A Study by Scott Sperling Psalm 52 - A Psalm Against Evil   For the director of music.  A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him:  “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”     1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? 2 Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit. 3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth.  Selah     4 You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue! 5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living.   Selah     6 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, 7 “Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold But trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!” 8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.   9 I will praise you forever for what you have done; In your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.   The    occasion    of    this    psalm,    as    noted    in    the    inscription,    is    “when    Doeg    the Edomite    had    gone    to    Saul    and    told    him:        ‘David    has    gone    to    the    house    of Ahimelech.’”       When   Saul   was   looking   to   kill   David,   David   fled   with   some   of   his men.        While    fleeing,    he    went    to   Ahimelech    the    priest    for    rest    and    sustenance.      Ahimelech   was   not   told   that   David   was   fleeing   from   Saul.      In   fact,   Ahimelech   was led   to   believe   that   David   was   sent   on   a   mission   by   Saul.      (See   I   Sam.   21:19).      Later, Doeg   the   Edomite,   who   was   Saul’s   head   shepherd,   told   Saul   that   Ahimelech   had helped   David.      However,   Doeg   did   not   tell   Saul   that   Ahimelech   was   not   aware   that David   was   fleeing   from   Saul.      Saul   had   Ahimelech   and   all   of   the   priests   put   to death.      The   king’s   officials   would   not   slay   the   priests,   so   Doeg   himself   killed   the eighty-five priests.  (See I Sam. 22:623).  In   this   psalm,   David   rails   against   the   evildoer   Doeg:      “Why   do   you   boast   of   evil, you   mighty   man?      Why   do   you   boast   all   day   long,   you   who   are   a   disgrace   in   the eyes   of   God?”    (vs.   1).      There   is   a   bit   of   sarcasm   in   calling   Doeg   a   “mighty   man.”      Doeg,   no   doubt,   did   think   he   was   a   mighty   man,   a   mighty   servant   of   his   king,   as   he killed   the   defenseless   priests.      But   his   feelings   of   “might”    would   have   evaporated   if he had realized the implications of his being “a disgrace in the eyes of God.”   Doeg   was   not   able   to   comprehend   these   implications,   though,   because   he   was thoroughly   evil.      He   “boasts   of   evil…,   boasts   all   day   long.”    “One   of   the   most decisive   evidences   of   reprobacy   is   to   glory   in   our   shame”   [Plumer,   568].      “It   is   bad enough   to   imagine   and   to   do   mischief;   but   far   worse   to   boast   of   it”   [Slade,   in Plumer,   569].      Such   boasting   is   short-lived.      God   is   just,   and   in   the   end,   He   will bring justice. David   continues:      “Your   tongue   plots   destruction;   it   is   like   a   sharpened   razor, you   who   practice   deceit.      You   love   evil   rather   than   good,   falsehood   rather   than speaking   the   truth”    (vss.   23).      Doeg’s   tongue   perpetrated   much   evil,   bringing about   the   murder   of   eighty-five   priests.      Actually,   it   was   what   Doeg   didn’t   say   that was   evil.      Doeg   knew   that   Ahimelech   was   not   aware   that   David   was   fleeing   from Saul.      He   could   have   defended   the   priests.      Doeg’s   falsehood   came   from   what   he omitted. The   force   behind   Doeg’s   sin   was   his   hardened   heart,   which   loved   “evil   rather than   good.”   “Wicked   men   have   a   real   love   of   sin.      This   is   the   secret   of   all   their abominations.        But    for    this    they    might    easily    be    amended    by    instruction    and example”   [Plumer,   570].      Though   we   all   sin,   God’s   people   do   not   love   evil,   even   the evil   that   they   do.      We   feel   as   Paul   did:      “For   I   have   the   desire   to   do   what   is   good, but   I   cannot   carry   it   out.      For   what   I   do   is   not   the   good   I   want   to   do;   no,   the   evil   I do not want to do—this I keep on doing”  (Rom. 7:18-19). Destruction   is   in   store   for   those   who   do   love   evil:      “You   love   every   harmful word,   O   you   deceitful   tongue!      