Psalm to a deceitful person
Photograph by Mike Chai via Pexels
Rev. John Zehring
Psalm 52 sounds as contemporary as breaking news. Does this sound like it is written about someone you know? “Why do you boast, O mighty one, of mischief done against the godly? All day long you are plotting destruction. Your tongue is like a sharp razor, you worker of treachery. You love evil more than good and lying more than speaking the truth. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living” (Psalm 52:1-5).
That could be about a national leader, a family member, someone at work, or a person who has betrayed you. It was written about a person who betrayed the Psalmist David. The bad guy was named Doeg the Edomite. He was a key servant to King Saul. When David was on the run from the king, Doeg found where he was and ratted him out. Doeg was also the murderer of 85 priests. “Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests; on that day he killed eighty-five who wore the linen ephod” (1 Samuel 22:18). It’s enough to know that Doeg was a deceitful person, and David’s Psalm describes the evils of deceitfulness with such clarity that it almost sounds like it is written about someone you know, or know of.
Consider the Psalmist’s list of a deceitful person’s characteristics. Plotting destruction. Intends to wreak havoc and do harm. Tongue is like a sharp razor. Skilled in belittling people and threatening those who disagree or fail to pay homage. Worker of treachery. Leaves a trail of harm in their wake. Love evil more than good. No one is created evil, but how can some come so close to acting like a truly evil person? Love lying more than speaking the truth. Known for lying and cheating, dishonoring his or her integrity, and proving they are not a person to trust. Love all words that devour. Where others seek high values like unity, diversity, equality, and harmony, this person spews negativity, harm, and disunity whenever the lips move.
What a Psalm! Psalm 52 does not have quite the same tone as “The Lord is my Shepherd” (23), “The earth is the Lord’s” (24), “This is the day that the Lord has made” (118), “I lift up my eyes to the hills” (121), or other favorite Psalms. And yet, the Psalm recognizes that there are deceitful people in our lives and it hurts. It hurts when it is someone personal, like a family member, friend, or neighbor. It hurts when it is someone who should be a trusted person, like a police officer, clergy member, nonprofit leader, teacher, medical professional, or attorney. And it hurts if, heaven forbid, it is a nation’s leader. Such happened in the Psalmist’s day, it happened in Jesus’ day, it happened in the era of Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, and some might say it is happening today.
What to do, especially if needing to live with a deceptive national leader? Protest? Resist? Keep quiet and keep safe? Stand with and speak for people on the margins – those most threatened or persecuted? Connect with supportive groups? Resist fear and ignorance? Endure and survive, waiting for opportunities to resist more actively when conditions are more favorable? What works? What has ever worked?
For the person of faith, despair is not the consequence. Denial or pretending that everything is okay is an unhealthy reaction.
One reaction to coping with a deceptive leader is to lament, which is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. When our lives feel threatened by the control or bullying of a deceptive leader, it is normal to feel the need to respond or to make everything okay. To lament is a normal and healthy reaction. Trying to make believe everything is okay is highly overrated.
When the Jewish people confronted their Babylonian exile, they sang a communal lament: “By the rivers of Babylon – there we sat down, and there we wept when we remembered Zion.” (Psalm 137:1). Their lament reflects their yearning for their homeland as well as their disdain for Jerusalem’s enemies. Perhaps the people of Gaza are feeling that way today in the face of mass starvation, suffering, and death. When the deceptive leader Herod sought to kill Jesus and Jesus was warned about it, his reaction was to lament: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34).
When living with the actions and words of a deceptive person, a normal, healthy response is to lament. Acknowledge and affirm your emotions, recognizing the range of feelings (fear, sadness, anger, hope) that can arise. In any trauma, ignoring feelings can make them worse or intensify them. Acknowledging your emotions leads to healthier processing and greater self-understanding. In our lament, we acknowledge that leadership by deceptive people can fail, and we hope it does. Nationalistic or authoritarian regimes eventually fail. And so, we focus upon what we can control (perhaps the most important is voting, self-care, and being together with like-minded people) rather than what we cannot.
The deceptive leader cannot be controlled. For the person of faith, despair is not the consequence. Denial or pretending that everything is okay is an unhealthy reaction. Evil happens and radiates from the deceptive person. It did then, it does now. The Psalmist points the way to a faith that, when confronted or threatened by the deceptive person, turns to a steadfast trust in and love for God: “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. I will thank you forever because of what you have done. In the presence of the faithful I will proclaim your name, for it is good” (Psalm 52:8-9).
When he killed 85 priests and threatened David’s life, Doeg the Edomite was doing evil’s work. A deceptive leader today doing evil’s work can cause profound emotional responses from people who care about the good, the true, the beautiful, the just, and doing the right thing for the right reasons. We are well served to turn to David in his time of threat to be reminded to keep the faith, to maintain our honor and integrity, and to search for ways to live like “a green olive tree in the house of God.”
Rev. John Zehring worked in higher education for a couple decades and then served United Church of Christ congregations as a pastor in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine. He is the author of dozens of books. His most recent book from Judson Press is “Get Your Church Ready to Grow: A Guide to Building Attendance and Participation.”
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
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