With the divine revelation in the Psalms, there are stations for the revelation concerning Christ. The last of these stations which we have covered thus far is Psalm 45, and the next will be Psalm 68. Between Psalm 45 and Psalm 68 there are twenty-two psalms. As we have seen, Psalms 46—48 are concerned with the city, and Psalms 49—51 deal with three categories of persons regarding the enjoyment of God in Christ. Before we come to Psalm 68, we need to pass through sixteen psalms, and we will devote three messages to these psalms. Psalms 52—67 present us with a "marsh," a kind of "muddy" situation that is hard for us to pass through. Nevertheless, we need to get through these sixteen psalms. In this message we will consider Psalms 52—57.
These psalms were treasured by God's people in ancient times, with each psalm being valued as a "gem." Otherwise, these six psalms would not have been included in the book of the Psalms. Although some have highly appreciated these psalms, I find it difficult to be impressed with them. Furthermore, because these psalms are very much alike, I also find it difficult to see how each of them differs from the others. Moreover, it is hard to say what they talk about. The sentiment here is surely strong, mixed, and complex. Therefore, these psalms may be considered the pious expressions of the psalmists uttered out of their complex sentiments while enjoying God in His house. Let us now consider these psalms one by one.
The superscription to Psalm 52 calls it "a Maschil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, David has come to the house of Ahimelech." The word "Maschil" may indicate that this is a psalm of instruction.
In the first seven verses the psalmist condemns the evil man, and in the last two verses the psalmist speaks concerning his enjoyment of God in His house.