Psalm 52
Loving Evil
Show me what a man hates, and I will show you what he loves. Show me what a man loves most, and I will show you his priorities.
Love and hatred are powerful twin passions that drive much of human behavior. Far more than mere emotions, they intensify actions and make them impossible to conceal. Neither love nor hatred is inherently good or evil. What matters is where they are directed and what they produce.
Love, when misapplied, can become destructive and dangerous. Hatred, when unrestrained or aimed at the wrong target, leaves wounds that never fully heal.
In Psalm 52, David confronts a man whose love was tragically misplaced. He declares:
“You love evil more than good, lying rather than speaking righteousness” (Psalm 52:3).
This was not a man who loved nothing good. Rather, on balance, he loved evil more than good and lies more than truth. His misplaced love revealed itself in his words and deeds.
Tradition identifies this man as Doeg the Edomite. You can read his story in 1 Samuel 21–22. While David was fleeing from King Saul, he stopped at Nob to get provisions from the priests. Doeg, who was present at that time (1 Samuel 21:7), later reported to Saul that the priests had helped David. He omitted the key detail that the priests believed they were obeying Saul’s own authority.
Doeg’s deceptive report led to tragedy. Not only did he distort the truth, but he personally carried out the execution of 85 priests on Saul’s orders.
David pays special attention in this psalm to the destructive power of the tongue. He condemns Doeg’s lies, highlights how his words were intended to destroy the priests, and declares, “You love all devouring words, O deceitful tongue” (Psalm 52:4).
Love is not wrong in itself. Scripture commands us to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The problem arises when our love is misdirected or unbalanced. When we love evil more than good, or when we love something harmful, we can cause immense damage — sometimes even more than outright hatred.
Today, this danger is everywhere. People “love” ideologies, political tribes, success, comfort, or approval so intensely that truth, integrity, and the well-being of others become secondary.
Doeg loved his position and Saul’s favor more than truth. That misplaced love cost innocent lives. In the same way, whatever we love most will eventually shape our decisions, our speech, and our character. Jesus taught that, “out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Our words and actions are loud indicators of what we truly love.
If you would like a more detailed discussion of the psalm, check out my video below.