Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 52:8
But I [am] like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
8. But I am like a green olive tree ] R.V., But as for me, I am like a green olive tree, rightly emphasising the contrast between the fate of the wicked man and the hopes of the speaker. But who is the speaker? Is it, as is commonly supposed, the Psalmist? or is the speech of the righteous in Psa 52:7 continued, but with a transition to the singular, in order more forcibly to express the personal faith of each individual? It makes little difference to the sense: the Psalmist, if he is the speaker, speaks as the representative of the righteous.
like a green olive tree in the house of God ] It is possible (cp. Psa 92:13) that trees grew in the temple courts, as they grow at the present day in the Haram area, and that he compares his prosperity and security to that of the carefully tended trees planted in sacred ground. But more probably two figures are combined. He is like an evergreen olive tree, while the wicked man is rooted up: he is God’s guest, enjoying His favour and protection. For the metaphor of the tree cp. Jer 11:16; Hos 14:8 (of the nation); Psa 1:3; Psa 92:12 ff: and for that of the guest see Psa 23:6; Psa 27:4; Psa 15:1. Note too that God’s house may mean the land of Israel (Hos 9:15), in which the righteous dwells securely while the wicked man is driven out of it ( Psa 52:5).
mercy ] Rather, lovingkindness, as in Psa 52:1.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God – I am safe and happy, notwithstanding the effort made by my enemy, the informer, to secure my destruction. I have been kept unharmed, like a green and flourishing tree – a tree protected in the very courts of the sanctuary – safe under the care and the eye of God. A green tree is the emblem of prosperity. See Psa 1:3, note; Psa 37:35, note; compare Psa 92:12. The house of God here referred to is the tabernacle, considered as the place where God was supposed to reside. See Psa 15:1, note; Psa 23:6, note; Psa 27:4-5, notes. The particular allusion here is to the courts of the tabernacle. An olive tree would not be cultivated in the tabernacle, but it might in the courts or area which surrounded it. The name house of God would be given to the whole area, as it was afterward to the entire area in which the temple was. A tree thus planted in the very courts of the sanctuary would be regarded as sacred, and would be safe as long as the tabernacle itself was safe, for it would be, as it were, directly under the divine protection. So David had been, notwithstanding all the efforts of his enemies to destroy him.
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever –
(a) I have always done it. It has been my constant practice in trouble or danger.
(b) I will always do it.
As the result of all my experience, I will still do it; and thus trusting in God, I shall have the consciousness of safety.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 52:8
I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God.
Life like a green olive-tree
The olive-tree loves fat soil. It attains to finest fruitfulness when its bed is rich in nutriment. Starve its soil, the tree remains dwarfed and impoverished. A recent traveller, describing the olive-yards of Palestine, says that the soil in which the finest olives grow is rich as a bride-cake. Now I think it is to this characteristic of a splendid olive-tree that the psalmist refers. He himself is like an olive-tree in the richness of his rootage. God is the soil of his life, and he exults in the wealth of his resources. Here is the possibility of every man: he may become rooted in God. But how little use we make of our resources! A little while ago I got a load of soil for the purposes of a small kitchen-garden, and the man who keeps my garden in order saw the soil and exclaimed, Thats a splendid bit of earth, its fit for potting work; you can get far more out of that than vegetables. The phrase at once acquired spiritual suggestiveness. I thought how little I was getting out of God, and how much He wishes me to have. He wants us to be like olive-trees that are rooted in almost inexhaustible resources. It is the apostolic figure; the Apostle Paul speaks of being rooted in Him. This, I think, is the first suggestion of the psalmists thought; he is like an olive-tree in the wealth of his resources. But he is also like the olive-tree in the vigour of his life. Currents of strength rise out of his resourceful rootage and endow them with spiritual vim and vitality. It is the purpose of our God that every one of our powers should move with firmness and decision. It is His will that there should be nothing weak about our moral and spiritual equipment. He wants everything not only to be beautiful, but to be strong. When we are rooted in Him every branch of the life is pervaded by rivers of sap, and every faculty is urged by Divine energy