Psalms 52:1

The Bible says in Psalms 52:1-4, “Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.[2] Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp rasor, working deceitfully.[3] Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.[4] Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.” Psalm fifty-one was about those who confess their sins and find forgiveness. This Psalm is about those who do not. The wicked boast. They think that they are “mighty.” They do have some strength because they are God’s creatures and God has given gifts unto men and “the goodness of God endureth continually”, but the wicked boast about their strengths instead of giving God glory. And the wicked boast about “mischief.” In other words they boast about the evil that they do. They do not fear God or even think about one day standing before the Lord and giving an account of their actions. This passage has an emphasis on what the wicked say. Their tongue is “like a sharp razor.” They love evil and they love lying. Verse four says that they love “all devouring words.” In other words they love saying hurtful words. They love saying things that destroy other people’s character. Always speak of others the best that you can. They are God’s creatures, and if they repent of their sins to Jesus, they will also spend eternity in heaven.

The Bible says in Psalms 52:5, “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.” In spite of their current arrogant and wicked ways, the unbelievers are all headed towards a destiny that is made very clear: God will destroy them. God is very patient and offers His love through Christ, but the opportunities of this life will come to an end, and then must come the judgment. Life ends with death, and God determines when each person will die, and then He will “root thee out of the land of the living.” Death will be followed by judgment. Repent and turn to Jesus while there is time.

The Bible says in Psalms 52:6-7, “The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:[7] 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.” These verses make it clear who shall win in the end and who shall lose. The righteous are those who repent and decide to follow Jesus. They feared the judgment to come and turned to God for mercy. They do not have their own righteousness: they have the righteousness of Christ freely credited to their account. Verse seven has an interesting way of describing an unbeliever: “this is the man that made not God his strength.” If you realize that you are weak spiritually speaking and you need God, then you can turn to Jesus and make Him your strength: the strength of your salvation. Why do not some people turn to Jesus for strength? They turn somewhere else. They turn to things that will fail them in the end. Two things are mentioned in verse seven that people trust in instead of Jesus: riches and wickedness. Abundant riches can buy you a lot of things in this life. They can buy you lawyers, and doctors, and trips, and jewelry, and houses, and many other things. But riches cannot buy you forgiveness of sins or heaven. Riches cannot buy you anything that will last forever. It is revealing that it says that the unbeliever “strengthened himself in his wickedness.” He becomes so involved in wickedness that he thinks of wickedness as his strength. Maybe it’s because he thinks that he is getting away with all the wickedness and that proves how strong he is. He feeds on the wickedness. It is like an elixir to him. But the day of reckoning is coming. At the judgment everyone will see and know what the true consequences of rejecting Christ will be. A foolish person was all wrapped up in wickedness and wealth. Now they have nothing but a lost soul destined for hell.

The Bible says in Psalms 52:8-9, “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.[9] 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.” These verses tell about the existence of the believer. David called himself “a green olive tree.” In other words, David was confident that he would bear fruit because of his relationship with God. We bear fruit because of our relationship with Christ. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. It is important for a human being to know that his or her life is meaningful. One of the benefits of following the Lord Jesus is that His life makes our lives valuable. You were born to serve the Lord, and then He will do through you what He wants to do. But even though your life begins to accomplish some things, just like David you know that your relationship with God has always been and always will be dependent upon the mercy of the Lord. It is because God forgives us our sins daily that we walk in fellowship with Christ. It is never because of how good we are or what we do for God. It is always because of how merciful God is to us. Just like Jesus said, we should always pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, even as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

That is why David also wrote in verse nine, “I will praise thee for ever.” Even if every bad thing happens that can happen, we always have the forgiveness of sins to be thankful for. As a matter of fact, that is exactly why we will praise God forever. We will know His holiness and our own sinfulness better then we have ever known it. And therefore, we will praise the name of Christ forever. David said to God that he will praise His name because “thou hast done it.” God designed the plan of salvation from eternity. God sent His Son to die on the cross. God touched your heart so that you would come to Jesus and believe on Him. God did all this and much more. God did it. If anything else is going to get done, God must do it too. David said, “I will wait on thy name.” We also wait. We believe in Almighty God, and therefore we wait upon Him and upon what He will do. We will wait until the end of our lives, if need be. And then we will praise Him forever for what He has done.

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