Surely   God   will   bring   you   down   to   everlasting ruin:      He   will   snatch   you   up   and   tear   you   from   your   tent;   He   will   uproot   you from   the   land   of   the   living”    (vss.   45).      Certainly   any   earthly   benefit   received   from doing evil is not worth it, if one considers the “everlasting ruin”  that evildoers face. The   ultimate   fate   of   evildoers   should   be   instructive   to   us:      “The   righteous   will see   and   fear;   they   will   laugh   at   him,   saying,   ‘Here   now   is   the   man   who   did   not make   God   his   stronghold,   but   trusted   in   his   great   wealth   and   grew   strong   by destroying   others!’”    (vss.   67).   “The   end   of   every   sinner   teaches   us   some   good lesson,   which   we   ought   carefully   to   ponder”   [Plumer,   571].      We   should   “see   and fear”    what   happens   to   the   wicked.      The   temptation   is   great   for   us   to   trust   in   our “great   wealth” ,   and   to   “grow   strong   by   destroying   others.”       If   we   “see   and   fear” , we may be able to withstand these temptations. Also,   we   are   more   liable   to   withstand   these   temptations   if   we   see   and   recognize what   God   is   doing   in   our   lives:      “But   I   am   like   an   olive   tree   flourishing   in   the house   of   God;   I   trust   in   God’s   unfailing   love   forever   and   ever”    (vs.   8).      The benefits   we   receive   from   God   are   far   different   than   those   received   by   those   who “grow      strong      by      destroying      others.”             Ours      are      lasting      benefits,      not temporal—benefits such as joy, contentment, and peace with God. Recognizing    God’s    eternal    blessings    should    spur    us    on    to    praise    Him,    even though   we   may   be   experiencing   temporary   affliction:      “I   will   praise   You   forever   for what   You   have   done;   in   Your   name   I   will   hope   for   Your   name   is   good.      I   will praise   You   in   the   presence   of   Your   saints”    (vs.   9).      Perhaps   the   greatest   difference between   God’s   children   and   those   who   are   not   God’s   children   is   that   we   can   have “hope”    even   in   the   direst   circumstances.      We   know   what   “God   has   done” ,   and   so we   can   have   “hope”    in   what   God   will   do.      The   fruit   of   this   “hope”    is   the   ability   to “praise”  Him in all circumstances.   ----------- Bibliography and Suggested Reading Alexander,   Joseph   Addison.   The   Psalms   Translated   and   Explained .      Edinburgh:   Andrew   Elliot, 1864.  Anonymous.      A   Plain   Commentary   on   the   Book   of   Psalms .   Philadelphia:      Henry   Hooker   and   Co., 1857. Barnes, Albert.  Notes on the Book of Psalms .  New York:  Harper & Brothers Publishing, 1871. Bonar,   Andrew.   Christ   and   His   Church   in   the   Book   of   Psalms .      New   York:      Robert   Carter   & Brothers, 1860. Calvin,   John.      A   Commentary   on   the   Book   of   Psalms .      3   Vols.      Oxford:   D.   A.   Talboys,   1840. (Originally published in Latin in 1557).  Clarke,   Adam.   The   Holy   Bible   with   a   Commentary   and   Critical   Notes .      Vol.   III.      London:      William Tegg & Co., 1854.  (Originally published in 1831).  Cowles,   Henry.      The   Psalms   with   Notes,   Critical,   Explanatory   and   Practical .      New   York:      D. Appleton & Co., 1872. Darby, John Nelson.  Practical Reflections on the Psalms .  London:  Robert L. Allan, 1870. Delitzsch,   Franz.      Biblical   Commentary   on   the   Psalms.   Edinburgh:      T   &   T   Clark,   1892.   (Originally published in 1860). Dickson,   David.   An   Explication   of   the   Other   Fifty   Psalms,   from   Ps.   50   to   Ps.   100.   Cornhill,   U.K.:     Ralph Smith, 1653.  Exell,   Joseph   S.   and   Henry   Donald   Spence-Jones,   eds.   The   Pulpit   Commentary .   Vols.   17,   18,   & 19. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1884.  Hengstenberg, F. W.  Commentary on the Psalms .  Edinburgh:  T & T Clark, 1864. Henry,   Matthew.      An   Exposition   of   All   the   Books   of   the   Old   and   New   Testament .      Vol.   II.      London: W. Baynes, 1806. (Originally published in 1710). Horne,   George.   A   Commentary   on   the   Book   of   Psalms.       New   York:      Robert   Carter   &   Brothers, 1854. Jamieson,   Robert;   Fausset,   A.   R.;   Brown,   David.      A   Commentary:   Critical,   Experimental,   and Practical on the Old and New Testaments.   