Psalm 52

Psalm 52

Addresses evil 

while proclaiming the blessings of

those who follow God.

Highlighted Verse

Verse 8...

"But I am like a sheltered olive tree

protected by the Lord himself.

I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever."

Verses 1-7

These first 7 verses speak about

evil 

and the 

futility of following evil.

-

Specifically these verses talk

about an evil man named

Doeg.

Note that Doeg could have chosen to ask God

to forgive him and then follow God.

~

Since Doeg refused repentance and dedication to God,

his future was an eternal punishment.

Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?
The goodness of God endures continually.

² Your tongue devises destruction,
Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

³ You love evil more than good,
Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah

⁴ You love all devouring words,
You deceitful tongue.

⁵ God shall likewise destroy you forever;
He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place,
And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

⁶ The righteous also shall see and fear,
And shall laugh at him, saying,

⁷ “Here is the man who did not make God his strength,
But trusted in the abundance of his riches,
And strengthened himself in his wickedness.”

Verses 8-9

Verses 8 - 9 speak of 

David and his blessings from God.

The verses say...

But I am like a

green olive tree in the house of God;

I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.

⁹ I will praise You forever,

Because You have done it;

And in the presence of Your saints

I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

The Key Verse 

for this page

is

Verse 8 

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.

What is David trying to convey

in verse 8?

First Point

Olives and olive oil

are very healthy.

~ ~ ~

The olive tree is

a symbol of

health

in the Bible.

~ ~ ~

We see this concept in

Psalm 128:3 NKJV

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine

In the very heart of your house,

your children like olive plants all around your table.

Psalm 128 describes healthy children.

Consider our Psalm 128 page.

So

Psalm 52

is giving us thoughts of

God bringing

Health.

Doeg

is going to wither and perish

but

David will experience health blessings from God

on earth

and perfection of health in heaven.

Also

there is

the idea that

David has been kept unharmed

and will one day be in heaven.

But

Doeg is headed toward destruction.

Note also that

olives were used in Bible times for

medicine.

This medicinal application also stirs up the idea 

that olives

bring

Health.

GREEN

The Hebrew word

translated

"green"

is

Hebrew Strong's # 7488

The KJV translates

Strong's H7488

in the following manner:

green (18 times) fresh (1 time) flourishing (1 time) 

The NASB Bible translated that word

fresh (1), green (12), luxuriant (5), very green (1).

So the color

Green

gives the idea of healthy and flourishing.

Yet added meaning comes from examination.

The word and its context

bring to mind

such ideas as

vigor, youthfulness, energy, health, strength,

and

prospering.

For Psalm 52,

the word "green" refers more to the vigor and

flourishing than to the color obviously.

If you would like to see how various translations
translate Psalm 52:8, then cut and paste the link below.

https://biblehub.com/psalms/52-8.htm

Another fact of olive trees

is that

they live a long time.

Olive trees live a L-O-N-G time.

Some olive trees on the Mount of Olives

are believed to be 2,000 years old.

So Psalm 52:8

also gives the idea

of the 

l-o-n-g

eternal life that David will have with God.

While Doeg

will experience eternal damnation.

Anointing

Olive oil is used for anointing priests and kings.

When David was anointed king,

olive oil was used.

Olive oil was poured over his head.

Psalm 133:2 describes it.  

"For harmony is as precious

as the

fragrant anointing oil

that

was poured

over Aaron’s head

and

ran down onto his beard

and

onto the border of his robe."

You and I are anointed

for various works for God.

We do not get olive oil poured over our head.

But we do get a spiritual anointing for

serving the Lord.

Next,

Olive oil

was used in lamps

to bring light.

In John 8:12 Jesus said,

“I am the light of the world.

He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness,

but have the light of life.”

And Jesus told us

in

Matthew 5:16 NKJV,

Let your light so shine before men,

that they may see your good works

and glorify your Father in heaven.

-

I am reminded of the famous Christian song

This little light of mine. I'm gonna let it shine.

We are

olive trees

of God

that produce light.

Also see Philippians 2:15 b and Proverbs 13:9.

A final thought

In order to produce oil 

for lamps

the olives must be crushed.

And in order

for us

to produce

beautiful light for Jesus

we often must be crushed. 

-

Have you ever felt that

life experiences and personal challenges

are crushing you?

As you watch the following video,

I ask you 

to

picture yourself being

an olive

and

getting crushed.

And as you seek to stay devoted to God,

precious oil is released.

I encourage you to think of the

wonderfully healthy oil that is released.

*

By watching the video below,

you can get a better idea

of what is happening to you

as difficult times in life

crush you.

It doesn't feel good to be crushed.

Yet it does

produce some wonderful results.

~

Thank you for visiting this page.

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