PSALM 58
Every man born with sin nature verse 1- 5
Do you indeed speak righteousness – O congregation?
do you judge uprightly – O you sons of men?
YEA – in heart you work wickedness
you weigh the violence of your
hands in the earth
the wicked are estranged from the womb
they go astray as soon as they be born – speaking lies
their poison is like the poison of a serpent
they are like the deaf adder that stops her ear
which will not hearken to the voice of charmers
charming never so wisely
God should judge man quickly verse 6- 9
Break their teeth – O God – in their mouth
break out the great teeth of the young lions – O LORD
Let them melt away as waters which run continually
when he bends his bow to shoot his arrows
let them be as cut in pieces
as a snail which melts
let every one of them pass away
like the untimely birth of a woman
that they may not see the sun
Before your pots can feel the thorns
HE shall take them away as with a whirlwind
both living – and in HIS wrath
Reward for the righteous verse 10- 11
The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance
he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked
So that a man shall say
Verily there is a reward for the righteous
verily HE is a God that judges in the earth
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
:1 “Do you indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do you judge uprightly, O you sons of men?” (“Uprightly,” 4339 מֵישָׁרִים [meyshar] 1 evenness, uprightness, straightness, equity. 1a evenness, level, smoothness. 1b uprightness, equity. 1c rightly (as adverb) [Strong, J. (2001). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software]).
DEVOTION: This is another imprecatory psalm by David against his enemies. Therefore, he starts off the psalm by questioning the motivations of those who are against him. What is clear from David’s perspective is that those who said they were doing the right thing were not. Instead, they were judging so as for their own gain.
David had learned the lesson that appearances can be deceiving. People can put on a show to make it appear as though they are actually one way, and then we find out what they are really like. The other possibility is that people think that they are doing the right thing even when they are not. Regardless of which of these two are the cases, David makes it clear that the only answer is our hope and trust in the Lord, rather than in man.
This psalm is also a challenge to us to make sure that our motivations are right. Are we willing to make sure that we do the right thing no matter how much it costs us personally? That is the definition of humility in one’s walk with God (Micah 6:8). Our goal should not simply to be men-pleasers, but to seek to honor the Lord in all that we do (Colossians 3:23). Only by doing so will we have a clear conscience before the Lord (Acts 24:16).
CHALLENGE: Is there any area of your life where you are being hypocritical? Are you simply going through the motions, all the while trying to figure out a way to get ahead? If so, God wants you to confess this, and determine that you will walk uprightly for Him. Others are watching your life, so make it count for God! (Dr. Marc Wooten – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 2 Yea, in heart you work wickedness; you weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. (2555 “violence” [chamac] means wrong, an act of aggression, especially involving physical contact, oppression, that which is gained by violence, wrong, plunder, cruelty, or injustice.)
DEVOTION: Those who are supposed to be followers of the LORD like the children of Israel in the Old Testament were not living with the standards the LORD would have them live by. They were doing wickedness and violence toward each other. There was not an attitude the LORD wanted to see in those who were supposed to be HIS people. The children of Israel were not acting in a manner pleasing to the LORD.Is this happening today among those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. Are their people who attend a church that seem to be acting in a manner that is not pleasing to the LORD? Are our churches full of people that genuinely love the LORD? Is there love between those who are in church together? Or are they acting like strangers to each other. We have to look into our hearts to see if we would be pleasing in the eyes of the LORD today. Our hearts need to be yielded to the LORD in a way that we treat fellow believers differently than the world treats them. It is not easy to treat fellow believers as they should be treated but with the ministry of the Holy Spirit present in our bodies we should be able to change that and work with the LORD to encourage fellow believers in their walk with the LORD. CHALLENGE: Ask yourself if you have the right attitude toward fellow believers? Are you an encourager or a discourager?
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:3 “The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.” The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982). Wicked – 7563 רָשָׁע [rashaʿ /raw·shaw/] adj. From 7561; TWOT 2222b; GK 8401; 263 occurrences; AV translates as “wicked” 249 times, “ungodly” eight times, “wicked man” three times, and translated miscellaneously three times. 1 wicked, criminal. 1A guilty one, one guilty of crime (subst). 1B wicked (hostile to God). 1C wicked, guilty of sin (against God or man). James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001).
DEVOTION: WE are living in a society where lies are seen as truth and truth is looked upon as antique and irrelevant. Wickedness is seemingly all around! In a country that has been known and celebrated as a nation of laws and law keepers we struggle against tyranny and injustice. But is this new? In biblical times the unjust were ruling and the righteous ones were made to be silent and the psalmist states that it that way from birth. The heart is born to work wickedness and the depth of sin is evident from the moment of birth.