into manifold fruitfulness. The spiritual sap makes everything it pervades fruit for the King. When we are rooted in God everything is sappy. It may be a letter we are writing. It may be a wish we are expressing. It may be a bit of work we are doing. It may be our ordinary occupation, the drudgery of daily life. If we are rooted in God all the issues of the life are sappy with His Spirit, and we become like green olive-trees. Now let us look at the character in a little more detail. I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. What a strong and exquisite word is this word translated mercy. One element of its wealthy content is the suggestion of kindness, but it means more than this: Let me put it in this way: the word is descriptive in the first place of the attitude of bowing and coming quite near to the person, an immediate approach to a need. It is the act of the Good Samaritan stooping to the wounded, and pouring in oil and wine. It is pity in action, pity at work. But there is a second element in the word which greatly corroborates the first. Mercy is not only kindness, it is loyalty also. It is love that never says die. It remains full, flowing all through the changing seasons, even in the drought of a fierce indifference. It is the leal love of the Master Himself. Having loved His own lie loved them unto the end. This is the mercy of God, and in this mercy the psalmist declares he trusts for ever. Trusts! And there again is a significant word. It means to his for refuge, to take up your home in a thing, to settle down. It is a comfortable nestling in the leal love of the Lord. It is to be so sure of Him that worry and fretfulness pass away, and we are like little children, almost careless in our sense of gracious security. I will give thee thanks for ever. Here is another characteristic of the life that is like an olive-tree; it is a praiseful, thankful life. There is a sentence in one of Jane Austens novels which I think is very expressive. Describing one of her characters, she says, He was a very liberal thanker. I think that is very finely descriptive of a rich and welcome character. To be liberal thankers heavenward, as well as toward our fellows, is to receive continual spiritual enlargement. Gratitude makes room for more grace. And surely we have abundant opportunity for gratitude! We only need to open our eyes to have our praise awakened at every turn. Every time we express our thanks we make more room for God. I do not wonder, then, that this man, who was rooted in God like an olive-tree, should find himself instinctively and unceasingly bearing the fruit of gratitude and praise. And I will wait on Thy name, for it is good, in the presence of Thy saints. What will he wait on? The Lords name! And what names the Lord has given Himself, and every name a promise and a pledger He never goes back upon His name. Every name is honoured to the last extremity of its significance. And we can put in richer names than ever the psalmist could. We can insert the name Saviour, Comforter, Counsellor, Friend. On this name the psalmist says he will wait. That does not mean that he will sit down and indolently tarry until something turns up. It literally means that he will hind himself around the name of God, that he will decline every other support, that he will be wrapped around the covenant of the Lords own name. The man who does this will have reason for singing every day. He will find that the support holds, and day by day his experience of security will teach his lips a new song. And he says that he will do this waiting in the presence of Thy saints. That is to say, he will mingle with other people who are doing the same, he will make a profession of his willing confidence in God, and he will listen to similar professions made by others. In their mutual confidences they will give one another mutual support. Ah! yes, this kind of communion is always good. It nourishes the life like bread, it refreshes the life like water. Thou satisfiest my mouth with good things. (J. H. Jowett, M. A.)
I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.—
On trusting in the mercy of God
I. What mercy is.
1. Mercy, as an attribute of God, is not to be confounded with mere goodness. Goodness may demand the exercise of justice; indeed, it often does; but to say that mercy demands the exercise of justice is to use the word without meaning. Mercy asks that justice be set aside.
2. Mercy is a disposition to pardon the guilty. Desert is never the rule by which mercy-is guided; while it is precisely the rule of justice.
3. Mercy is exercised only where there is guilt. The penalty of the law must have been previously incurred, else there can be no scope for mercy.
4. Mercy can be exercised no further than one deserves punishment. If great punishment is deserved, great mercy can be shown; if endless punishment is due, there is then scope for infinite mercy to be shown, but not otherwise.
