In this Psalm, David is writing about his thoughts and emotions that he
experienced when he heard that a very wicked man by the name of Doeg has told
King Saul that he had visited the Ahimelech the priest and asked for bread for
his men.  David doesn’t know it yet but
as result of this visit, Doeg is going to be commanded by Saul to kill
Ahimelech and 85 other priest, as well as all their family members who lived in
the city of Nob (1 Samuel 21-22). David, at this time, just knows something
very bad is going to happen and he is upset.

In preparing for this chat, I couldn’t help but think of Psalm 11:3: “If the
foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” What can we do as
God’s people when we see wicked and evil people in the high places of authority
and government with “their tongues devising destruction, being deceitful,
promoting evil rather than good and lying about their corruption and motives”
(v. 2). And then on top of that, “they boast about their evil” (v. 1),
because they think they are getting by with it. What should be our response?
What can we do?

My friend, we can do what David did.  He
prayed and remembered the “goodness of God that endures continually” (v.
1).  We also need to reflect on the
goodness of the character of our God that never changes. You have heard the
saying, “God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good”. We usually
say that when things are going good for us and fail to remember that God is
still good even when things are going bad for us!

We definitely need to remember this with all the evil and corruption we are
experiencing in our country these days! David derisively calls Doeg, “O mighty
man”, which is the equivalent of us calling someone a "big shot". The
wicked definitely are thinking more highly about themselves than they should!
They might be boasting now but it will not last.

David points out that their end is coming. “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” (v. 5).
Verse 5 is the central verse of
the psalm and marks the turning point in David's experience as he contemplated
the wickedness of the human heart. He was confident that God would one day
judge Saul, Doeg, and all who follow their evil philosophy of life.

The righteous would only see but not
experience this devastation (Psalm 91:8), and they would stand in awe of the
holy wrath of God (Psalm 40:3). Then they would laugh in derision at the
humiliating fall of these pompous leaders along with God (Psalm 2:4). What Saul
and Doeg did to the priestly community at Nob (1 Sam. 22:6ff), the Lord would
do to them, for sinners ultimately fall into the pits they dig for others (Psalm
9:15; Prov. 26:24-28; 29:6).

The contrast is clear: the wicked are like uprooted trees, but the godly are like
flourishing olive trees that are fruitful and beautiful. Saul and Doeg would
perish, rejected by the Lord, but David and his dynasty would be safe in the
house of the Lord!  David was a blessing
to the nation while he lived and long after he died—and he is a blessing to us
today. He trusted God's lovingkindness and the Lord did not fail him, and he
never failed to give God the glory. The phrase "wait on thy name"
(v. 9), means to hope and depend on the character of God as expressed in His
great name.

Don’t forget God is always good and even though evil may seem to triumph, we must
continue to obey and serve the Lord and not get discouraged. The "last
laugh" belongs to the Lord's people.

God bless!