¹Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? … ⁸But as for me … I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever. ⁹I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it, And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

This psalm has to do with our response when someone spies on us and turns us in to gain favor with repressive or persecuting authorities. The setting is summarized in the inscription (vs. 0), “… when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, ‘David has come to the house of Ahimelech.’” The story is found in 1 Sam 21:1-7 and 22:9-23.

David, before he became king, was fleeing from the insane jealousy of the current king, Saul, and went famished to a priest at a place called Nob. The priest gave him consecrated (day-old) bread to eat that had served its purpose in worship and was no longer needed. Unfortunately, a man named Doeg saw what happened and later snitched on David to the king. In his rage, Saul demanded his guards kill all the priests at Nob, but when they refused, he authorized Doeg to carry out his command. In the end, 85 priests were murdered. It is this man about whom this Psalm is written.

As an aside, in Matthew 12:1-7, Jesus points out that while under normal circumstances, David would have been in violation of the Mosaic Law, the very nature of God allows for compassionate exceptions if a person’s life is on the line. Indeed, our Lord puts a higher premium on compassion than sacrifice. Yes, there are times when we may take liberties with the Law for the sake of a greater purpose. The letter-of-the-law-keepers are quick to turn such actions against us, but they incur Jesus’ harshest denunciation:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” (Matt. 23:23)

What do we do in response to people who use our actions to hurt us or others because of what we have done? David does not go into the self-criticism of thinking, “If only I had done it differently.” No, he was not at fault; Doeg was. We cannot possibly avoid all criticism and machinations against us because of evil-doers in our lives.

David, in this psalm, castigates Doeg for his actions and does so in no uncertain terms: he is evil and intentionally deceitful, and God will bring judgment on him. The irony of this is that he was a non-Israelite who joined forces with King Saul but “would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of riches” (vs. 7). Apparently, Saul rewarded him handsomely for his subterfuge.

In contrast, David continues trusting God. He knew that his faith would have an impact on others. When one of Ahimelech’s sons later told him about the execution of the 85 priests, he realized the cost of his faithfulness to others who followed him, and he took responsibility for them:

“I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I have brought about the death of every person in your father’s household. Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks my life seeks your life, for you are safe with me.” (1 Sam. 22:22–23)

When evil-doers try to take us down, others may invariably suffer. But if we follow David’s example, our faith will lead us to take responsibility for those who follow us.

Lord, I realize my faith affects others. I trust you for the consequences and will do all I can to help those under my influence.