Deeper Reflection
THERE ARE three significant contrasts in this psalm by David written in the context of Doeg, the Edomite, reporting to King Saul about David’s interactions with Ahimelech the priest at Nob (see 1 Sam 22:9-19). Each contrast is indicated by the conjunction “but” (vv.5a, 7b, 8a). First, the lover of evil and deceit (vv.2-4) appears to enjoy power and success that give him reasons to boast (v.1a), “but God will break [him] down forever” (v.5a). Any success is only fleeting and temporary. God will “snatch and tear” him from his “tent” (v.5b) – a sudden and forceful removal from the evildoer’s place of comfort and security. God will “uproot” the worker of deceit from “the land of the living” (v.5c) – a violent cutting short of his life. There is a finality and permanence to the evildoer’s destruction (v.5a). Second, the righteous man who makes God his refuge is contrasted with the man who would not, “but trusted in the abundance of his riches” (v.7b). The latter’s destruction is his self-chosen end. Third, the Psalmist contrasts himself with the man of deceit. Because David trusts in God’s steadfast love forever (vv.1b, 8b) and waits patiently together with other godly servants for God to prove His goodness (v.9b),²⁵ he is confident that God will make him “like a green olive tree in the house of God” (v.8a). In other words, David trusted God to work in and through him in such a way that his life as God’s servant will flourish and be fruitful for God’s purposes and glory. May we as Christ’s disciples be like green olive trees in God’s house!

---

²⁵ God’s good name is a reference to His character and attributes of goodness.