The King Went Crazy

Meaning in Psalm 52

Alfred D. Byrd

FLEEING from Saul, who wished to kill him,
David arrived at the house of God
And asked its priests to give him assistance
Needed, he said, for a work of the king's.
Accepting the word of David, well loved,
They gave him a meal for him and his men,
And the sword with which he'd killed Goliath,
Merciless giant who'd mocked the faithful.
David went on to hide amid rocks,
But the priests would have to face their king.
A man named Doeg, a servant of Saul's,
Observing the priests and David together,
Hurried to tell his master the news
Of those who'd helped his foe to safety.
Hearing the news, the king went crazy,
Killing the priests who'd acted in faith.
Just one of the priests escaped to tell
The one who'd got help of how much it had cost.
In grief for friends who'd died unjustly,
David expressed his feeling in song:

"Are you proud of what you've done, big man?
Your tongue has spoken, and lives have ended.
Surely, your tongue is like a razor
Cutting whatever it touches apart.
The ones who do right, you've sent to their death;
The truth, you've spurned to serve a madman—
Evil seems better to you than good!
The mercy of God, which lasts forever,
Didn't restrain a heart of darkness
Willing — no, eager! — to shed men's blood.

"Today, you've won, but you'll face a future
Showing your God as Judge of your acts.
The One Who gave you your life has decreed
A balance that tests whatever you do.
What's done determines what comes in return:
An act of good will earn its reward;
An act of evil will earn destruction.
Heartless oppressor, the tongue that brought death
Will be torn by its roots from a mouth that smiled
When you saw your victims butchered like lambs.
You'll lose your home along with your life
When you see what comes from blood shed in hate.

"The hope of seeing evil destroyed
Sustains the faithful amid their grief.
They'll watch the one who who dismissed his God
And put his faith in riches and strength
Go down to darkness in which he belongs.
When he's gone, the truth of God will remain.
The ones who put their trust in that truth
Will flourish like trees whose roots run deep
By a stream that flows from the house of God.
They'll wait with patience for justice to come,
And they'll sing forever in praise of the One
Whose love will transform our pain into joy."

If this poem spoke to you, you may enjoy my Biblical epic poems

A Song of the One, the age-old account of Creatlon, Fall, Redemption, and Glory retold in verse for a new millennium, and

The Stars Bow Down: An Epic of Joseph, the timeless tale of a favorite son whose brothers sold him into slavery, but whom God raised from a prison to save the known world from famine.