Psalm 52

The historical setting of Psalm 52 reveals to us who the evil man of verses 1-7 really is -- Doeg the Edomite, who betrayed David to Saul and killed the priests of Nob because of David's presence. David has little good to say about Doeg. He writes of what God will do to such an evil man, and the reaction of the godly also. Remarkably, he writes almost in the opposite manner as Job speaks. David relates how living such an evil life will be a lesson to others. The righteous will laugh at him for his stupidity in being so evil. Job remarked upon the evil who suceeded and how the good were laughed at. Indeed in many of David's earlier psalms, he writes of the evil laughing at him because of his plight. Verses 5-7 are actually prophetic in nature, predicting a horrible end for Doeg.

Doeg is described as boastful and proud, loving evil, and using words as his weapon. These are all fairly common sins, warning anyone of the potential for sin lying within a person.

The final two verses are put there as a contrast to show how a life should be led. David used himself as an example, in spite of the fact that he was far from perfect himself. His description in verse 8 of himself as an olive tree, flashes us back to Psalm 1 and his account of the righteous man.