So, you want to be a tyrant?

There is a pretty demanding job description.

It is laid out clearly in Psalm 52.

What do tyrants do?

• They boast of wickedness.
• They speak against the godly.
• They plot ruin.
• They speak with razor tongues.
• They deceive.
• They love evil.
• They love lies.
• They hurt people with their words.

But … they do not and cannot destroy the work and people of God.

Before I get too arrogant and self-righteous, let me check myself for the tyrant in me.

Psalm 52 Quid gloriaris?

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.