Glasgow:  William Collins, Queen’s Printer, 1863. Kidner,   Derek.   Psalms    (in   2   Vols.).   Downers   Grove,   IL:   InterVarsity   Press,   2008   (first   published in 1975). Kirkpatrick,   A.   F.   The   Book   of   Psalms   with   Introduction   and   Notes   –   Books   II   and   III    (from   The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges). Cambridge, UK: University Press, 1895. Lange,   John   Peter,   ed.   and   Philip   Schaff,   trans.      A   Commentary   on   the   Holy   Scriptures:   Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical .  New York:  Charles Scribner & Co., 1865.  Maclaren,   Alexander.   The   Psalms    (in   3   Vols.,   from   The   Expositor’s   Bible,   ed.   by   W.   R.   Nicoll). New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1901. Perowne,   J.   J.   Stewart.      The   Book   of   Psalms:      A   New   Translation   with   Explanatory   Notes .      London:     George Bell & Sons, 1880. Plumer, William S.  Studies in the Book of Psalms .  Philadelphia:  J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1872. Scott, Thomas. Commentary on the Holy Bible , Vol. III. London: James Nisbet, 1866. Spurgeon, Charles.  The Treasury of David .  6 Vols.  London: Marshall Brothers, Ltd., 1885. Tholuck, Augustus.      A   Translation   and   Commentary   of   the   Book   of   Psalms .      Philadelphia:      Martien, 1858. Trapp,    John.        A    Commentary    on    the    Old    and    New    Testaments .    Vol.    II    (Ezra    to    Psalms).      Edmonton,   Canada:   Still   Waters   Revival   Books   (www.PuritanDownloads.com).   (Originally published c. 1660). VanGemeren,   Willem   A.,   (Gaebelein,   Frank   E.,   ed).      Expositor’s   Bible   Commentary ,   Vol.   5   Psalms to Song of Songs.  Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 1991. -- Most   of   these   books   (those   in   the   public   domain)   can   be   downloaded,   free   of   charge,   from   the Classic Christian Library,  at: http://www.ClassicChristianLibrary.com                          
© 1994-2017, Scott Sperling
A Study by Scott Sperling Psalm 52 - A Psalm Against Evil   For the director of music.  A maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him:  “David has gone to the house of Ahimelech.”     1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you   who   are   a   disgrace   in   the   eyes   of God? 2 Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit. 3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood    rather    than    speaking    the truth.  Selah     4 You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue! 5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living.   Selah     6 The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying, 7 “Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold But trusted in his great wealth and      grew      strong      by      destroying others!” 8 But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.   9 I will praise you forever for what you have done; In your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.   The     occasion     of     this     psalm,     as     noted     in     the inscription,   is   “when   Doeg   the   Edomite   had   gone   to Saul   and   told   him:      ‘David   has   gone   to   the   house   of Ahimelech.’”       When   Saul   was   looking   to   kill   David, David   fled   with   some   of   his   men.      While   fleeing,   he went   to   Ahimelech   the   priest   for   rest   and   sustenance.     Ahimelech   was   not   told   that   David   was   fleeing   from Saul.      In   fact,   Ahimelech   was   led   to   believe   that   David was   sent   on   a   mission   by   Saul.      (See   I   Sam.   21:19).     Later,     Doeg     the     Edomite,     who     was     Saul’s     head shepherd,   told   Saul   that   Ahimelech   had   helped   David.     However,   Doeg   did   not   tell   Saul   that   Ahimelech   was not   aware   that   David   was   fleeing   from   Saul.      Saul   had Ahimelech   and   all   of   the   priests   put   to   death.      The king’s    officials    would    not    slay    the    priests,    so    Doeg himself    killed    the    eighty-five    priests.        (See    I    Sam. 22:623).  In   this   psalm,   David   rails   against   the   evildoer   Doeg:     “Why   do   you   boast   of   evil,   you   mighty   man?      Why do   you   boast   all   day   long,   you   who   are   a   disgrace   in the   eyes   of   God?”    (vs.   1).      There   is   a   bit   of   sarcasm   in calling   Doeg   a   “mighty   man.”       Doeg,   no   doubt,   did think   he   was   a   mighty   man,   a   mighty   servant   of   his king,    as    he    killed    the    defenseless    priests.        