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Psalm Fifty-eight
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 58
To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. According to
the Syriac version, this psalm was written when Saul threatened the priests,
because they did not show him where David was, when they knew it. Dr. Lightfoot
thinks that the title "Altaschith" refers to David's not destroying
Nabal, as he threatened; and that the venom of Nabal's tongue in reviling him,
and the deafness of his ears in not attending to the messengers that told their
errand wisely, are designed in this psalm; and in which the psalmist prophesies
of his sudden death, before the pots for his feast could be warmed by the
thorns under them, and while he was lively and jovial. Jarchi is of opinion
that it was composed after David had been in the trench where Saul lay, and
took away the spear and cruse, and went his way, and called to Abner, saying,
"answerest thou not?" which is as if he should say, hast thou it not
in thy power now to convince Saul, and show him that he pursues me without
cause, since, if I would, I could have slain him? Kimchi says it was written on
account of Abner, and the rest of Saul's princes, who judged David as a rebel
against the government, and said it was for Saul to pursue after him to slay
him; for if they had restrained him, Saul would not have pursued after him; and
indeed they seem to be wicked judges who are addressed in this psalm; "do
not destroy". Arama says, it declares the wickedness of Saul's judges.
Psalm 58:1 Do
you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you
sons of men?
YLT
1To the Overseer. --
`Destroy not.' -- A secret treasure, by David. Is it true, O dumb one,
righteously ye speak? Uprightly ye judge, O sons of men?
Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation?.... Of the
mighty, as in Psalm 82:1; the
judges of the land, who were many, and therefore called a congregation, as it
is necessary they should; for, being many, they are not so easily bribed; and
besides, one may see that in a cause which another does not. The word signifies
a "sheaf"F20אלם "e
manipulo", Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "e
manipulo justifiae", Cocceius. ; and so it is by some rendered, to which a
bench or assembly of judges may be compared; because consisting of many, and a
select body, who should unite together in a sentence or decree, and act
uprightly, like a sheaf of wheat standing upright; see Genesis 37:7; some
think the word has the signification of dumbness, or silence; so Jarchi and R.
MosesF21In Aben Ezra in loc. ; as "elem" in Psalm 56:1, title,
and render it, "do ye indeed speak dumb justice?" or "the
dumbness of justice"F23So Varenius, Reinbech, Michaelis. ; or
are you dumb, or your mouth silent, when ye should speak righteousness? and so
the psalmist accuses them for their criminal silence, in not contradicting Saul
and his courtiers when they spake against him; and for not advising him to
another kind of conduct towards him. All men ought to speak that which is right
and truth; but especially judges on the bench, who are to judge the people with
just judgment, Deuteronomy 16:18;
but here this is doubted of, and called in question; at least their sincerity
in giving judgment: yea, it is denied; for this interrogation carries in it a
strong denial; and the meaning is, that they did not speak righteousness, or
that which was just and right in the cause of David, when before them;
do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? no, they did
not; they were unjust judges. The psalmist calls them "the sons of
men", as in 1 Samuel 26:19, in
distinction from God the Judge of all, and to put them in mind of their frailty
and mortality; for though they were gods by office, they were but men, and
should die like men, and be accountable to the supreme Judge for all their
proceedings in judgment here, Psalm 82:1.
Psalm 58:2 2 No, in heart you work
wickedness; You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
YLT
2Even in heart ye work
iniquities, In the land the violence of your hands ye ponder.
Yea, in heart ye work wickedness,.... So far were they
from speaking righteousness, and judging uprightly. The heart of man is
wickedness itself; it is desperately wicked, and is the shop in which all
wickedness is wrought; for sinful acts are committed there as well as by the
tongue and hand, as follows. This phrase also denotes their sinning; not with
precipitancy, and through surprise; but with premeditation and deliberation;
and their doing it heartily, with good will, and with allowance, and their
continuance and constant persisting in it;
ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth; they were
guilty of acts of violence and oppression, which, of all men, judges should not
be guilty of; whose business it is to plead the cause of the injured and
oppressed, to right their wrongs, and to protect and defend them: these they pretended
to weigh in the balance of justice and equity, and committed them under a show
of righteousness; they decreed unrighteous decrees, and framed mischief by a
law; and this they did openly, and everywhere, throughout the whole land.
