David’s Anger Against The Wicked

David’s Anger Against the Wicked

Psalm 52, 1 Samuel 22:8-19

Good morning,

The LORD has many characteristics that never change. The LORD is just, holy, righteous, and true; however, the LORD is also loving, merciful, and kind.

The LORD is so merciful to His children, that He even takes moments of failure and turns them into moments of victory because He loves us so much.

John Stange describes it this way, “God is the perfection of mercy. Showing mercy involves granting pardon or showing compassion to an offending party.

When God shows us mercy, He chooses not to punish us in the manner in which we truly deserve.

So how does God's justice, love, and mercy work together?

We deserve condemnation and punishment from God because of our sin, yet God who is loving, sent Jesus Christ, His Son, to this earth to take that punishment on Himself.

In doing so, His justice and wrath were perfectly satisfied, and now He has made all who trust in Jesus Christ objects of His mercy.”

Please open your Bibles to two places, first to Psalm 52 and then turn to 1 Samuel 22 as we continue surveying the Book of Psalms.

Psalm 52 is written by King David when Doeg the Edomite went and told King Saul, that David was at the house of Ahimelech the priest.

David handled some things in the flesh, without seeking the LORD’s will, and because he dealt with these things in the flesh, eighty-five men were killed by Doeg, Saul, and his men.

I. Backdrop to the poem.

Read 1 Samuel 22:8-16, 22

King Saul was the first king of Israel, and he forfeited his throne by disobeying the Lord. Saul offered an animal sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel when he felt threatened by the Philistines.

Saul also failed to destroy the animals of the Amalekites, as the LORD had commanded him to do. And Saul also failed to kill Agag, the Amalekite king, as the LORD had commanded him.

The Lord instructed Samuel to anoint David as the King and sent a distressing spirit upon Saul. Saul asked Jesse to have David come and play music for him and relieve his distress.

1 Samuel 16:23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him. NKJV

Eventually, Saul began to hate David and sought to kill him, so David fled, even though he was anointed as king of Israel.

While King David was on the run from King Saul, he came to the house of Ahimelech the priest and David lied to the priest saying he was on a secret mission for King Saul.

The priest gave David some of the showbread and the sword of Goliath the Philistine. While David and his men were there, Doeg was there, fulfilling a ritual and happened to see David.

Doeg was an Edomite and a descendant of Esau. He was called “Chief of the herdsmen” which can be translated as a mean, violent, or obstinate man, which perfectly describes Doeg.

In 1 Samuel 22, Saul had been told by Doeg that David was at the priest’s house, and here Saul is questioning Ahimelech.

Saul ended up killing Ahimelech and eighty-four others.

Abiathar was the son of Ahimelech the priest and he was the sole survivor of the massacre carried out by Saul and Doeg.

1 Samuel 22:22 So David said to Abiathar, "I knew that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have caused the death of all the persons of your father's house. NKJV

Doeg, Saul, and his men were responsible for the 85 deaths; how was David responsible for the priests and family’s deaths?

1 Samuel 22:22 David said, "I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there; so, David was guilty of the sin of omission.

>James 4:17 to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. NKJV

One way David was guilty was by lying to the priest, another way was by merely being at Ahimelech’s house, and finally, by not being there to protect Ahimelech’s family when Saul arrived

Please turn to Psalm 52

David wrote Psalm 52 to show his anger and outrage against Doeg and to reveal that the LORD will execute judgment against evil and ultimately bless those who trust Him.

II. The charge against evil.

Read Psalm 52:1-4

Why do you boast in evil? Boasting usually comes from a person’s insecurity and is used to boost their self-esteem.

As David spoke of a mighty man boasting in his evil, he had Doeg on his mind, not simply for going to Saul and revealing his location, but also for rejoicing in the evil that followed.