Just Words

Summary

In Psalm 52, King David uses just words as he recalls the injustice of Doeg as recorded in 1 Samuel 21-22. Doeg, a shepherd, and a servant of King Saul informed the king that David sought refuge in the city of Nob, in the temple of God. Ahimelech, the priest, helped David by giving him food and shelter. Saul ordered Doeg to kill Ahimelech and all the priests, and to raise the city of Nob. So, Doeg did as Saul commanded: he murdered 85 unarmed priests, and put all the men, women, children, and livestock to death (1 Samuel 22:18-19). David felt personally responsible for this crime as it was his presence at the temple which endangered the priests. The condemnation of Doeg in Psalm 52 is strong, and rightly so, justly so considering the mass-murder committed. This psalm is David’s contemplation on that atrocity many years later; it is a careful examination of the root and end of Doeg’s evil.