“Truth for Truckers” *March 22, 2014* Psalm 52 “I am
like a green olive tree in the house of
God”
Seven Indictments of the Proud are the
centerpiece of this Psalm as David describes Doeg the Edomite his enemy and
compatriot of king Saul. The Psalm is listed as a Maschil meaning ‘For
instruction’ and certainly provides a clear picture of the characteristics of a
prideful man.‘Why boasts Thou thyself in
mischief, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually.’ This
verse sets the tone for all that follows as boasting in evil is contrasted with
God’s eternal goodness. This first and identifying characteristic of boasting
in self-accomplishments rather than giving God the glory for being the real
cause of all accomplishments that are good uncovers his sinful attitude.
The pride of man is the obvious source of
Doeg’s boasting and it feeds the heart of man as the fountainhead for the
remainder of the ungodly actions David describes in (v.2-4, 7). These actions
that follow reveal the inner workings of the Godless heart, regulated by the
vicious and animal-like desires of the flesh. ‘Thy tongue devises mischief like a sharp razor working
deceitfully.’(v.2) The imaginations, schemes and plans are verbalized
destruction, cutting with the organized working of lies and untruths in an
effort to bring down their intended victim.
‘Thou love evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak
righteousness. Selah.’ (v.3) Here,
the contrasts are clear cut, David minces no words, but, speaks plainly and
directly of the wicked motives of his enemy. Doeg’s gusto for the ungodly is
clear, his devious and deceitful words are his choice as he rejects the truth
and speads harmful lies instead.
‘Thou love all devouring words, O thou
deceitful tongue.’ (v.4). In every
indictment given up to this point, deceit is at the root of Doeg’s accusations
of David. This emphasis underlies everything that is being said by this madman
of dishonesty in order to slander the character of David.
In (v.5) David tells of God’s reaction to
this unjust liar: ‘God shall likewise
destroy thee for ever, He shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy
dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.’ The
destroyer will be destroyed eternally which looks forward to the eternal
punishment of the wicked, but the graphic description of God’s actions show the
temporal effects in the life of this wicked man who will be snatched from his
place of abode, torn away from his tent, and uprooted from the ‘Land of the living’ which depicts a
violent future judgment from God for this deceiver. The response of the
righteous follows: ‘The righteous also
shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: Lo, this is the man that made not
God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened
himself in his wickedness.’
The initial response is ‘fear’ which
describes the healthy reverential dread of God followed by laughter showing
their knowledge of their position as safe from this type of judgment. And, what
the righteous say reveals their full understanding of the situation. They know
why this man received God’s judgment, for, he faithlessly rejected God,
instead, he put his faith in his own wealth, and made the source of his
strength wickedness which shows who his master really was...the wicked one
himself, the devil!
David contrasts his own position utilizing
the word ‘But’ giving the righteous a
picture of the faithful, and healthy believer. ‘I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the
mercy of God for ever and ever.’ (v.8) Prosperity and the picture of health
in the ‘House of God’ having faith in
the eternal mercy of the living God describes David and all those who put
themselves in the position of blessing. In the last verse he promises: ‘I will praise Thee for ever, because Thou
hast done it: and I will wait on Thy name; for it is good before Thy
saints.’(v.9) His pledge to praise the LORD for His actions demonstrates
his great love for worship of his God, and the promise to ‘Wait on Thy name’ shows his trust in the goodness of God to bring
the blessing in due time.
Drivers, we must make it a habit to go
into the house of God for it is the local church that God has designed for our
growth in Christ and the place where we can serve Him and other Christians.
Also, the local church is where we must give our tithes and offering so that we
can bless God and He can bless us. If you need to know of a good Bible
preaching church the Lord has provided a service to locate churches in your
area. All that’s needed is your zip code and we will send you a list of churches in your home area!
No comments:
Post a Comment