II. What is implied in trusting in the mercy of God.
1. A conviction of guilt.
2. That we have no hope on the score of justice. If we had anything to expect from justice, we should not look to mercy.
3. A just apprehension of what mercy is–pardon for the crimes of the guilty.
4. A belief that He is merciful. We could not trust Him if we had no such belief.
5. A conviction of deserving endless punishment.
6. A cessation from all excuses and excuse-making.
III. The conditions upon which we may confidently and securely trust in the mercy of God for ever.
1. Public justice must be appeased. Its demands must be satisfied. However much disposed God may be to pardon, yet He is too good to exercise mercy on any such conditions or under any such circumstances as will impair the dignity of His law, throw out a licence to sin, and open the very floodgates of iniquity. Jehovah never can do this.
2. We must repent.
3. We must confess our sins.
4. We must really make restitution, so far as lies in our power.
5. Another condition is that you really reform.
6. You must go the whole length in justifying the law and its penalty.
7. No sinner can be a proper object of mercy who is not entirely submissive to all those measures of the government that have brought him to conviction.
8. You must close in most cordially with the plan of salvation.
IV. Some mistakes into which many fall.
1. Many really trust in justice, and not in mercy. This is a fatal rock. The sinner who can do this calmly has never seen Gods law and his own heart.
2. Many trust professedly in the mercy of God without fulfilling the conditions on which only mercy can be shown. They may hold on in such trusting till they die–but no longer.
3. Sinners do not consider that God cannot dispense with their fulfilling those conditions. He has no right to do so. They spring out of the very constitution of His government, from His very nature, and must therefore be strictly fulfilled.
4. Many are defeating their own salvation by self-justification. Pleas that excuse self and cavils that arraign God, stand alike and fatally in the way of a pardon. Since the world began it has not been known that a sinner has found mercy in this state.
5. Many pretend to trust in mercy who yet profess to be punished for their sins as they go along. They hope for salvation through mercy, and yet they are punished for all their sins in this life. Two more absurd and self-contradictory things were never put together.
6. Persons who in the letter plead for mercy, often rely really upon justice. The deep conviction of sin and ill-desert does not sink into their soul till they realize what mercy is, and feel that they can rely on nothing else.
7. Some are covering up their sins, yet dream of going to heaven. Do they think they can hide those sins from the Omniscient Eye? Do they think to cover their sins and yet prosper, despite of Gods awful Word?
8. We cannot reasonably ask for mercy beyond our acknowledged and felt guilt; and they mistake fatally who suppose that they can. (C. G. Finney.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. But I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God] I shall be in the house of God, full of spiritual vigour, bringing forth evergreen leaves and annual fruit, as the olive does when planted in a proper soil and good situation. It does not mean that there were olive-trees planted in God’s house; but he was in God’s house, as the olive was in its proper place and soil.
I trust in the mercy of God] The wicked man trusts in his riches: I trust in my God. He, like a bad tree, bringing forth poisonous fruit, shall be cursed, and pulled up from the roots; I, like a healthy olive in a good soil, shall, under the influence of God’s mercy, bring forth fruit to his glory. As the olive is ever green, so shall I flourish in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I am like a green olive tree; when Doeg and his brethren shall wither and perish, I, who have made God my refuge, I, whom he despised and persecuted, and thought to be in a desperate condition, shall be established and flourish.
In the house of God; either,
1. In Gods church, or among his people. Or,
2. In Gods tabernacle, from which Doeg shall be plucked away, Psa 52:5, and from which I am now banished by the tyranny and malice of this man, and his confederates; but, I doubt not, I shall be restored to it, and dwell in it all the days of my life, which is the one thing that I desire, Psa 27:4.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. The figure used is common(Psa 1:3; Jer 11:16).
greenfresh.
house, c.in communionwith God (compare Psa 27:4Psa 27:5).
