How to avoid scorn and derision from the Righteous One

 

He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.  --Psalm 2:4

One of my all-time favorite movies is The Princess Bride.  Although it is not a religious film in any way, shape, or form, there is divine imagery throughout.  Westley, the hero, is pure of heart, with an undying love for Buttercup.  His love is sacrificial, and he veritably comes back from death's door to rescue her and save her from a fate worse than death.

I hope you won't think less of me when I tell you that one of the many reasons I love this film is its use of insults.  When Buttercup is announced as the bride-to-be of Prince Humperdinck, all the people bow down except one wretched woman who dares to speak the truth.  "Boo!  Boo!!" she hisses.  "Bow to the queen of slime, the queen of filth, the queen of putrescence!  That's what she is.  The queen of refuse."  The point is well taken, for to have been taken in by this sham marriage would not only have meant that Buttercup had turned her back on True Love, but as we find out later in the film, would have led to her demise in a political plot thought up by Humperdinck to have her killed and then to use her death to foment a war against their enemies.

When Humperdinck does confront the (mostly) resurrected Westley, he accuses the farm boy of being too weak to fight.  Westley counters, "It's possible, pig.  It's conceivable, you miserable vomitous mass."  He goes on to explain what would happen to Humperdinck if he did not surrender. "I'll explain," he says," and I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to understand, you warthog-faced buffoon."  You remember the scene.  Westley does not want to fight to the death, but rather what he calls "to the pain."  He promises to defeat Humperdinck, then cut off his feet below the ankles, then his hands below the wrists, followed by his nose.  Then he promises to gouge out his eyes one by one.  Humperdinck interjects, as if to show he has no fear, "And then my ears.  I understand, let's get on with it."  Westley retorts, "Wrong! Your ears you keep and I’ll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out, “Dear God! What is that thing,” will echo in your perfect ears. That is what ‘to the pain’ means. It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery forever."

I could not help but recall this scene when I read Psalm 52.  Read it with me now.

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.  You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.  But God will break you down forever; He will snatch you and tear you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living.  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.

We have been studying those particular Psalms with a back-story, ones that point to a particular time in the life of David that he wanted memorialized in song.  The superscription to this Psalm says "To the choirmaster.  A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, 'David has come to the house of Abimilech'."  If you have been following my blog recently, you will recall this reference, for it is from 1 Samuel 22.  Psalm 34 makes reference to it, but here in Psalm 52 it serves as a direct indictment of a man named Doeg, who was aligned with Saul.

David had been fleeing from Saul, and Saul was always one step behind.  In frustration, Saul whines that everyone in his royal court is in on the conspiracy.  "No one discloses to me when my son makes a covenant with the son of Jesse.  None of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day." (1 Samuel 22:8).  There was a man in Saul's court named Doeg. We have seen in 1 Samuel 21:7 that he had witnessed David at the house of Abimilech the priest in the city of Nod.  It is not clear how much time had elapsed between chapters 21 and 22; it could be that Doeg held onto this information until it would benefit him.  In other words, he may not have gone straight to the king and said, "I have seen David at this place."  Instead, he only divulged this information when it appeared that Saul may have been willing to pay for it.  At the very least this information would have gained Doeg a prominent place in Saul's court.

Unfortunately, this pledge of loyalty caused Doeg to commit even more egregious sins.  1 Samuel 22:11-17 says that Saul summoned Abimilech and demanded to know why he had committed treason, by giving aid and comfort to his enemy.  Abimilech the priest protested his innocence--why wouldn't he help David, who was the king's son-in-law?  How could he have known that Saul now counted David as his enemy?  Saul ordered his soldiers to kill not only Abimilech, but all of the priests.  When the soldiers refused to touch the men of God, Saul ordered Doeg to kill them all.  Doeg then killed 85 priests, along with their women and children. (1 Samuel 22:18-19.)

It was this tragedy that David wrote about in Psalm 52:1-4.

Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?....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.  You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

Matthew Poole wrote in his book A Commentary on the Holy Bible, vol 2 Ezra to Psalms (1968), “O mighty man! he speaks ironically. O valiant captain! O glorious action! to kill a few weak and unarmed persons in the king’s presence, and under the protection of his guards! Surely thy name will be famous to all ages for such heroical courage.”  The English translation probably masks the vile names that David was calling this coward Doeg the Edomite.

Before you recoil at calling people vile names, thinking that it is not very Christ-like, remember the words of Jesus Himself when He called out the Pharisees, calling them a "brood of vipers" (see Matthew 12:34 and 23:33).  These men were supposed to be keepers of the Temple, where the people went to meet God Himself, yet they had put up costly barriers for the people and then shared in the profits.  In the same way, Doeg provided military intelligence to Saul in his war against David, then took the priests captive and slew them as an act of war, in hopes of gaining wealth from Saul, the king.

David then pronounces judgment on Doeg.

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.  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." --Psalm 52:5-6

Surely God would punish Doeg for his deeds.  And when his life had been required of him, the righteous would read of him and laugh at his legacy.  The Hebrew word for laugh used here means to laugh mockingly, to jeer and deride.  Here I think we can insert the insults from the movie: "See the pig, the miserable vomitous mass, the one who would not take refuge in the Almighty!  He trusts in his riches, this prince of putrid, this son of slime, the mercenary of muck!"

Doeg showed loyalty to Saul in a way that would make him famous, just not in the way that he had wanted.  He would forever be seen as one who strapped on a sword against those who strapped on the Ephod, killing innocent people for personal profit.  David points out that God would not allow it, but would break him down forever, tear him from his tent, and uproot him from the land of the living.  Moreover, when he stood before God in judgment, he would be cast into hell.

Finally David contrasts his own righteousness under the grace of God.

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.  --Psalm 52:8-9

David was not innocent in this scenario, and not without guilt.  First of all, he had lied to Abimilech the priest, hiding from him the fact that he was fleeing from Saul.  David make another admission of guilt in 1 Samuel 22:22, when one of the sons of Abimilech escaped and told David that Saul had killed the priests.  "David said to Abiathar (the son of Abimilech), 'I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul.  I have occasioned the death of all the persons of your father's house'."

Yet David trusted in God, not gold, for his protection.  Twice in this Psalm he uses the Hebrew word hesed, once in verse 1 (the steadfast love of God) and again in verse 8.  This is one of my favorite words in the Bible, because it is so rich.  It can mean goodness, kindness, and faithfulness.  It can also mean a reproach, and shame.  To David the steadfast love of God meant mercy, forgiveness and favor.  To Doeg, the steadfast love of God meant reproach for a wicked thing. 

Circling back to Christ-likeness.  Many people take the verse out of context that says "Judge not, lest you be judged." (Matthew 7:1)  They forget the very next verse, which says, "For with the judgement you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you."  In context, this is a warning against hypocrisy.  Let's look at John 7:24, where Jesus said, "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment."  Further, in John 8:26, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "I have much to say about you and much to judge, but He who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from Him."  If we are to truly be like Jesus, we will declare to the world what we have heard from Him, and judge people according to His righteousness.  But we must also bear in mind his grace and mercy, His hesed, so that by His grace we can draw others to Him.  For those who reject His message, Jesus gave a parable in Matthew 25 about separating the sheep and the goats.  His sheep, who had gone about on earth doing good and trusting God's faithfulness will be given a reward and will live with Him in heaven.  The goats, who had gone about on earth denying goodness and not trusting in God, will be separated from Him forever.  By their fruits we shall know them (Matthew 7:20).

Those trees that bear good fruit will be pruned so they can be more productive.  Those trees that do not bear good fruit are taken down and burned.  David likens himself to a green olive tree, vibrant and full of life, bearing good fruit for all to see.  Doeg was uprooted and was like a tree destined for the burn pile.