[When I turn back to the Lord, he will rejoice] Psalm 52:1–9
Our Acts devotional QT has concluded yesterday. Beginning as a letter to Theophilus, it ends with “he taught boldly and without restraint about the Lord Jesus Christ.” This abrupt conclusion, without a formal farewell, is because the Acts of the Holy Spirit is not yet finished. We too hope to continue meditating on the Word in the same way, writing down the Holy Spirit's ‘Acts of Us’.
Today's passages are Psalms 52 and 53. In Psalm 52, David meditates on ‘one man’ who sought to harm him, yet instead sees his own sins committed with his tongue. He comes to understand the amazing grace and love God has shown him, singing that even in the cave of Adullam, he enjoys heaven. Psalm 53 also confesses that when God turns us, who are captive to sin and death, the redeemed people rejoice. Therefore, difficult people and challenging circumstances are ‘meritorious ones’ laboring for us to enjoy eternal heaven, and through suffering, we can rejoice even more in God who turns us back. So today, we will meditate under the title ‘When I Turn Back to the Lord, He Will Rejoice.’
First, God judges my sin since He loves me. The heading of Psalm 52 records it thus: When Doeg the Edomite told Saul that David had come to the house of Ahimelech."
At that time, David was being pursued by Saul, his father-in-law, who sought to kill him. Yet even Doeg, a member of another tribe, betrayed David's location to Saul. Doeg's selfish act, motivated by a desire to curry favor with Saul and gain worldly success, was an evil scheme for his own gain alone. Yet David does not respond with a plan to oppose this. Instead, he sings, “God's steadfast love endures forever.” The conviction that God loves us is the self-esteem we should hold onto in any circumstances. David says Doeg's tongue flatters for success, acting treacherously toward him like a sharp sword. He explains this is because Doeg loves evil more than good, falsehood more than righteousness. David pauses with ‘Selah’ for meditation, then reflects deeply on the tongue. He concludes that our own tongues are also deceitful. We pretend to speak out of concern while delighting in exposing others' shame and sin. Yet, when the tongue is used according to God's purpose, it is to confess our own sin and shame revealed through His Word within the community. David then pronounces God's judgment. For only by facing judgment and repentance on this earth can we escape eternal destruction. The suffering of being temporarily uprooted from the tent and having our roots torn from the ground is God's love for us. The joy we can experience within the community is that our verbal slips and sins are laid bare, allowing us to repent and turn back. In Psalm 23, David confessed, 'Your kindness and mercy follow me all the days of my life.'
‘Follow’ means to pursue with fiery eyes, like a hound tracking its prey. In this sense, even if Israel becomes captive, God’s love is revealed in His turning us back—even if it means permitting us to suffer.
Second, the righteous fear God before judgment.
Verse 6 introduces the ‘righteous.’ The characteristic of the righteous is that they see what God does and fear Him. Conversely, Doeg does not fear God, so he takes the lead in killing the priests. Therefore, it is said that at the time of judgment, the righteous will mock him. This reversal is judgment for the unbeliever, but salvation for the believer. The characteristic of the wicked is that they trust in GOLD rather than GOD. Those who firmly establish themselves in evil cannot escape God's eternal judgment. In contrast, David in the cave experiences that God alone is his strength. Yet, even as we claim to trust only in God, we immediately waver and shake when something else becomes our reliance. Therefore, we must hear the suffering of others as our own story and realize that we too can become a ‘Doeg’ who relies on anything but God at any moment. God's greatest love is to reverse events through judgment, compelling us to cling to Him.
Third, He enables us to experience heaven wherever we are.
Though Doeg and Saul still threaten David, David lives a life of “but.” Even in the cave of Adullam, he confesses he is a green olive tree in God's house because he forever trusts in God's kindness. Like David's confession, there is no such thing as a good environment or a bad environment; the environment that leads us to trust in God is the best environment. David confesses that because the Lord's name is good, he longs for the Lord's name before the saints. This underscores the necessity of community. David's community was one where those afflicted, in debt, and oppressed called upon the Lord's name. A heavenly community rejoices not based on circumstances or environment, but solely because of the Lord.
This is a community confession. I thought, ‘If I marry someone with a prestigious academic background, I'll live comfortably for the rest of my life.’ But after marriage, my husband quit his job while I was undergoing surgery and stayed home for nearly ten years. I resented God, asking why He allowed this when I believed so fervently. Then I was led to the community and realized my sin was 'putting myself one step ahead of God.' I expected my husband to have a ‘big break,’ but instead, he suffered a stroke. My business also grew increasingly difficult, leading me to repent for how zealous I had been. Even then, I still craved recognition from others, pretending to joyfully carry heavy burdens. But last year, burnout hit, and resentment toward my in-laws surfaced. I grew furious when I felt unappreciated. Yet, through the pastor who exercised my husband for two hours daily, the deacon who hung food on my door handle, and the community that held my hand, I endured to this point. In community, I learned anew that faith is irrational. Beloved friends, God's love in giving His only Son is irrational. Having received that love and found a good community, we must cling tightly to it and fulfill our calling. May we dwell eternally in God's house like the evergreen olive tree, and together write the remaining chapters of the Holy Spirit's work.