for ever and everqualifies”mercy.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But I [am] like a green olive tree in the house of God,…. Or rather it should be supplied, “I shall be” d; since David was at this time an exile from the house of God: and this expresses his faith and confidence, that, notwithstanding his present troubles, he should be restored again, and be in a very flourishing condition, in the church of God; which is here meant by “the house of God”: it being of his building, and where he dwells, and where to have a place is the great privilege of the saints; they are planted there by the Lord himself, and shall never be rooted up; they are fixed there, and shall never go out; which was David’s confidence, Ps 23:6; and where he believed he should be as “a green olive tree”; which is a very choice and fruitful tree, has fatness in it, produces an excellent oil; is beautiful to look at; delights in hot climates and sunny places; is found on mountains, we read of the mount of Olives; is ever green and durable, and its leaves and branches are symbols of peace: all which is applicable to truly righteous persons and believers in Christ; who are the excellent of the earth, are filled with the fruits of righteousness; are fat and flourishing; have the oil of grace, the anointing which teacheth all things; are a perfection of beauty, made perfectly comely through Christ’s comeliness; thrive under him, the sun of righteousness; grow in the mountain of the Lord’s house, the church: their grace is incorruptible, their leaf withers not; they are rooted in Christ, and ever continue; they are the sons of peace, and their last end will be eternal peace. Now as such David was assured he should be, when his enemy would be rooted up out of the land of the living, and cast like a dry and worthless branch into everlasting burnings; the ground of which confidence follows:
I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever; the mercy of God is not only an encouragement to trust, but the object of it; not the absolute mercy of God, but the grace and goodness of God in Christ Jesus, which endures continually, Ps 52:1; and so does hope in it, which never makes ashamed, but abides to the end. The psalmist seems to have respect to the mercy promised him, that he should sit upon the throne. This he believed, and therefore was assured he should be in the flourishing circumstances in the house of God before mentioned.
d “Ero”, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The gloomy song now brightens up, and in calmer tones draws rapidly to a close. The betrayer becomes like an uprooted tree; the betrayed, however, stands firm and is like to a green-foliaged olive (Jer 11:16) which is planted in the house of Elohim (Psa 90:14), that is to say, in sacred and inaccessible ground; cf. the promise in Isa 60:13. The weighty expression refers, as in Ps 22:32, to the gracious and just carrying out of that which was aimed at in the election of David. If this be attained, then he will for ever give thanks and further wait on the Name, i.e., the self-attestation, of God, which is so gracious and kind, he will give thanks and “wait” in the presence of all the saints. This “waiting,” , is open to suspicion, since what he intends to do in the presence of the saints must be something that is audible or visible to them. Also “hoping in the name of God” is, it is true, not an unbiblical notional combination (Isa 36:8); but in connection with which follows, one more readily looks for a verb expressing a thankful and laudatory proclamation (cf. Ps 54:8). Hitzig’s conjecture that we should read is therefore perfectly satisfactory. does not belong to , which would be construed with htiw deurtsnoc , and not , but to the two votive words; cf. Psa 22:26; Psa 138:1, and other passages. The whole church (Psa 22:23., Psa 40:10.) shall be witness of his thankfulness to God, and of his proclamation of the proofs which God Himself has given of His love and favour.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
8 But I am like a green olive-tree (283) We have seen that David was enabled, by the exercise of faith, to look down upon the worldly grandeur of Doeg with a holy contempt; and now we find him rising superior to all that was presently afflictive in his own condition. Though, to appearance, he more resembled the withered trunk of a tree which rots upon the ground, he compares himself, in the confidence of coming prosperity, to a green olive. I need not say that the destruction of Doeg could only communicate comfort to his mind, in the way of convincing him that God was the avenging judge of human cruelty, and leading him to infer that, as he had punished his wrongs, so he would advance him to renewed measures of prosperity. From his language, it appears that he could conceive of no higher felicity in his condition than being admitted amongst the number of the worshippers of God, and engaging in the exercises of devotion. This was characteristic of his spirit. We have already had occasion to see that he felt his banishment from the sanctuary of God more keenly than separation from his consort, the loss of worldly substance, or the dangers and hardships of the wilderness. The idea of an allusion being here made, by way of contrast, to Doeg, who came to the tabernacle of the Lord merely as a spy, and