laugh at Doeg, saying,

“Here is the man who did not make God his strength,

But trusted in the abundance of his riches,

And strengthened himself in his wickedness.” ^{Vs. 7}

Vs. 8-9 ⁸But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;

I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.

⁹I will praise You forever,

Because You have done it;

And in the presence of Your saints

I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

David now compares himself, indeed all who believe in God and live righteously for Him, like a green olive tree in the house of God, using then that as a metaphor for health, vibrancy, and peace. Therefore because of God justly dealing with Doeg and prospering the righteous, David’s heart resounds with praise as he closes this Psalm with a desire to wait on the Lord with His saints for His Name which is His vindication of us all!

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.