"But God will break you down forever; He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent, And uproot you from the land of the living.” (v.5)
In Psalm 52 we find David on the run from Saul. While fleeing, he stopped by the town of Nob to pick up supplies and guidance from Ahimelech the priest. Doeg the Edomite, Saul’s “head shepherd,” spotted David in the temple and reported Ahimelech’s apparent treason to Saul--who then ordered his soldiers to go to Nob and kill the priests. Saul’s men would eventually refuse the order, but Doeg would put them to death. He killed 85 priests and decimated the entire town (1 Sam. 22:9-23). Psalm 52 is David’s outcry against Doeg’s action.
The consequence of Doeg's evil, are spelled out in verses 5–7, to his ultimate ruin. He will be torn from his tent by God, brought down, uprooted from the living--when he least expects it. His trust in wealth and his destruction of others will prove to be false strongholds (v. 7), and the righteous, confident in God’s power, will laugh at the unmasking of his weakness.
This Psalm contrasts the temporary “power” of the man who trusts in himself for his own security and would stop at nothing for personal gain, with the eternal security of the man who trusts in the Lord’s unfailing love. David, though on the run and from many who sought to kill him, envisioned himself as, “a securely rooted olive tree, flourishing in the house of God” (v. 8). What a contrast between trusting in the abundance of riches and in the mercy of God! As we see in our text, the former will take wings and be gone; but the latter is forever (Psalm 52:1).
In spite of what the wicked do around us, it is so very important that we pray for their salvation. We know their end; we know that God will deal with them. No matter how much we want them to pay for what they have done (and they will), we must remember that we would be right there with them except for the grace of God.
The Truth: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)