But    his feelings   of   “might”    would   have   evaporated   if   he   had realized   the   implications   of   his   being   “a   disgrace   in the eyes of God.”   Doeg      was      not      able      to      comprehend      these implications,   though,   because   he   was   thoroughly   evil.     He   “boasts   of   evil…,   boasts   all   day   long.”    “One   of   the most   decisive   evidences   of   reprobacy   is   to   glory   in   our shame”   [Plumer,   568].      “It   is   bad   enough   to   imagine and   to   do   mischief;   but   far   worse   to   boast   of   it”   [Slade, in   Plumer,   569].      Such   boasting   is   short-lived.      God   is just, and in the end, He will bring justice. David   continues:      “Your   tongue   plots   destruction;   it is   like   a   sharpened   razor,   you   who   practice   deceit.     You   love   evil   rather   than   good,   falsehood   rather   than speaking     the     truth”      (vss.     23).          Doeg’s     tongue perpetrated   much   evil,   bringing   about   the   murder   of eighty-five   priests.      Actually,   it   was   what   Doeg   didn’t say   that   was   evil.      Doeg   knew   that   Ahimelech   was   not aware   that   David   was   fleeing   from   Saul.      He   could have    defended    the    priests.        Doeg’s    falsehood    came from what he omitted. The   force   behind   Doeg’s   sin   was   his   hardened   heart, which   loved   “evil   rather   than   good.”   “Wicked   men have   a   real   love   of   sin.      This   is   the   secret   of   all   their abominations.        But    for    this    they    might    easily    be amended   by   instruction   and   example”   [Plumer,   570].     Though   we   all   sin,   God’s   people   do   not   love   evil,   even the   evil   that   they   do.      We   feel   as   Paul   did:      “For   I   have the   desire   to   do   what   is   good,   but   I   cannot   carry   it out.      For   what   I   do   is   not   the   good   I   want   to   do;   no, the   evil   I   do   not   want   to   do—this   I   keep   on   doing”   (Rom. 7:18-19). Destruction   is   in   store   for   those   who   do   love   evil:     “You    love    every    harmful    word,    O    you    deceitful tongue!          Surely     God     will     bring     you     down     to everlasting   ruin:      He   will   snatch   you   up   and   tear   you from   your   tent;   He   will   uproot   you   from   the   land   of the   living”    (vss.   45).      Certainly   any   earthly   benefit received    from    doing    evil    is    not    worth    it,    if    one considers the “everlasting ruin”  that evildoers face. The   ultimate   fate   of   evildoers   should   be   instructive to   us:      “The   righteous   will   see   and   fear;   they   will laugh   at   him,   saying,   ‘Here   now   is   the   man   who   did not   make   God   his   stronghold,   but   trusted   in   his   great wealth   and   grew   strong   by   destroying   others!’”    (vss. 67).   “The   end   of   every   sinner   teaches   us   some   good lesson,   which   we   ought   carefully   to   ponder”   [Plumer, 571].      We   should   “see   and   fear”    what   happens   to   the wicked.      The   temptation   is   great   for   us   to   trust   in   our “great   wealth” ,   and   to   “grow   strong   by   destroying others.”         If    we    “see    and    fear” ,    we    may    be    able    to withstand these temptations. Also,     we     are     more     liable     to     withstand     these temptations   if   we   see   and   recognize   what   God   is   doing in   our   lives:      “But   I   am   like   an   olive   tree   flourishing in   the   house   of   God;   I   trust   in   God’s   unfailing   love forever   and   ever”    (vs.   8).      The   benefits   we   receive   from God   are   far   different   than   those   received   by   those   who “grow   strong   by   destroying   others.”       Ours   are   lasting benefits,      not      temporal—benefits      such      as      joy, contentment, and peace with God. Recognizing   God’s   eternal   blessings   should   spur   us on     to     praise     Him,     even     though     we     may     be experiencing   temporary   affliction:      “I   will   praise   You forever   for   what   You   have   done;   in   Your   name   I   will hope   for   Your   name   is   good.      I   will   praise   You   in   the presence   of   Your   saints”    (vs.   9).      Perhaps   the   greatest difference   between   God’s   children   and   those   who   are not   God’s   children   is   that   we   can   have   “hope”    even   in the   direst   circumstances.      