Why boastest thou thyself in mischief,
O mighty man?
vs.1
Psalm 52:
"The superscription reveals that this psalm is one of the eight written when David was fleeing from Saul.
Specifically, it refers to the occasion when Doeg had accused Ahimelech the priest because the latter had assisted David at Nob (1 Sam. 21:1-9; 22:9-23). The description of Doeg is one of the most contemptuous in Scripture (verses 1-4). Because of his betrayal, Doeg will be destroyed (verse 5), the righteous will learn from it (verses 6-7), and David, a righteous man, will continue to flourish (verses 8-9).
This psalm is a poetic lesson about the futility of evil, the final triumph of righteousness, and the sovereign control of God over the moral events of history.
The event in David’s life which motivated him to write this psalm is recorded in (1 Sam. chapters 21 and 22).
I. The Rashness of the Wicked (52:1-5).
II. The Reaction of the Righteous (52:6-7).
III. The Rejoicing of the Godly (52:8-9).
Doeg, it is probably, was mighty in respect of bodily strength; but, if he was, he gained no reputation to it by his easy victory over the unarmed priests of the Lord; it is no honour for those that wear a sword to hector those that wear an ephod. However, he was, by his office, a mighty man, for he was set over the servants of Saul, chamberlain of the household.....Doeg, the chief of Saul’s shepherds, who reported to Saul that the priests of Nob had aided David when he was a fugitive (compare 1 Sam. 22:9, 18-19).
Four things he charges him with:-
1. Malice. His tongue does mischief, not only pricking like a needle, but cutting like a sharp razor. Scornful bantering words would not content him; he loved devouring words, words that would ruin the priests of the Lord, whom he hated.
2. Falsehood. It was a deceitful tongue that he did this mischief with (v. 4); he loved lying (v. 3), and this sharp razor did work deceitfully (v. 2), that is, before he had this occasion given him to discover his malice against the priests, he had acted very plausibly towards them; though he was an Edomite, he attended the altars, and brought his offerings, and paid his respects to the priests, as decently as any Israelite; therein he put a force upon himself (for he was detained before the Lord), but thus he gained an opportunity of doing them so much the greater mischief.
3. Subtlety in sin: Thy tongue devises mischiefs; that is, it speaks the mischief which thy heart devises.
4. Affection to sin: "Thou lovest evil more than good; that is, thou lovest evil, and hast no love at all to that which is good; thou takest delight in lying, and makest no conscience of doing right."
BooksOfTheBible/MatthewHenry