Psalm 52--The Steadfast Love of God Endures

Psalm 52
English Standard Version

The Steadfast Love of God Endures
To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”
52 Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
    The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
2 Your tongue plots destruction,
    like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
3 You love evil more than good,
    and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
4 You love all words that devour,
    O deceitful tongue.

5 But God will break you down forever;
    he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
    he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
6 The righteous shall see and fear,
    and shall laugh at him, saying,
7 “See the man who would not make
    God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches
    and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

​8 But I am like a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
    forever and ever.
9 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.

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This psalm speaks of the "steadfast love" of the LORD.  It is a very rich word in Hebrew, hesed (Strong's H2617) that can be translated as "mercy" (149 times in the KJV), kindness (40 times in the KJV), lovingkindness (30 times in the KJV), goodness (12 times in the KJV), kindly (5 times in the KJV), merciful (4 times in the KJV), good (1 time in the KJV), goodness (1 time in the KJV), pity (1 time in the KJV), reproach (1 time in the KJV), wicked thing (1 time in the KJV).  So, you can see that the primary meaning of the word has to do with the covenantal love, mercy, favor and goodness that the LORD gives to His people.  It is usually a noun, but sometimes is used as an adjective to describe His nature (why we get times where it is translated as good, merciful, kind, etc.).  Our current pastor isn't big on using Greek or Hebrew words in his sermons, but this was one of the first words that he wanted us to learn as a congregation, he points it out every time he gets the chance when it shows up in the text, and he started his very first sermon series with us in the book of Ruth which demonstrates this kind of covenantal love/mercy/kindness/goodness.  We see it in the way that Ruth treats Naomi, the way that Boaz treats Ruth and Naomi, and the way that God treats their Ruth, Naomi, Boaz, and the Israelites.  Don't forget that David is the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz and Ruth, so he is not far removed from that story that I'm sure he heard a lot growing up as a kid, so he probably loves to tell people about the LORD's "lovingkindness" and we will see many of the psalms in this book that focus on that theme.

David starts off the psalm asking the wicked why they abuse the mercy of the LORD by continuing in their wicked ways?  The kindness of the LORD should lead us to repentance.  While His lovingkindness is longsuffering, He will not suffer the wickedness of evil men forever.  There will be a day of reckoning.  On that day, David says, they will be broken down forever.  Like with the Flood, the judgment will be swift and unexpected for the wicked.  It will be as if the LORD comes and snatches them from their homes (their tents here) or like they were a tree that He comes by and uproots (hard to do once the tree has taken root, but nothing is too hard for the LORD).  What we think is firmly established and deeply rooted is no trouble for Him.

The righteous will be there on that day and have the last laugh.  They will fear the LORD in awe and reverence, but they will also say of the wicked, "See the man who would not make God his refuge?"  The wicked may try to trust in strength or wealth, but none of those things will save them in the end.  The path they have chosen is the broad road that leads to destruction.

David says that he doesn't look like he is tree that had deep roots.  He appears to be as weak and vulnerable as a green olive tree (the olive tree was one of the symbols of the nation of Israel).  Yet, he resides in the house of the LORD, and that is enough security for David.  He will trust in the hesed of the LORD forever and ever.  David knows this is part of the LORD's nature that he can trust in because he can point to all the ways in which the LORD's lovingkindness has already played out in his life.  This drives David to praise and worship for who He is and what He has done, and to join with the "godly" (God's covenant people) to worship the LORD together.  We too should be driven to worship by the LORD's lovingkindness.