"Why do you boast in evil, O mighty one?/God's lovingkindness endures continually" (v. 1). Who is this mighty one? Why, after referring to the mighty man, does the psalmist immediately go on to speak of God's lovingkindness? There seems to be no connection here.
In verses 2 through 7 it appears that David, the psalmist, is full of hatred for this mighty one. Although David does not say that God will curse this one, he says, "God will likewise bring you down forever;/He will take you and pluck you up from your tent,/And uproot you from the land of the living" (v. 5). David's word here is very strong. How could a godly man pray in such a way concerning one of his persecutors?
In verses 8 and 9 David continued, "But I, like a flourishing olive tree/In the house of God,/Trust in God's lovingkindness/Forever and ever./I will give You thanks forever,/For You have acted;/And I will hope in Your name in the presence of Your godly ones,/For it is good." Since David was flourishing in God's house and since he trusted in God's lovingkindness, why did he still need to pray so strongly regarding the mighty one?
What should we think of David? After reading such a psalm as this, will we continue to consider him to be perfectly spiritual? When I was young, I appraised David highly, but after studying the Bible for so many years, my appreciation of him has decreased. On the one hand, David enjoyed God in His house, even as an olive tree flourishing in the dwelling of God; on the other hand, in his prayer he condemned the evil man, saying that God would uproot him from the land of the living. How could David at the same time enjoy God and hate one of his enemies to the uttermost? Surely this mixture of hate for an enemy and praise to God for His enjoyment of God in His house is not right. How could a godly man mix together hatred to his enemy and praise to God in the same psalm? This is what David did in Psalm 52.