Daily Lesson for July 22, 2019

Today’s Daily Lesson comes from Psalm 52:

1 You tyrant, why do you boast of wickedness 

against the godly all day long?

2 You plot ruin;

your tongue is like a sharpened razor, 

O worker of deception.

3 You love evil more than good 

and lying more than speaking the truth.

4 You love all words that hurt, 

O you deceitful tongue.

5 Oh, that God would demolish you utterly, 

topple you, and snatch you from your dwelling,

and root you out of the land of the living!

6 The righteous shall see and tremble, 

and they shall laugh at him, saying,

7 "This is the one who did not take God for a refuge, 

but trusted in great wealth

and relied upon wickedness."

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.

9 I will give you thanks for what you have done 

and declare the goodness of your Name in the presence of the godly.

“I am like a green olive tree in the house of God.”

This is a strong statement of resilience and even defiance amidst a time of great, great evil. 

An olive tree can endure almost any harsh and prolonged weather condition. It can withstand the hot sun and sudden freezes of Israel’s high desert climate. 

And, significantly, it was the branch of an olive tree that the dove brought back to Noah in its beak after the flood. The olive tree had endured. The covenant of God with humanity was still valid.

So, in claiming to be an olive tree in the house of God even all the wickedness of his present age, the Psalmist was steadfastly holding on to life amidst death, hope amidst a time of despair. 

We can survive this. We can survive this time. We can survive this day. We are resilient. We will endure. And in the end, we will be a sign of the everlasting promises of the LORD.  

We are like green olive trees in the house of God.