Psalm 52 - The Fate of the Proud
INTRODUCTION:
Interest:
Today is Father’s Day, as we have already noted numerous times. As most of you know since you have been part of our church for several years, I don’t typically divert from my sermon series for too many calendar events such as this; I believe it is more useful to the church overall to allow God to take us where He will as we travel through His word rather than trying to try to extract special lessons from it through my own wisdom. For that reason I tend to just continue on to the next passage of whatever series we are in whenever we come to various calendar holidays. Probably, the two main exceptions each year are Christmas and Easter.
Anyway, that was my plan again as Father’s Day approached; I planned to simply continue into the next Psalm of our series through the second book of the Psalter. As I studied our psalm for this morning and started preparing this sermon, though, I realized that I could not have picked a better passage for Father’s Day than the one that God had providentially placed before us this morning.
This is certainly a psalm with a message that applies to all of us. At the same time, the message of this psalm is one that I hope the fathers listening today will really take to heart. We collectively have a duty to teach our children what they need to know to live as believers in this sin-filled world. Our wives, their mothers certainly aid in this process, but as the leaders of the home, the primary responsibility has been placed by God in our laps.
Illustration
This week I saw a blog article written by a well-known pastor dealing with the rapid paganization of America that we see happening at an increasingly rapid pace. He suggested that if we really want to reclaim America that maybe it was time we Christians adopted a new strategy. The strategy that he suggested is that we should continue having children that we then intentionally train up in the fear and discipline of the Lord. Since the liberals are having less children every year, a generation of faithful Christian parenting could certainly change the makeup of our country.
There is no doubt that our children are going to grow up in an angry country…an angry world for that matter. Yet, that really is nothing new; ever since the Fall in the Garden of Eden the world has been in angry rebellion against God. Every generation has been filled with those who are too proud to acknowledge God.
Involvement:
That is why the Bible has so much to say about the proud and why our psalm today tells us about the fate of the proud. Our collective duty as a church, as Christians, and specifically as fathers is to learn what the Bible says and to then teach it to the next generation. I hope we all listen carefully to our duty today, but fathers, I hope you hear a special challenge to own this duty for your family.
Context:
Our psalm this morning is most unusual in one key way, it does not address God. Rather than addressing God, the psalm is addressed to an evil man. It serves as a challenge to a wicked person regarding his wicked life and the future he might expect. At the same time, it is written from the perspective of a righteous man who suffers because of the actions of this wicked man.
If you have your Bibles open, you likely see that the superscription over this psalm refers to the episode between Doeg and David. You may not initially remember the details recorded in 1 Samuel 21 and 22, we covered these chapters 2 years ago when we went through 1 Samuel. These chapters record a time when David had to flee from King Saul who had determined to kill him. As he fled, he stopped by Nob and asked Ahimelech for supplies—Ahimelech was the priest at Nob which was a center of worship at that time. This man Doeg, an Edomite, saw David there and later reported it to Saul. Saul had Doeg kill the priests and then sent him to kill every man, woman, and child in Nob because David had found help there.
Preview:
Now, there is nothing in this psalm that specifically points to that event, but Doeg does serve as a symbol of all evildoers while David represents the righteous.
Application
I have already stated that I want fathers to listen particularly close this morning. The news is filled with open hatred against all things Christian. We need to prepare ourselves and prepare our families to endure this hatred in a biblical fashion. The lesson of this psalm is one that all believers need to hear: We must patiently endure the hostility of the proud as we live a life of faith. This is a lesson that we need to learn ourselves and it is a lesson that we need to pass on to our children. We must patiently endure the hostility of the proud as we live a life of faith.
I also want to challenge those of you listening this morning who are spiritually on the side of Doeg rather than David; you are on the side of the proud in rebellion against God rather than on the side of the righteous. There are some who sit here week after week who remain filled in your pride, refusing to bow before God and accept the salvation that he offers through His Son, Jesus Christ. I want you to listen specifically to the challenge this psalm gives to you. From God’s perspective you are the proud; you are the wicked man described in this psalm. The judgment that is announced in this psalm is the judgment headed your way.
Our psalm begins by directly addressing the proud. Yet, because it is written for the righteous we should understand that it is informing us of what we are to expect while it is challenging the proud in their own wickedness.
Transition from introduction to body:
We must patiently endure the hostility of the proud as we live a life of faith. In the first four verses we discover…
BODY:
I. The Loves of the Proud
Let’s read these verses…<read Ps 52:1–4>
David is stunned that a man would boast about evil things as if they are great acts. Why would a person possibly do such a thing when God’s covenant loyalty exists? Verse 1 has that familiar Hebrew word, hesed, again, as does verse 8 as well wrapping this psalm in that wonderful truth about God. Why would someone boast when God’s covenant loyalty exists? How crazy is that? How foolish can a person be that he thinks that his own might will allow him to stand in the face of God?
