Ode To A Wicked Man

Psalm 52

For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Doeg the Edomite told Saul that Ahimelech had given refuge to David.

1You call yourself a hero, do you?

Why boast about this crime of yours,

you who have disgraced God’s people?

2All day long you plot destruction.

Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor;

you’re an expert at telling lies.

3You love evil more than good

and lies more than truth.

Interlude

4You love to say things that harm others,

you liar!

5But God will strike you down once and for all.

He will pull you from your home

and drag you from the land of the living.

Interlude

6The righteous will see it and be amazed.

They will laugh and say,

7“Look what happens to mighty warriors

who do not trust in God.

They trust their wealth instead

and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”

8But I am like an olive tree,

thriving in the house of God.

I trust in God’s unfailing love

forever and ever.

9I will praise you forever, O God,

for what you have done.

I will wait for your mercies

in the presence of your people.

David was a loyal servant in the royal court. He often played the harp to soothe King Saul’s spirit. But Saul decided that David was a threat and wanted to kill him. Warned by Saul’s son Jonathan, who was also David’s close friend, David fled. Along the way, David stopped at Nob and convinced a priest to give him some holy bread and the sword of Goliath.

Unfortunately, one of Saul’s herdsman named Doeg happened to be there. He informed Saul that Ahimelech the priest had helped David escape. The paranoid king summoned the priest for interrogation. Ahimelech protested that he was not trying to hurt the king but only to help his friend David, but Saul wanted none of it. He ordered Doeg to kill the priest along with all the other priests who lived in the city of Nob—which Doeg gladly did.

Later David was plagued by guilt over this incident. He should have known that Doeg would squeal to the king. This psalm is David’s comeback, berating Doeg for his wickedness. David asserts that the Lord will pay back the wicked for their deeds.

Why should the mighty make their boast

And heavenly grace despise?

In their own arm they put their trust

And fill their mouth with lies.

C. D. BARLOW

A Word on Words

It is thought by some that Nob, where this took place, was situated on the Mount of Olives. Compare with Psalm 1:3.

Bible Networking

Olive trees are often mentioned in Scripture. To whom do they refer? Read Psalm 1:3; Romans 11:17, 24; and Zechariah 4:3, 11-14.