Psalm 58 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 58 Short Summary:

Psalm 58 is an imprecatory Psalm in which David rebukes the wicked rulers of the people who pervert justice and oppress others. After describing these wicked men, David unleashes a series of curses against them. David was not personally going to harm these men, but his psalm called on God to deliver judgment to them.

Psalm 58 Summary

AUTHOR:

• David wrote Psalm 58.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• No Known New Testament References to Psalm 58.

THEMES:

• Sometimes men who have been given authority abuse that power and mistreat people.

• Some men are so wicked only God can stop them.

• God will judge all evil rulers and the righteous can rejoice in their downfall.

DEFINITIONS:

• Imprecation – A curse spoken over a person or a group of people. Psalm 58 is an imprecatory psalm.

• According to Do Not Destory (57:1) – This phrase appears in Psalm 57, 58, and 59. Scholars are still working to discover the meaning.

• Miktam (57:1) – No one knows the precise meaning of the word Miktam. Maybe one day a new archeological find will reveal it to us.

OUTLINE:

• THE SNAKES THAT CANNOT BE CHARMED (58:1-5):

  • Unlike the psalms that surround it, we aren’t provided with details about the context in which this psalm was written.

  • It begins with a few accusatory questions directed at those responsible for upholding justice.

  • “Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly?” (58:1).

  • Not all translations share the translation “you gods.” The KJV has “congregation” and the NKJV renders it “silent ones.”

  • The sense of the ESV’s translation “you gods” seems to be that these men were the representative judges of God, they were supposed to be upholding His law and judging righteously. In a sense, as judges, they were in the place of God.

  • David was talking to the rulers of the people, the people tasked with protecting justice.

  • David accused them of doing the opposite. In their hearts they devised wrong, and with their hands they created violence on the earth (58:2).

  • David was extremely angry with these individuals who were abusing their authority and perverting justice. He did not hold back in his condemnation of them.

  • He described them as venomous snakes that closed their ears as not to be tamed by the music of the snake charmer. Simply put, there was no way to stop them from doing harm.

• THERE IS A GOD WHO JUDGES ON EARTH (58:6-11):

  • After describing these wicked men, David unleashed a series of curses against them. David was not personally going to harm these men, but his psalm called on God to deliver judgment to them.

  • “O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! (Psalm 58:6-9).

  • David said that righteous men will rejoice when they bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

  • When the wicked are destroyed it’s a statement to mankind that “there is a God who judges on earth” (58:11).
    

APPLICATION:

• As Christians, can we rejoice in God wiping wicked people off the face of the earth?

• Was it right to rejoice the day Hitler died? Or the day Osama Bin Laden was killed? Or the day Mao Zedong died?

• There are some people who say we should never be happy that a wicked person dies, but I would challenge that view.

• The first thing to remember is that God’s judgement of evil is a good thing! Its not something that we need to be ashamed of. God’s demand for justice is an attribute of His character. It is a pure and right thing to be angry at wickedness and to want to see it stamped out. Part of the way God limits wickedness on earth is through death, by not allowing men to live forever.

• But someone might say, “Well, if that evil person was able to live a little bit longer, maybe they would have heard the gospel and repented.”

• I would respond this way, who determines when a man dies? God!

• If God determines that a man should have more time to repent, God can prevent him from dying.

• If God determines it’s time for an evil man to die and face judgement, who are we to pretend that we are more merciful and longsuffering than God?

• No human wants someone to be saved as much as God wants someone to be saved, so if God decides it time for a person to die, its time! Don’t be foolish and think you know better.

• It’s a nice sentiment to wish wicked men will live long enough to repent and receive God’s mercy, but what about those who are waiting for God’s mercy who are being oppressed by these evil people?

• Hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions are abused by these wicked rulers. Do we not care about them? Where is our heart for them?

• When God destroys a really evil person, He removes a portion of evil from the earth, and simultaneously answers the prayers of the multitude of the oppressed.

• In that, we worship God, and we rejoice.