Transition:
Well, as David thinks about this question, he realizes that the reason a proud, evil man would do such a foolish thing is because he loves a couple of things. First,…
A. The proud love cutting deception.
In verse 2 David compares the tongue of the wicked man to a razor. He specifically refers to a “sharp” razor. You know, the kind that is so sharp you do not even realize you have been cut by it until after the fact when you begin to bleed. He says that is what the tongue of the evil man is like. He loves to use his words to destroy, words that are filled with falsehood and deception. He is convinced that he can talk his way out of every jam and that no one will ever be able to see through his lies.
Application
We need to remember that evil is not limited to actions only; words can be used for evil as well. One of the things that frequently discourages righteous people are the blatant lies that the wicked use to get ahead. Because a righteous person is righteous, he or she is embarrassed if caught in any deception, even if it is inadvertent. Such is not the case with the wicked. There are people who are proud of the lies they have told, the deception that they have created, and the lives that they have destroyed in the process. Their only goal is to get ahead for themselves through any means necessary.
Because we have been warned by God that such is the case, we should not be surprised when we encounter this in life. Rather, we should learn to be wise rather than naïve, seeing through the deception of the wicked because we anticipate such. We also should teach our children to do such. There is a healthy skepticism that should be fostered, a skepticism that is different from a blanket mistrust of everyone. It is a skepticism that learns to identify the proud We must teach them to expect sinners to behave as sinners so that they learn to not live in fear of being deceived.
Transition:
The proud love cutting deception. Second,…
B. The proud love evil events.
Verse 3, “You love evil more than good.” Evil people love evil things. Their values are completely distorted. The proud, evil person may not commit all the evil personally, but he certainly loves when evil things happen; he is right there cheering it on. He continues to tell stories about evil events long after the facts.
Application
Wow, doesn’t this sound like a statement taken directly from the current news. People praise the taking of life through abortion. People repeat story after story of vandalism as statues are toppled, stores are burned, and people are beaten…all repeated with words of praise for progress.
We need to remember that as Christians, we ought to be opposed to all forms of abuse and oppression AND we must also be opposed to all forms of anarchy and rebellion. It is the sign of the proud, the wicked rebel against God, that any of these evil deeds would be praised.
Christian, are you assessing the events of the nightly news through the lens of Scripture rather than through the lens of a given political party? Fathers, are you taking the time to teach your children to assess the events of their lives through the lens of Scripture?
Transition:
The proud love evil events. In the first four verses we see the loves of the proud. The proud love cutting deception and evil events. Neither of these things should come as a surprise to us as believers.
Rather, We must patiently endure the hostility of the proud as we live a life of faith. Remember, that is our main principle to lock into this morning.
Moving into verses 5–7, we encounter…
II. The Judgment of God
Let’s read these verses…<read Ps 52:5–7>.
God’s judgment is coming. That is a given. We do not know when, but we do know that it is coming. In fact, from the NT we know that it will come in the form of the returning Christ; Jesus Christ will come for a second time in glory and power. He will come as the conquering Judge.
In our psalm, we are reminded that when God’s judgment comes, both the proud and the righteous will be impacted.
Transition:
In verse 5, we see that…
A. The proud will be torn down.
David uses the verbs “snatch up,” “tear away,” “uproot.” Words that create pictures that describe the suddenness of God’s judgment. These words might cause us to think of something like a massive tree whose roots are suddenly torn out the ground as it topples in a storm or a roof that is suddenly snatched off a building in a tornado. The idea is that the proud will be going along through life thinking that he is the master of his own universe when suddenly God’s judgment will strike and he will not longer be among the land of the living.
Notice, the wicked man is still being addressed directly…this is something the proud needs to hear, “God will break you down forever.” When God’s judgment strikes, there will be no recovery, there will be no second chance; it will be forever.
Application
This is the truth that a few of you listening this morning need to hear. You hear sermons week after week, scorning God in your pride. You think you have life all figured out. But you could be snatched from this life through God’s judgment today. Today He might snatch you up. Today He might tear you away. Today He might uproot you from this life. And then it will be forever, you will spend eternity in hell, paying the price for your proud rebellion. Neither of us know when God’s judgment will come, but it is coming. At the moment, though, there is still time. At this moment, God still extends the offer of mercy to you. It is not too late to accept Jesus as your Savior. If you would like to talk to me more about how you can do this, contact me through my email.
Transition:
The proud will be torn down. That is what will come to the proud when the judgment of God arrives. In verses 6 and 7 David begins to transition to the response of the righteous even as he continues his address to the wicked.
B. The righteous will rejoice with relief.
Even the righteous, as we see in the first line of verse 6, will initially respond in fear when the suddenness and terribleness of God’s judgment strikes the wicked; God’s judgment will be terrifyingly awe-inspiring. But then the righteous will realize that God has judged the wicked so that they will finally experience relief from all the oppression they have endured. When that realization comes, their terror will turn to joy. God’s judgment will ultimately bring laughter and spontaneous joy because justice has broken through and won out in the end.
Illustration
I suspect that many of us have had the experience back when we were in school of someone in the class cheating on a test. I remember watching a girl hide a piece of paper under her leg on which she had written notes for a test. It made me angry to think that she might get a better grade than me even though I certainly knew the material better than she did. I also remember the satisfaction that came when the teacher caught her looking at that paper; she was busted. I had joy seeing justice served. As I also remember having my decision to never cheat reinforced because I did not want to be on the negative side of the justice that I witnessed that day as she was led to the school office to have a conference with the principle and her parents.
