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Psalm Ps. 58. This is a community lament that God’s people sing when they are confronted with injustice among their own rulers. Singing this in worship (1) helps the faithful to pray more earnestly for godly leadership; (2) helps form in the leaders themselves a true moral compass for their leadership; and (3) celebrates the prospect that—one day, sooner or later—God will vindicate his justice in the world, and those who trust him will rejoice exceedingly.
Ps. 58:1 You gods (or “mighty lords”; see esv footnote) can refer to human rulers to whom God gives power (compare Ex. 15:15, “leaders”; Job 41:25, “mighty”; Ezek. 32:21, “chiefs”).
Ps. 58:3–5 The song calls these unjust rulers wicked. This term, when applied to an Israelite, describes someone who does not honor God. They are Israelites who are using their position to squeeze the life out of their fellow Israelites (employing lies as well as “violence,” v. 2). By doing this they destroy the community, every bit as much as the venom of a dangerous serpent destroys the one it bites.
Ps. 58:6 teeth in their mouths, fangs of the young lions. The verse is a prayer that these evildoers may no longer have their present power to do harm.
Ps. 58:10–11 God loves to see his creation functioning properly, which is why he loves justice. The righteous may suffer now, but they can know that one day God will bring justice in the world (see Gal. 6:9).
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