Responding to Evil
Psalm 52
Main Idea: Rather than loving evil, the righteous trust in God’s steadfast love.
The “superscription” of Psalm 52 tells us the exact historical context of this song: “A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.” This is recorded in 1 Samuel 21-22, as Saul orders Doeg to kill all of the priests of Nob, because Ahimelech assisted David.
I. Recognizing Evil (52:1-4)
David identifies both the fruit and the root of Doeg’s sinful actions:
The Fruit of Evil: Wicked Words
“Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man” (52:1a)
“Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor” (52:2)
“You love lying more than speaking what is right” (52:3b)
“You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue” (52:4)
Proverbs 18:21: Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
James 3:5–8: So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
Matthew 12:36-37: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The Root of Evil: Disordered Loves (“You love evil more than good” - 52:3a)
Matthew 15:11: “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
Luke 6:45: The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
II. Trusting God (52:5-7)
After diagnosing evil, David turns his attention to two responses to wickedness:
God’s Response (52:5): He will break down, snatch, tear, and uproot the wicked in judgment.
The Righteous Response (52:6-7): Seeing, fearing, and laughing (cf. Ps. 2:4; 37:12-13)
The wicked “trust in the abundance of riches” and “sought refuge in their own destruction” (cf. Phil. 3:19); meanwhile, the righteous make God their refuge and find contentment, safety, and life in him.
Hebrews 13:5: Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
1 Timothy 6:6–10: “… godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
III. Pursuing Righteousness (52:8-9)
David draws two contrasts between the wicked and the righteous:
The wicked will be “uprooted” (52:5) while the righteous are like “a green olive tree” (52:8a; cf. Ps. 1)
The wicked trust in the abundance of riches (52:7) while the righteous trust in the steadfast love of God (52:8b)
The pursuit of righteousness will be marked by the following postures:
1. Thanksgiving (1 Thess. 5:16-18)
2. Waiting (cf. Rom. 12:19)
“Before or among the saints David intended to wait, feeling it to be good both for him and them to look to the Lord alone, and wait for the manifestation of his character in due season. Men must not fluster us too much; our strength is to sit still. Let the mighty ones boast, we will wait on the Lord.”
~ Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David
3. Worship