Is it no wonder that God in his plan prepared for all this by decreeing and then sending his perfect son to die for mankind. As the scripture so clearly states all go astray as soon as they are born, and man is a sinner with no recourse but to sin unless the new birth takes place. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Rom.5:8) We are slaves to sin unless we are born again with Christ! What does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach); that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation… “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Rom. 10:8-10,13
Are you a wicked one that is tired of a wicked, deceitful lying lifestyle? Then by faith come to Jesus and confess your need of a new life in Him. He is waiting for you to call out!
CHALLENGE: If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior today is the day to call to Him! He is faithful and just and will forgive you of all your sin. Call to Him today! (Dr. Brian Miller – board member)
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. (5359 “vengeance” [naqam] means revenge, the act of harming someone in return for an injury or offense, can include harm beyond what is physical, the desire of vengeance, punish, requital, recompense, or retribution.)
DEVOTION: Our attitude toward those who hurt us because we are believers should be one that loves those who do it but also if they are not willing to change their actions then we can turn them over to the LORD to deal with. It is not our responsibility to punish evil doers even when they are doing the evil toward us but we are to turn them over to the LORD and let HIM deal with them. Our responsibility to others is to be the witness the LORD wants us to be and if they will not honor the LORD, HE will deal with them in HIS way and in HIS timing. Too often we want to get even with those who mistreat us. That is not right. We are told to pray for them. We are told to turn them over to the LORD and let HIM deal with them. David had many people who were against him during his reign as king of Israel. He had to turn them over to the LORD and let HIM deal with them in HIS time and in HIS way. Sometimes HE would instruct David to deal with them and he would do it at the command of the LORD but most of the time the LORD wanted him to wait for HIM to deal with them. It is not easy to wait on the LORD at times but that is what we must do even today.
CHALLENGE: God allows us to rejoice at times when we see HIM deal with those who give us a hard time but that is not usual.
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: 11 So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily HE is a God that judges in the earth. (6529 “reward” [p@riy] means fruit of action, offspring, children, or produce from ground.)
DEVOTION: There are a majority people who are born into the human race that will not respond to the Word of God. Part of those in the group will not even think about following the LORD. They will be the ones that God give up to a reprobate mind as found in Romans 1. Injustice is their main sin. They work wickedness at all times. They speak lies. They turn a deaf ear toward anything righteous.
David asks some questions about the judgment of the wicked. They are not the ones to judge righteously. David wants righteous judgment. He knows that it will take place in the end. At present they seem to be getting away with their sin. They will not listen to the LORD.
One of the ways the LORD judged Israel by the giving or withholding of rain. When the rain came there was fruit or produce. There is also fruit of children. The LORD blesses a home with children. There is also the fruit of actions.
We can enter a battle and win with the LORD’S help. David believed that the LORD was going to give the righteous fruit for their lives. He also believed that the LORD was going to judge the wicked. We believe in the same God. The wicked have not changed. The righteous should not change except for the better.
Are we growing more Christ-like in our actions? We are going to stand before the Judgment seat of Christ for our crowns and rewards. Some Christians are going to be “saved yet so as by fire” there will be not crowns or rewards from some true fellows of the LORD. All their works will be burns as wood, hay and stubble.
What is HE going to give to us for our actions so far this year? Remember that these actions can’t earn salvation but show are appreciation for our salvation. The wicked are going to stand before the Great White Throne for their judgment. They are going to spend eternity in the lake of fire with the devil and his angels.
CHALLENGE: Vengeance is the LORD’S. We need to leave it to HIM. Pray for those who mistreat you. Our mind should be concerned with the salvation of those in our world.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
David prays for vengeance on wicked verse 6
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign) verse 6, 11
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 6
Wrath of God verse 9
Judge in the earth verse 11
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sons of men verse 1Wicked verse 3
Estranged from the womb
Go astray as soon as they are born
Speak lies
Poison in their live like serpents
Stop their ears from hearing good
Can’t be charmed
Never act wisely
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Wickedness verse 2
Violence verse 2
Wicked verse 3, 10
Astray verse 3
Lies verse 3
Poison verse 4
Not acting wisely verse 5
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Righteousness verse 1
Uprightly verse 1
Righteous verse 10, 11
Rejoice verse 10
Reward verse 11
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
David – author of the Psalm verse 1- 11
Wants God to break teeth of wicked
Wants wicked to be cut in pieces
Wants wicked to pass away
Congregation of Israel verse 1
Speck righteousness
Judge uprightly
Sons of men
Work wickedness
Are violent
Righteous verse 10, 11
Rejoice when he sees vengeance
Wash is feet in the blood of wicked
Know there is a reward for them
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Pass away verse 8
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QUOTES regarding passage