Application
To a much greater degree, we will be filled with joy when we see cosmic justice served by our righteous God to those who have rebelled against Him. His justice will draw praise from our lips.
At the same time, the reality that this day is coming is intended to reinforce in our minds that it is not worth going against Him. The wicked will not escape; the proud will not win. Whatever we are enduring at this moment is temporary. We will enjoy the relief that comes when justice is served.
Fathers, are we teaching this to our children? Are we pointing them to the sure future that God has revealed? Or we assuring them that joy awaits? Or, are we allowing them to wallow in the frustrations of the moment?
Transition:
The judgment of God. It is coming and when it does the proud will be torn down and the righteous will rejoice with relief.
We must patiently endure the hostility of the proud as we live a life of faith.
We have seen the loves of the proud and the judgment of God that is coming to them, but what does the life of faith look like? David, in the final two verses, describes…
III. The Life of Faith
Verse 8…<read Ps 52:8–9>.
“But as for me…” David contrasts the life that he is determined to live against that of the wicked proud man he has been addressing in this psalm. David is committed to living a life of faith, to living as a righteous man, in light of the judgment that will come.
Transition:
In these verses, there are two elements of the life of faith that are in vibrant contrast to the wicked man that I want us to note this morning. First,…
A. The righteous stand strong in faith.
In contrast to the wicked whom God will uproot; the righteous man will be like a green olive tree. The green olive tree was known for its longevity and usefulness. An olive tree may last for hundreds of years and produce olives which are used for many beneficial purposes.
What I want us to notice though, is where David places this olive tree. It is in the “house of God.” In other words, the reason that this tree is secure is because it is dwelling in a sacred and secure place.
Application
The key idea that we need to take away from this comparison is that the secret to standing strong in our faith is to remain linked to God through the means He has provided. For David that was the tabernacle. For us, that is the church. We will never stand strong in faith if we are not link ourselves to the church. We need to be present in the church to learn the word of God. We need to be present in the church to connect with God’s people. We need to be present in the church anticipating that God will work through His Spirit in our lives.
During this strange time of the Covid pandemic we have not been able to remain physically present in the church…I am glad so many of you are able to comfortably and safely be here this morning, but I also am glad that many of you are safely connecting with us through the live-stream. Still, this will pass and when it does, we need to physically reunite. But even now, all of us need to recognize that we need each other if we are going to stand strong in the faith.
Fathers, the most valuable thing you can do to prepare your children to endure the hostility of this world is to teach them the importance of church. Every time you skip church for whatever reason, you are teaching your children that church is not the highest priority…and you are weakening their faith. The righteous stand strong in faith because they are planted in the house of God.
Transition:
A life of faith is first of all characterized by standing strong in faith. Secondly,…
B. The righteous wait with confidence.
This life is hard, but the righteous is determined to wait on God with confidence. The righteous, like David, will make a conscience decision to trust in God’s lovingkindness—His hesed. The righteous will wait on God’s name—His character. Rather than trusting in his wealth like the wicked, rather than waiting on his own ability; the righteous waits with God with unshakable confidence because he or she knows God.
Application
Are you waiting with confidence in God? Waiting with confidence means trusting God even when you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. All you may be able to see is that the world is crashing down around you. All you may be able to see is that the ungodly are winning. All you may be able to see is that the easy way out of your problems seems to be the following the path of the wicked. When that is all you can see, have you determined to still wait on God with confidence. That is the decision that a righteous man or woman will make. The righteous will wait with confidence.
Fathers, let me assure you that your children are watching you. Every time you wait with confidence on God, they learn what it means to live a life of faith. I urge you to teach them through your life that the righteous will wait with confidence.
Transition from body to conclusion:
The life of faith. It is characterized by the righteous standing strong in faith and waiting with confidence.
CONCLUSION
We must patiently endure the hostility of the proud as we live a life of faith.
We have seen in our psalm this morning that the proud love cutting deception and evil events. We have also been reminded that the judgment of God will come and when it does the proud will be torn down while the righteous will rejoice with relief. This is meant to motivate us to live a life a faith. A life characterized by the righteous standing strong in faith waiting with confidence in God.
Illustration
I remember driving by looking at storm damage one time after a massive storm had come through where I was living. There was a massive tree blown down, unable to endure the hostility of the storm. A person riding with me pointed out something that I hadn’t noticed; he pointed out that the roots were spread out pretty wide, but very shallow. The tree had never sank it roots deep so it didn’t have a base to withstand the storm.
Application
We are surrounded by wickedness, by proud people hostile to God in every way. Such will bring constant storms into our lives as Christians. We need to have deep roots if we are going to stand, roots developed through a life of faith.
Fathers, this morning I am specifically calling on you to lead your families into sinking their roots into the source of faith—God, His word, and His church. Prepare your children to patiently endure the hostility of the proud that they will face in their lives.
We must patiently endure the hostility of the proud as we live a life of faith.