‘For the Chief Musician. Maschil of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.'
This is another Psalm dedicated to the choirmaster. It is the first of four Maschils of David in succession (52-55). Thirteen Psalm are described as Maschils, eleven of them in Parts 2 & 3 of the Psalms. (These are, Psalms 32, 42, 44-45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88-89, 142). It may be that Maschil signifies ‘making wise/skilful'. The word maschil means ‘understanding', and has been variously interpreted as meaning, ‘a teaching Psalm' (although that does not appear to fit all its uses); ‘a meditation', bringing understanding; or a ‘skilful Psalm' indicating a complicated setting.
The occasion for the composition of the Psalm is seen as the time when Doeg the Edomite, Saul's chief herdsman, saw David visiting the high priest Ahimelech in order to obtain food for his men as he fled from Saul. Doeg reported this back to Saul which resulted in the massacre of all the priests at Nob (a priestly city). See 1Sa 21:1-9; 1 Samuel 22:9-23.
There are indications in the Psalm which would tie in with this suggestion. As Saul's chief herdsman (a post of high distinction) Doeg would be seen as a ‘mighty man' (Psalms 52:1 b), a man of wealth (Psalms 52:7), and Psalms 52:5 could well have in mind what happened to the priests of Nob. He certainly deceived Saul into thinking that Ahimelech had betrayed him (Psalms 52:3). It is probable that David found rest and recreation in writing Psalms, and his feelings of guilt when he learned from Abiathar what had happened might well have been assuaged by writing this Psalm as a kind of curse on Doeg (Psalms 52:5), and a vindication of himself (Psalms 52:8). This would explain why the concentration is on the man rather than on the incident. He is drawing God's attention to the kind of man that Doeg is. As a consequence the Psalm has reference to all evil men.
The Psalm is divided up by ‘Selah' into three parts:
A Description Of Man's Sinfulness (Psalms 52:1-3).
A Description Of The Consequences To Himself Resulting From His Sinfulness (Psalms 52:4-5).
A Description Of How The Righteous See His Fate And The Personal Vindication Of Each Of The Righteous Concerning Themselves (Psalms 52:6-9).