Psalm 58:3 3 The wicked are estranged
from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
YLT
3The wicked have been
estranged from the womb, They have erred from the belly, speaking lies.
The wicked are estranged from the womb,.... Which
original corruption of nature accounts for all the wickedness done by men: they
are conceived in sin, shapen in iniquity, and are transgressors from the womb;
they are alienated from God, and from that godly life which is agreeable to
him, and he requires; and from the knowledge and fear of him, and love to him;
and they desire not the knowledge of him nor his ways; they are far from his
law, and averse to it; and still more so to the Gospel of Christ; the doctrines
of which, as well as the great things written in the law, are strange things to
them; and they are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, estranged from the
people of God, know nothing of them, neither of their joys, nor of their
sorrows;
they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies; they are wicked
from their infancy, from their youth upward; and sin, which is meant by
"going astray", as soon as they are capable of it, and which is very
early. Sin soon appears in the temper and actions of then; they go out of God's
way, and turn everyone to their own way, and walk in the broad road which leads
to destruction: and particularly they are very early guilty of lying; as soon
as they can speak, and before they can speak plain, they lisp out lies, which
they learn from their father the devil, who is the father of lies; and so they
continue all their days strangers to divine things, going astray from God, the
God of truth, continually doing abominations and speaking lies; which
continuance in these things makes the difference between reprobate men and God's
elect; for though the latter are the same by nature as the former, yet their
natures are restrained, before conversion, from going into all the sins they
are inclined to; and if not, yet at conversion a stop is put to their progress
in iniquity.
Psalm 58:4 4 Their poison is
like the poison of a serpent; They are like the deaf cobra that
stops its ear,
YLT
4Their poison [is] as poison
of a serpent, As a deaf asp shutting its ear,
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent,.... Either
their "wrath" and fury, as the wordF24חמת
θυμος, Sept. "furor",
V. L. may be rendered, against God, his people, and even one another, is like
that of a serpent when irritated and provoked; or their mischievous and
devouring words are like the poison of asps under their lips, Romans 3:13; or the
malignity of sin in them is here meant, which, like the poison of a serpent, is
latent, hid, and lurking in them; is very infectious to all the powers and
faculties of the soul, and members of the body; and is deadly and incurable,
without the grace of God and blood of Christ;
they are like the deaf
adder that stoppeth her ear; the adder is a kind of
serpent, in Hebrew called "pethen"; hence the serpent
"Python". This is not, deaf naturally, otherwise it would have no
need to stop its ear, but of choice; and naturalistsF25Plin. Nat.
Hist. l. 8. c. 23. observe, that it is quicker of hearing than of sight. Jarchi
indeed says, when it grows old it becomes deaf in one of its ears, and it stops
its other ear with dust, that it may not hear the voice of the charmer; though
others sayF26Isidor. Hispal. Origin. l. 12. c. 4. it stops one ear
with its tail, and lays the other to the ground; but these seem fabulous. David
speaks of it figuratively, that it acts as if it was deaf, regarding no
enchantments, but bites notwithstanding; these having no influence on it,
which, if they had any, could not be hindered by its deafness; and he compares
wicked men to it, who are wilfully deaf to all good counsel and advice given
themF1Vid. Gataker. Adversaria, c. 8. p. 70, &c. .
Psalm 58:5 5 Which will not heed the
voice of charmers, Charming ever so skillfully.
YLT
5Which hearkeneth not to the
voice of whisperers, A charmer of charms most skilful.
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers,.... Or
"that use enchantments", to enchant serpents, by muttering certain
words, or by magical songs; by which means it is said that they have been drawn
out of their holes, or caused to fly, or have become stupefied, and have lost
their poison, and even burst asunder; as BochartF2Hierozoic. par. 2.