58:6–8. David called on God to wipe out the wicked judges. He boldly asked God to break their teeth, that is, to keep them from communicating their injustice. They were ferocious as lions (cf. comments on 7:2), whose teeth, like fangs, needed to be torn out. David also prayed that the judges would meet a sudden end, by (a) vanishing as water evaporates, so that their arrows (i.e., their words) would be ineffectual; (b) melting away as a snail perishes in a drought; and (c) dying suddenly like a stillborn who does not see the sun. (Ross, A. P. (1985). Psalms. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 837). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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58:6 shatter their teeth … fangs. The psalmist prays that the means of doing evil would be destroyed. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ps 58:6). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers)
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Ver. 6. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth, &c.] From the description of the wicked, the psalmist passes to imprecations on his enemies; whom he represents as cruel and bloodthirsty, and as being stronger than he; and therefore he applies to God, who could, as he sometimes did, smite his enemies on the cheek-bone, and break the teeth of the ungodly; which is done by taking the power and instruments of hurting from them: and it may be by their teeth in their mouth may be meant their malicious words, calumnies, and detractions; teeth being the instrument of speech; and by breaking them, preventing the mischief designed by them. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord: Saul was the old lion; his princes, nobles, and courtiers, the young ones; whose jaw-teeth were as knives to devour David and his men, unless plucked out; or God in his providence should interpose, and hinder the performance of their mischievous and cruel designs; and who could easily destroy them by his blast, and by the breath of his nostrils, Job 4:9, 10. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, pp. 763–764). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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6. “Break their teeth, O God, in their month.” If they have no capacity for good, at least deprive them of their ability for evil. Treat them as the snake-charmers do their serpents, extract their fangs, break their teeth. The Lord can do this, and he will. He will not suffer the malice of the wicked to triumph, he will deal them such a blow as shall disable them from mischief. “Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord.” As if one brute creature had not enough of evil in it to complete the emblem of ungodly nature, another specimen of feræ naturæ is fetched in. For fierce cruelty the wicked are likened to young lions, monsters in the prime of their vigour, and the fury of their lustiness; and it is asked that their grinders may be smashed in, broken off, or dashed out, that the creatures may henceforth be harmless. One can well understand how the banished son of Jesse, while poisoned by the venomous slander of his foes, and worried by their cruel power, should appeal to heaven for a speedy and complete riddance from his enemies. (Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 56-87 (Vol. 3, pp. 2–3). London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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THE TOUCH OF HIS HAND
by Anne R. C. Neale
With a touch of His Hand He can comfort you,
With a touch of His hand He can heal you too,
With a touch of His hand He will guide you thought life,
With a touch of His hand he can calm you in life’s strife,
With a touch of His Hand he can dry your tears,
With a touch of His Hand he can take away your fear,
With a touch of His Hand He can lead you the way
To Eternity with Him, forever, hurray!
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Barbara and I often prayed that the Lord would supply healthy friends to come alongside our kids at school and at church—friends who could be good, steady influences on them. But we also learned four critical unvarnished observations about peers:
1. Don’t assume your children’s peers have the same values as your family. Even if they go to the same church and youth group. Even if they seem to be like your children in most respects, don’t automatically consider them good friends for your kids to be around. Exercise discernment.
2. Don’t assume your children’s peers are good choosers of friends themselves. Just because a boy or girl comes from a good home, you don’t know the kind of friends they have. You don’t know who’s likely to be hanging around at their house when your children are there.
3. Don’t believe everything your children’s peers say. Trust me, even good teens can be deceitful. Our children had friends who lied right to our faces. They lied behind our backs. They were “good” kids by most standards, but they needed to be held accountable and checked up on.
4. Don’t assume your children’s peers will speak the truth to your children. More than any of the other three items in this list, this one snuck up and bit us. Our daughters had friends who were from great families but who literally tried to undermine what Barbara and I were attempting to teach.
It takes energy, foresight and thick skin to monitor your children’s friendships. But whatever the cost in tension, embarrassment and involvement, it’s a bargain compared to the bill some friends can run up in your children’s lives. I’m not encouraging you to give in to fear and raise loners. I’m not telling you that your kids are too good to be around others. I’m just saying that friends bear watching. Getting to know them well is a good investment of your time. (Moments Together for Couples by Dennis & Barbara Rainey)
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But according to the New Testament, all that does not even begin to make one a Christian, and the world is very often quick to detect the hollowness of the claims in such people who call themselves Christians. I was reading of a distinction that I think was common among many Chinese people in past years. They called all the ordinary foreigners Christians, but others they called “Jesus people.” What they meant was that they regarded everybody who went to China from the West as Christians, because they came from so-called Christian countries, and most of them claimed that they were Christians. But the Chinese saw that they were often drunkards and immoral and so on, and they felt that if that was Christianity, they did not want it. Then they found that there were other people who came from the same countries and who also called themselves Christians. But these lived a pure, holy, and kind life. They seemed to help people and were altogether different, and the Chinese began to ! call them “Jesus people,” because they seemed to be like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. (P. 126, Saved in Eternity by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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