From a young age we need to feel a sense of security to feel safe. Young children cling to parents, or a beloved rug or toy. As we get older, we find security in goals, status, and external validation from friends and peers. Sometimes, we mature to find security in stability, emotional peace, and a measure of self-acceptance. But life can throw us a curveball which upends all this security, and leaves us fearful and looking for security once again.
Psalm 52 addresses this age old question of where we can find our only source of security. Do we find it in ourselves, and things we put in place, or do we find security in God’s never-failing covenant love? One way ultimately ends in destruction. The other way, finding security in God, is the only way to be preserved from destruction.
The title of Psalm 52 gives us the historical setting for the writing of Psalm 52. Doeg, an Edomite, told Saul that Ahimelech the high priest had supplied David with food and Goliath’s sword as David fled Saul. Saul commanded Doeg to massacre the priests and their families as a result (1 Samuel 21-22).
The opening verse of the psalm gives a summary of King David’s argument about our only source of security. “Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day” (v.1) The mighty man is probably Doeg, but stands for anyone who trusts in their own power instead of God.
In this case the weapon of destruction is a tongue which “plots destruction, like a sharp razor” and works deceit in people’s lives (v.2). He loves “evil more than good” by “lying more than speaking what is right” (v.3). The lies are not white lies but malicious ones which are meant to bring harm to others. They are words “that devour” spoken by a “deceitful tongue” (v.4).
Knowing the historical background helps us see an important truth. We can formally speak the truth, but in a way which is actually maliciously misleading. Doeg’s report to Saul was formally accurate, in that Ahimelech had provided help to David. But it was not true that Ahimelech was conspiring with David against Saul. The end result was 85 priests plus their families massacred.
No doubt after killing 85 prominent people and their families, Doeg thought himself a very powerful guy who could do what he wanted.
Yet that was not the case. “God will break you down forever” (v.5) David proclaimed, as God brings just judgement on evildoers.
Unlike Doeg, David sought his security in the unfailing love of God. The righteous will see and respond in reverence and awe (“fear”) and laugh at the man who seeks security in self, pointing out how he would “not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!” (vv.6-7).
David speaks of himself, describing himself as like a long-living olive tree (cf. Psalm 1), abiding in the presence of God. He trusts in “the steadfast love of God forever and ever” (v.8).
In contrast to the short-lived security of self, security that rests in God lasts forever. Those who trust in self will be uprooted, while those who trust in God will be like firmly planted olive trees living a long time in God’s presence.
Looking at the demise of the wicked, David could say “I will thank you forever, because you have done it. I will wait for your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly” (v.9). David acknowledges that it is not his strength that brings security, but God. The assurance that God will deliver leads him to praise God in public worship.
The promise of God to deliver was not just a promise for David alone, but one for all of God’s people. The saints in heaven cry out, asking how long before Christ returns to avenge their deaths (Revelation 6:9-11), but their cries are answered in the great judgement of the earth when Christ will return to make all things new.
The righteous will see the end of those who trust in themselves, and watch in awe at the justice of the God who made all things and judges the secrets of the hearts of men.
Psalm 52 warns us and encourages us. It warns us not to trust in ourselves, and in the false security that comes from riches, power, or anything else we trust in other than God. It might appear to work for a time, but ultimately we will be uprooted.
Instead it encourages us to place our trust in God, the only source of security. If we trust in God’s provision, through Christ who has conquered sin, Satan, and death, we too will be like trees planted by a river, drawing from the deep deep water of the unfailing, never-changing, forever love of God.
Security in self only appears to succeed for a time. Our only source of security is in Christ.