We   know   what   “God   has done” ,   and   so   we   can   have   “hope”    in   what   God   will do.      The   fruit   of   this   “hope”    is   the   ability   to   “praise”   Him in all circumstances.   ----------- Bibliography and Suggested Reading Alexander,     Joseph     Addison.     The     Psalms     Translated     and Explained .  Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot, 1864.  Anonymous.        A    Plain    Commentary    on    the    Book    of    Psalms . Philadelphia:  Henry Hooker and Co., 1857. Barnes,    Albert.        Notes    on    the    Book    of    Psalms .        New    York:      Harper & Brothers Publishing, 1871. Bonar,   Andrew.   Christ   and   His   Church   in   the   Book   of   Psalms .     New York:  Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860. Calvin,   John.      A   Commentary   on   the   Book   of   Psalms .      3   Vols.     Oxford:   D.   A.   Talboys,   1840.   (Originally   published   in   Latin in 1557).  Clarke,   Adam.   The   Holy   Bible   with   a   Commentary   and   Critical Notes .        Vol.    III.        London:        William    Tegg    &    Co.,    1854.      (Originally published in 1831).  Cowles,   Henry.      The   Psalms   with   Notes,   Critical,   Explanatory and Practical .  New York:  D. Appleton & Co., 1872. Darby,    John    Nelson.        Practical    Reflections    on    the    Psalms .      London:  Robert L. Allan, 1870. Delitzsch,     Franz.          Biblical     Commentary     on     the     Psalms. Edinburgh:        T    &    T    Clark,    1892.    (Originally    published    in 1860). Dickson,   David.   An   Explication   of   the   Other   Fifty   Psalms,   from Ps. 50 to Ps. 100. Cornhill, U.K.:  Ralph Smith, 1653.  Exell,    Joseph    S.    and    Henry    Donald    Spence-Jones,    eds.    The Pulpit   Commentary .   Vols.   17,   18,   &   19.   New   York:   Funk   & Wagnalls Company, 1884.  Hengstenberg,   F.   W.      Commentary   on   the   Psalms .      Edinburgh:     T & T Clark, 1864. Henry,   Matthew.      An   Exposition   of   All   the   Books   of   the   Old   and New     Testament .          Vol.     II.          London:     W.     Baynes,     1806. (Originally published in 1710). Horne,   George.   A   Commentary   on   the   Book   of   Psalms.       New York:  Robert Carter & Brothers, 1854. Jamieson,     Robert;     Fausset,     A.     R.;     Brown,     David.          A Commentary:   Critical,   Experimental,   and   Practical   on   the   Old and   New   Testaments.       Glasgow:      William   Collins,   Queen’s Printer, 1863. Kidner,    Derek.    Psalms     (in    2    Vols.).    Downers    Grove,    IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008 (first published in 1975). Kirkpatrick,   A.    F.    The    Book    of    Psalms    with    Introduction    and Notes    –    Books    II    and    III     (from    The    Cambridge    Bible    for Schools    and    Colleges).    Cambridge,    UK:    University    Press, 1895. Lange,   John   Peter,   ed.   and   Philip   Schaff,   trans.      A   Commentary on    the    Holy    Scriptures:    Critical,    Doctrinal,    and    Homiletical .      New York:  Charles Scribner & Co., 1865.  Maclaren,    Alexander.    The    Psalms     (in    3    Vols.,    from    The Expositor’s    Bible,    ed.    by    W.    R.    Nicoll).    New    York:   A.    C. Armstrong and Son, 1901. Perowne,   J.   J.   Stewart.      The   Book   of   Psalms:      A   New   Translation with Explanatory Notes .  London:  George Bell & Sons, 1880. Plumer,   William   S.      Studies   in   the   Book   of   Psalms .      Philadelphia:     J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1872. Scott,   Thomas.   Commentary   on   the   Holy   Bible ,   Vol.   III.   London: James Nisbet, 1866. Spurgeon,   Charles.      The   Treasury   of   David .      6   Vols.      London: Marshall Brothers, Ltd., 1885. Tholuck,   Augustus.      A   Translation   and   Commentary   of   the   Book of Psalms .  Philadelphia:  Martien, 1858. Trapp,   John.      A   Commentary   on   the   Old   and   New   Testaments . Vol.   II   (Ezra   to   Psalms).      Edmonton,   Canada:   Still   Waters Revival    Books    (www.PuritanDownloads.com).    (Originally published c. 1660). VanGemeren,   Willem A.,   (Gaebelein,   Frank   E.,   ed).      Expositor’s Bible   Commentary ,   Vol.   5   –   Psalms   to   Song   of   Songs.      Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 1991. -- Most    of    these    books    (those    in    the    public    domain)    can    be downloaded,    free    of    charge,    from    the    Classic    Christian Library,  at: http://www.ClassicChristianLibrary.com                          
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