under hypocritical pretexts, is strained and far-fetched. It is more natural to suppose that David distinguishes himself from all his enemies, without exception, intimating that, though he was presently removed from the tabernacle, he would soon be restored to it; and that they who boasted of possessing, or rather monopolising, the house of God, would be rooted out of it with disgrace. And here let us engrave the useful lesson upon our hearts, that we should consider it the great end of our existence to be found numbered amongst the worshippers of God; and that we should avail ourselves of the inestimable privilege of the stated assemblies of the Church, which are necessary helps to our infirmity, and means of mutual excitement and encouragement. By these, and our common Sacraments, the Lord, who is one God, and who designed that we should be one in him, is training us up together in the hope of eternal life, and in the united celebration of his holy name. Let us learn with David to prefer a place in the house of God to all the lying vanities of this world. He adds the reason why he should be like the green olive-tree — because he hoped in the goodness of God; for the causal particle appears to be understood. And in this he adverts to the contrast between him and his enemies. They might flourish for a time, spread their branches far and wide, and shoot themselves up to a gigantic stature, but would speedily wither away, because they had no root in the goodness of God; whereas he was certain to derive from this source ever renewed supplies of sap and vigor. As the term of his earthly trials might be protracted, and there was a danger that he might sink under their long continuance, unless his confidence should extend itself far into futurity, he declares expressly that he would not presume to prescribe times to God, and that his hopes were stretched into eternity. It followed that he surrendered himself entirely to God in all that regarded this life or his death. The passage puts us in possession of the grand distinction between the genuine children of God and those who are hypocrites. They are to be found together in the Church, as the wheat is mingled with the chaff on the same threshing-floor; but the one class abides for ever in the steadfastness of a well-founded hope, while the other is driven away in the vanity of its false confidences.
(283) Our English Bible also reads, “like a green olive-tree;” but it would be more correct to translate, “I am like a flourishing, or vigorous olive-tree.” The original word, רענן, raanan, has no reference to the color of the tree, but to its fresh, vigouous and flourish condition. Hence this word is used, in Psa 92:11, to express “ fresh oil;” and in Dan 4:4, to denote the prosperous condition of Nebuchadnezzar, “I was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace.” The fact is, that the color of the olive-tree, so far from being of a bright and lively green, is dark, disagreeable, and yellowish. Travellers, when they have seen this tree, have experienced a feeling of disappointment in not finding it to possess the vivid verdure which they had been led to expect from the description given of it in the Scriptures. An excellent English traveler, Mr Sharpe, writing from Italy, thus expresses himself on this subject: “The fields, and indeed the whole face of Tuscany, are in a manner covered with olive-trees; but the olive-tree does not answer the character I had conceived of it. The royal Psalmist, and some of the sacred writers, speak with rapture of the ‘green olive-tree,’ so that I expected a beautiful green; and I confess to you I was wretchedly disappointed to find its hue resembling that of our hedges when they are covered with dust.” But this disappointment which Mr Sharpe felt arose not from overcharged or exaggerated colouring on the part of the sacred writers, but from his not understanding the meaning of their language. The beauty of the olive-tree is represented in other parts of Scripture as consisting, not in the greenness of its foliage, but in the spread of its branches, (Hos 14:6.) — Harmer ’ s Observations, volume 3, pp. 255-257. The propriety and beauty of the comparison which David here makes appears from the fact that the olive is an evergreen, and is also, considering its size, long-lived. While, in the 5 verse, he had predicted the speedy and total destruction of Doeg, comparing him to a tree plucked up by the roots, he, in contrast with this, represents himself as like a young, vigorous olive-tree, which had long to live and flourish; confidently expecting to obtain that outward peace and prosperity which God had promised him, and, along with this, the enjoyment of all spiritual blessings.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) But I am like.The flourishing olive alternates with the vine, in Hebrew poetry, as an emblem of prosperous Israel. (See Jer. 11:16; Hos. 14:6.) The epithet green hardly refers to the colour so much as the vigour of the tree, for the foliage of wan grey olive wood cannot be called verdant. But though the olive is scarcely, to our Western eyes, a beautiful tree, to the Oriental the coolness of the pale-blue foliage, its evergreen freshness, spread like a silver sea along the slopes of the hills, speaks of peace and plenty, food and gladness (Tristram, Nat. Hist. of the Bible, p. 374).
