Psalms 52:1-3

A Description Of Man's Sinfulness (Psalms 52:1).

In the first verse the ‘man of substance' is asked why he boasts continually about mischief he has wrought in the light of the fact of the continually enduring covenant love of God. He is then described as a man who speaks wickedness and deceit, and who loves evil rather than good, and lying rather than honesty.

Psalms 52:1

‘Why do you boast yourself in mischief, O mighty man?

The covenant love of God (endures) continually'

These opening lines sum up the message of the Psalm. Certain men of substance boast about their wrongdoing, failing to recognise that there is a God Who will call them to account. They see themselves as above the law, but can be sure that God will finally deal with them as they deserve. And this is because His covenant love towards His own (His love which fulfils His responsibility to those who are within His covenant) is continuous. He will not overlook anything that is done against them. He does not overlook what men do to His true servants, and will in time deal with them accordingly. They have thus no reason to boast. The implication is that they should rather hide themselves in shame.

We have in these words the assurance that those who truly respond to God from the heart, looking to Him as those who have committed themselves to Him on the basis of His declared promises (His covenant), can be sure that God will call to account any who seek to do them harm, because God's love to His own never fails.

‘O mighty man (gibbor).' Thus a man strong in either prowess on the field of battle, or in wealth and status as a consequence of his talents. There may be some sarcasm in the description, in that the gibbor is seen as opposing himself to the mighty God. He sees himself as ‘mighty' but he pales into insignificance before ‘the Almighty'.

Doeg, holding a prominent position in Saul's entourage, insidiously reported to him suggesting that Ahimelech, who was wholly innocent of wrongdoing, was a traitor. He could have enquired of Ahimelech and discovered the truth, but he preferred to go behind his back and spread insinuations. Ahimelech, the anointed High Priest, was seemingly a good man, and faithful to God's covenant. Thus by attacking him Doeg was attacking God. And he no doubt did boast afterwards about what he had done. Such men always do. Thus the words are particularly apposite to his case. If he was still alive when David took the throne, we need not doubt that he would be called to account. Ahimelech's son Abiathar, David's High Priest, would see to that.

Psalms 52:2

‘Your tongue devises wickednesses,

Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.'

‘You love evil more than good,

And lying rather than to speak righteousness. [Selah

The mischief of the mighty man in Psalms 52:1 is now defined. He is a man whose tongue devises many types of wickedness, cuts men and their reputations to shreds like a sharp razor, and works deceitfully. Such men prefer evil to good (compare Isaiah 5:20), and lying to truthfulness. They reckon that in order to be successful in life goodness and truthfulness must be forfeited because they can be too much of a hindrance. And as men mature in sin they become more and more incapable of discerning right from wrong. Their consciences are ‘seared with a hot iron' (1 Timothy 4:2).

Such a man sounds totally disreputable. But there is something of this in us all. Before we nod and pass on we should consider our own lives. We also may scheme to hurt people whom we do not like, may use our tongues like a sharp razor, may pass on rumours and insinuations, may at times act deceitfully and prefer evil to good. So this man is just ourselves amplified. And it is only the power of Christ that can root this out of us.

That it was true of Doeg is unquestionable. He was not concerned to find out the truth of the situation, (Ahimelech genuinely thought that David was on the king's business), but preferred sneaking to Saul behind Ahimelech's back, no doubt hoping for reward. Why discover the truth when you can turn what you know to such good account? It is a warning to us all to discover the truth before we pass information on. False information is deceit.

At the end of the three verses we find the word ‘selah'. This was possibly a musical pause, and may well be seen as saying, ‘think of that'.