Psalms 58: The God Who Judges the Earth
Against corrupt rulers who deal out injustice, David appeals to the righteous Judge, assured there is a God who judges the earth.
Psalms 58 (WEB)
1 Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?
2 No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake; like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5 which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.
6 Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
8 Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
11 so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
Psalms 58 (KJV)
1 Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
2 Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
5 Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord.
7 Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Psalms 58 (ASV)
1 Do ye indeed in silence speak righteousness? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?
2 Nay, in heart ye work wickedness; Ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb: They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear,
5 Which hearkeneth not to the voice of charmers, Charming never so wisely.
6 Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Jehovah.
7 Let them melt away as water that runneth apace: When he aimeth his arrows, let them be as though they were cut off.
8 Let them beas a snail which melteth and passeth away, Likethe untimely birth of a woman, that hath not seen the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the thorns, He will take them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;
11 So that men shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: Verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Summary
Psalm 58 is an imprecatory psalm, a passionate appeal for God to overturn injustice. It opens by confronting those who hold power but pervert it: Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly? The answer is no; in their hearts they plot injustice and deal out violence. David describes the wicked as estranged from God from the womb, going astray and speaking lies as soon as they are born, their poison like a snake's and their ears stopped like a deaf cobra that will not heed any charmer. Faced with such hardened corruption, David prays vividly for God to disarm them: break their teeth, let them vanish like water that flows away, like a snail that melts, like a stillborn child who never sees the sun, swept away suddenly. These stark images express a longing for evil to be utterly undone. The psalm ends with confident hope: the righteous will rejoice when they see God's vengeance, and people will conclude, Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous; most certainly there is a God who judges the earth. The psalm reminds us that injustice will not have the last word, for there is a righteous Judge. For the Christian, this longing for justice is satisfied at the cross and in the return of Christ, who will judge the world in righteousness.
Voices
- David — The psalmist who indicts corrupt rulers and appeals to God to overturn their injustice, confident in the righteous Judge.
- The corrupt judges — Those who should speak righteousness but instead plot injustice, whose poison is like a serpent's and whose ears are stopped to correction.
- God who judges the earth — The righteous Judge who rewards the righteous, breaks the power of the wicked, and ensures that justice is finally done in the earth.
Key Verse
Psalm 58:11 (WEB)
so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
Lessons Learned
- God holds those in power accountable to judge justly, and exposes them when they pervert justice.
- Sin can harden a person until they refuse, like a deaf cobra, to hear any voice of correction.
- It is right to long for and pray that God would overturn entrenched evil and injustice.
- However long injustice persists, there is a God who judges the earth and rewards the righteous.
- God demands justice from those who judge. "Do you indeed speak righteousness... Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?" (Psalm 58:1, WEB); authority is accountable to the righteous God.
- Sin can deafen the heart to correction. "Like a deaf cobra that stops its ear, which doesn't listen to the voice of charmers" (Psalm 58:4-5, WEB); persistent evil hardens against all appeal.
- We may pray for God to undo injustice. "Break their teeth, God, in their mouth" (Psalm 58:6, WEB); the believer may appeal to God, the Judge, rather than taking vengeance personally.
- The wicked will pass away. "Let them vanish like water that flows away" (Psalm 58:7, WEB); entrenched evil is not permanent before God.
- There is a God who judges the earth. "Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth" (Psalm 58:11, WEB); injustice will not have the final word.
- What charge does David bring against the rulers in verses 1-2?
- What do the images of a deaf cobra and serpent's poison (58:3-5) reveal about the nature of hardened sin?
- How should we understand David's harsh prayers for the destruction of the wicked in verses 6-9?
- What hope does the psalm end with in verse 11, and how does it speak to our longing for justice?
- When you witness injustice that you cannot fix, how can this psalm shape your response and your prayers?
- David charges the rulers, who should speak righteousness and judge blamelessly, with plotting injustice in their hearts and dealing out violence with their hands (58:1-2). They have the responsibility to do justice but instead use their power to oppress, betraying the very office they hold.
- The images show sin as deeply rooted and willfully unresponsive. Like a cobra that stops its ear against the snake-charmer, the hardened wicked refuse to listen to any appeal or correction. Their corruption is not mere weakness but a settled, poisonous resistance to God and to truth.
- These imprecatory prayers express a real longing for evil to be stopped and justice done. Rather than taking revenge himself, David hands the matter to God, the righteous Judge. We can voice our outrage at injustice honestly to God while leaving vengeance to him, trusting that he, not we, will set things right.
- The psalm ends with the confident conclusion that there is a reward for the righteous and a God who judges the earth (58:11). This speaks directly to our longing for justice: however long evil seems to triumph, it will not have the last word, for a righteous Judge will ultimately set everything right.
- This is the personal-application question. Encourage members to bring their grief and anger over injustice to God in honest prayer rather than bitterness or revenge. As leader, point to the assurance that God judges the earth, fulfilled in Christ who will return to make all things right, freeing us to act justly while trusting him with the outcome.