In the house of God.Here and in the more elaborate simile (Psa. 92:13) the situation, in the house of God, is added to show that the prophecy has come of religious trust. It is quite possible that trees were actually planted in the precincts of the Temple, as they are in the Haram area now, so that the rendering, near the house of God, would express a literal fact. Or the whole may be figurative, as in the verse, like the olive branches round about Thy table.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. But I am like a green olive tree The contrast now appears between the psalmist and his enemies. These had been uprooted, (Psa 52:5,) he had taken deeper root and had sent out a more fruitful branch. The olive was the emblem of peace, riches, prosperity and beauty, Gen 8:11; Hab 3:17; Hos 14:6.
In the house of God The idea of the “olive tree in the house of God,” Stanley suggests, is borrowed from the choice trees, (among which was “the venerable olive,”) planted of old in the sacred enclosure of the temple, and then, as now in the same place, (the Harem es-Sherif, or noble Sanctuary of the Moslems,) proverbial for their beauty and sanctity. David knew no piety that was not rooted in God, and fed by the ordinances of his house. Though now exiled and persecuted, he was in union and fellowship with all lovers of the true Church.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 52:8. But I am like a green olive-tree The olive-tree is an evergreen, not liable to decay, and therefore of a very long duration. To this the Psalmist compares himself, to denote the stability and perpetuity of his prosperity, and that of his family; the olive propagating itself by fresh shoots, and being thus far, as it were immortal. See Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. 17: cap. 30., and Theophrast. Hist. Plant. lib. 4: cap. 15. One principal part also of the happiness which David promised himself was, that he should have a constant admission to the house of God, and the solemnities of his worship there; notwithstanding he was now driven from it by the malice of his enemies: adding, I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. His promises shall never fail; nor shall those who hate me rejoice over me in my destruction. Chandler. Mr. Mede supposes, that though it was not lawful to plant trees near the altar of God, there were other places appointed for public worship, which might properly be called houses of God; and in particular proseuchas, or places where they met for prayer; which were inclosed round, but open at the top, and generally shaded with trees. And if we consider these places as consecrated to the purposes of religion, we may well imagine, that the trees there planted would be religiously preserved, and in process of time would challenge a venerable regard from their antiquity, their spacious extent, and lofty stature: so that in this view, when the Psalmist compares himself to an olive-tree, a cedar, or any other evergreen in the house of God, there is a particular emphasis in the allusion. Mr. Mede supposes, with great probability, that these proseuchas, and the synagogues, are the houses of God, the burning of which is lamented, Psa 74:8. See his Discourse on Joshua 26:26. Fenwick eems to me to render the verse most consistently of any translator;
But as an olive, ever fresh and green, When planted in God’s house, I hope to stand. I in God’s mercy only ever trust.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
If we read these sweet verses, first with reference to Christ the head of his Church, and then, as the language of faith, from a conscious union with him, as the members of his body, we shall enter into a blessed enjoyment of them. Yes, all and every individual of Christ’s mystical body must flourish, must be to his praise, and, with the ever-green verdure of trees, which the Lord’s right hand hath planted, bring forth fruit to the glory of God in Jesus Christ.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 52:8 But I [am] like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
Ver. 8. But I am like a green olive tree, &c. ] Thus, when Doeg blasted David, David blessed himself. Let him flourish in the court, I shall much more in the house of God. My name shall be precious among the saints when he stinketh above ground; he shall wither when I shall be fresh, flourishing, and fruitful.
I trust in the mercy of God
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 52:8-9
8But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
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.
Psa 52:8-9 As Psa 52:5 characterized the wicked person (i.e., uprooted), Psa 52:8 characterizes the righteous person (i.e., planted).
1. He is like a green olive tree in the house of God, cf. Psa 1:3; Psa 92:12-14; Psa 128:3; Jer 11:16; Jer 17:5-8.
2. He trusts in God’s lovingkindness forever, cf. Psa 13:5; this lovingkindness is forever, cf. Psa 52:8; the wicked trust in their own riches.
3. He gives thanks to God forever BDB 392. KB 389, Hiphil imperfect used in a cohortative sense.
4. He will wait on His name BDB 875, KB 1082, Piel imperfect used in a cohortative sense.
Psa 52:9 Your name It is characterized as it is good. See SPECIAL TOPIC: THE NAME OF YHWH .
in the presence of Your godly ones This could refer to
1. angels
2. faithful followers at the temple (cf. Psa 52:8, house of God)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. What is unusual about this Psalm?
