When evil people Attack

Read Psalm 52.

How do you respond when people say bad things about you?  How do you feel when those same people hurt others whom you love?  Quickly, get God's perspective and do not try to go it alone.

In 1 Samuel 21-22, David ran from King Saul's death threats.  Along the way he stopped for a visit with the priests at Nob for food and weapons.  Doeg, who worked for Saul, witnessed this and reported it back to the King.  Then, Saul slaughtered every priest, man, woman, child and animal in Nob.  Surely, Doeg had been rewarded and promoted as a result.

David, in writing this song of remembrance, looked beyond the personal betrayal and the resulting holocaust with a spiritual perspective.

1. What was David's perspective of Doeg?
He was not only a betrayer, he was evil; a pawn in the hand of Satan.  This evil man boasted about what he had done.  His mind loved to plot evil and to destroy.  He trusted in his abundance of money as a refuge.

2. What was David's perspective of God?
Doeg and these disasters did not change the character of God one bit.  His love continues to be consistent and unmoved (v.2a).  God did not miss, nor overlook, Doeg's doings.  Severe judgment would come (v.5)

3. What was David's perspective of himself?
He could have blamed himself and wallowed in guilt, but none of this was his fault.
-He used this time to grow spiritually. (v.8a)
-His trust in the LORD never wavered. (v.8b)
-He expressed thanks to the LORD for taking care of this evil. (v.9a)
-He waited upon the Lord but not in solitude.  He surrounded himself with other believers. (v.9b)