October 18, 2017 (Wednesday)
This Psalm is an indignant response to those in authority, who, instead of condemning crime, are themselves the most guilty criminals. They belong to the class of “deliberately wicked,” who are completely sold out to evil thoughts and deeds, beyond redemption. The only course of action open to the righteous is to take away the power of the wicked or to destroy them completely. When the unjust powers are replaced with those who love justice, the righteous will rejoice, recognizing the reality of God’s moral government in the world.
One cannot help seeing a similarity to the Declaration of Independence which called for “Liberty and Justice for All.”
Psalm 58
New International Version (NIV)
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.
I. INJUSTICE PREVAILS (1-2)
1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly?
Do you judge people with equity?
2 No, in your heart you devise injustice,
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
II. THE UNJUST ARE BEYOND CHANGE (3-5)
3 Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 that will not heed the tune of the charmer,
however skillful the enchanter may be.
III. REMOVE POWER FROM THE UNJUST (6-9)
6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;
when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.
8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,
like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns–
whether they be green or dry–the wicked will be swept away.
IV. REWARD THE RIGHTEOUS (10-11)
10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say,
“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth.”
New International Version (NIV)
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” Of David. A miktam.
I. INJUSTICE PREVAILS (1-2)
1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly?
Do you judge people with equity?
2 No, in your heart you devise injustice,
and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
II. THE UNJUST ARE BEYOND CHANGE (3-5)
3 Even from birth the wicked go astray;
from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 that will not heed the tune of the charmer,
however skillful the enchanter may be.
III. REMOVE POWER FROM THE UNJUST (6-9)
6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;
when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.
8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,
like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns–
whether they be green or dry–the wicked will be swept away.
IV. REWARD THE RIGHTEOUS (10-11)
10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged,
when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say,
“Surely the righteous still are rewarded;
surely there is a God who judges the earth.”