시편 Chapter 58

Translation: ESV

1

Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly?

Key Message

Those in power are commissioned by God to administer justice, and to forsake this is rebellion against God.

▸This is a direct challenge to those in power.

This is a direct challenge to those in power. It exposes that rulers and judges act as if they are administering justice when in fact they are not. Justice and righteousness are the calling given to those in power, and to forsake this is rebellion against God.

Related Verses

You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
2

No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.

Key Message

Inner injustice expresses itself as outward violence, and this is the root of social corruption.

▸The true nature of corrupt judges is exposed.

6

O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!

Key Message

God can neutralize even the most powerful-seeming forces of evil.

▸The wicked are compared to lions, and this is a prayer for their harmful power to be neutralized.

10

The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Key Message

The realization of righteous judgment brings genuine joy to those who have been oppressed.

▸This verse may feel uncomfortable to modern readers.

11

Mankind will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."

Key Message

God's righteous judgment will surely be realized, and this will testify to the world that God exists.

▸This is the conclusion of the psalm and its central theological declaration.