2. List the different vocatives used to describe or personify the wicked.
3. Compare what God will do to the wicked versus the righteous in Psa 52:5-6.
4. What do the wicked do that alienates them from God?
5. Who are the godly ones of Psa 52:9?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
mercy = lovingkindness, or grace.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 52:8-9
Psa 52:8-9
THREE MARKS OF DAVID’S GRATITUDE
“But as for me I am like a green olive tree in the house of God:
I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
I will give thanks forever, because thou hast done it;
And I will hope in thy name, for it is good, in the presence of thy saints.”
“A green olive tree in the house of God” (Psa 52:8). Some scholars have questioned whether or not olive trees were actually planted upon the tabernacle grounds, or later upon the temple grounds; but the great likelihood is that they were indeed planted there. This verse seems to say as much.
“Herodotus tells us that there was an abundance of trees in the courts of Egyptian temples; and till this day on the site of the ancient temple there are a number of magnificent cypress, olive, and lemon trees.” As a metaphor of the safety of God’s child, such a tree was very appropriate. It would have been protected from vandalism and would have received the very best of care.
As a consequence of God’s wonderful blessing, in spite of Doeg’s shameful deeds, David makes three pledges to God in these final two verses.
“I trust in the lovingkindness of God” (Psa 52:8).
“I will give thee thanks forever” (Psa 52:9).
“I will hope … in the presence of thy saints” (Psa 52:9).
We have often observed that the word “lovingkindness” is almost a Davidic signature in the psalms attributed to him.
As McCaw wrote, “The three marks of David’s reaction are: (1) his gratitude that God had intervened for him, (2) a testimony to the loveliness of God’s character, and (3) a projected fellowship with God’s people.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 52:8. The olive tree was the principal or only source of artificial light in ancient times. The comparison David made was in that he was enlightened by being a true servant of God. Such service was rendered in the house of the Lord and it entitled him to the mercy of God for which he so often prayed.
Psa 52:9. David gave the Lord due credit for the favors he had received. Wait on thy name means to rely on the good name of God in the midst of the trials of life.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
like: Psa 1:3, Psa 92:12-14, Jer 11:16, Hos 14:6-8, Rom 11:24
I trust: Psa 13:5, Psa 33:18, Psa 147:11
Reciprocal: Psa 5:7 – in the Psa 91:1 – dwelleth Psa 128:3 – olive plants Pro 11:28 – but Rom 11:17 – and with 1Ti 4:10 – because Rev 11:4 – two olive
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 52:8. I am like a green olive-tree When Doeg and his brethren shall wither and perish, I, who have made God my refuge; I, whom he despised and persecuted, and thought to be in a desperate condition, shall be established and flourish; in the house of God In Gods church, and among his people; or, in Gods tabernacle, from which Doeg shall be plucked away; but to which, I doubt not, I shall be restored. One principal part of the happiness David promised himself was, that he should have a constant admission to the house of God, and the solemnities of his worship there; notwithstanding he was now driven from it by the malice of his enemies. As the olive-tree is an evergreen, and therefore of long duration, and as it also propagates itself by fresh shoots, being thus far, as it were, immortal; hence the psalmist compares himself to it, to denote the stability and perpetuity of his prosperity, and that of his family; adding, I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever His promises shall never fail; nor shall those who hate me rejoice over me in my destruction.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
52:8 But I [am] like a {g} green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
(g) He rejoices to have a place among the servant’s of God, that he may grow in the knowledge of godliness.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. God’s deliverance of the trusting 52:8-9
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
David repudiated the confidence of the wicked and reaffirmed his trust in the Lord. He pictured himself as a flourishing olive tree, in contrast to his uprooted enemy (Psa 52:5; cf. Psa 1:3; Hos 14:6). Olive trees live unusually long, and they are productive and attractive. They were and are very numerous in Israel. The tree David saw was in the tabernacle courtyard, symbolic of his nearness to God.