Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
Your tongue plots destruction,
like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
But God will break you down forever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
The righteous shall see and fear,
and shall laugh at him, saying,
“See the man who would not make
God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches
and sought refuge in his own destruction!”
But I am like a green olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
forever and ever.
I will thank you forever,
because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, for it is good,
in the presence of the godly.
Comment: This is written at the heading of this Psalm – To the choirmaster. A Maskil of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.” If you wish you can read the story behind this in 1Samuel 22. So presumably the first half of the Psalm is referring to Doeg.
The psalm shows the passionate anger of David at Doeg’s action. It appears as if this wasn’t just a one-off thing as David describes someone steeped in wickedness. God will judge Doeg. Then follows a sentence which seems to me that God’s judgement will stir good people up to be in awe of God. The word ‘laugh’ seems to me more than jocular hilarity but rather a deep seated acknowledgment that God will act against those who ignore him and set their hearts on success and even thought that their riches could in the long run shelter them.
David says that God had caused him to flourish – that he is as a green olive tree in the house of God.
Prayer: Help me not to over react to opposition but rather stay in the centre of Your Way.
As I read it! 