l. 2. c. 6. col. 390. relates from Pliny, Aelianus, Lucan, Isidore, Virgil,
Ovid, Horace, and others: but an "asp" is unmoved by enchantments,
and they are of no avail against its bites and poisonF3Aelian. de
Animal. l. 1. c. 54. . Nor do these words suppose that the psalmist approved of
enchantments, or affirms the virtue of them to be real, but rather suggests the
contrary; he only takes his similitude from the seeming deafness and disregard
of serpents to enchantments, to set forth the obstinacy of wicked men: and
their resolution to continue in their wicked ways; like the serpent that
disregards men:
charming never so wisely; being "wise,
skilful"F4חובר חברים
מחכם "incantantis incantationem periti",
Vatablus; "vel incantationes exercitati ac peritissimi", Michaelis;
"of him that is made wise", Ainsworth. , or made wise in enchanting
enchantments; one very learned and expert in the art; or in "associating
associations, skilful"F5"Jungentis conjunctiones
docti", Montanus; "consociantis societates serpentum",
Michaelis. : who makes a consort of magical words to obtain his point, as some
think; or because by his enchantments he associates and gathers many serpents
together, and tames them; or because he does this by society and fellowship
with the devil; methods no ways approved of by the psalmist, only alluded to.
It may perhaps better be rendered, "which will not hearken to the voice of
the eloquent, putting things together ever so wisely": the word is used
for an eloquent orator, Isaiah 3:3. Such
Gospel ministers are, who are mighty in the Scriptures. The voice of the Gospel
is a charming voice; it publishes good news and glad tidings; it is a voice of
love, grace, and mercy, of peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation by
Christ; and is wisely charmed when it gives no uncertain sound, is all of a
piece, and is faithfully preached, as it was by the apostles of Christ; who, as
wise men, laid him as the foundation of eternal life and salvation; and
especially as it was preached by Christ himself, who spake as never man did:
and yet, such were the hardness and obstinacy of the wicked Jews, that they
stopped their ears to his ministry, nor would they suffer others to attend upon
it; and so it is now: which shows the insufficiency of the best means of
themselves, and the necessity of powerful and efficacious grace, to work upon
the hearts of men.
Psalm 58:6 6 Break their teeth in their
mouth, O God! Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
YLT
6O God, break their teeth in
their mouth, The jaw-teeth of young lions break down, O Jehovah.
Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth,.... 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 cheekbone, 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.
Psalm 58:7 7 Let them flow away as
waters which run continually; When he bends his bow, Let
his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
YLT
7They are melted as waters,
They go up and down for themselves, His arrow proceedeth as they cut themselves
off.
Let them melt away as waters which run continually,.... Let them
be disheartened, and their courage fail them, and let there be no spirit left
in them, Joshua 7:5; or let
them be unstable as water that is continually running, ever upon the flux and
motion; let them never be settled, but always changing in their state and
circumstances, Genesis 49:4; or
let them "come to nought", as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin
versions; which is the case of water that runs over or runs away: or "let
them be despised", as Jarchi, and the Arabic, Syriac, and Ethiopic
versions; being useless and unprofitable, as water is when passed and gone: or
let their ruin and destruction be as swift as the gliding water; let them be
brought to desolation in a moment; Job 24:18; and let
it be irrecoverable, as water running over the cup, and scattering itself, is
spilled upon the ground, and cannot be gathered up, 2 Samuel 14:14. The
Targum is,
"let
them melt in their sins as water;'
when he bendeth his
bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces; either when
the wicked man bends his bow to shoot his arrows against the righteous; when he
devises, his chief against him, shoots out bitter words, and attempts to do
hurt unto him; let it be as if the string of his bow and his arrows were all
cut to pieces; let all his designs, words, and actions, be without effect, and
let not his hand perform his enterprise: or when God bends his bow against the
wicked, so Jarchi; and prepares the instruments of death for them, and ordains
his arrows against the persecutors, Psalm 7:12; let
then his and his people's enemies be cut off, as the tops of the ears of corn;
as the word used signifies, Job 24:24. The
words may be rendered, "let him (God) direct his arrows; as the tops of
the ears of corn are cut off"F6כמו יתמללו "concidantur, succidantur instar
spicarum", Michaelis. ; so let them be.
Psalm 58:8 8 Let them be
like a snail which melts away as it goes, Like a stillborn child of a
woman, that they may not see the sun.
YLT
8As a snail that melteth he
goeth on, [As] an untimely birth of a woman, They have not seen the sun.
As a snail which melteth, let everyone of them pass
away,.... As a snail when it comes out of its shell liquefies, drops
its moisture, and with it makes a "path", from whence it has its name
שבלול, in the Hebrew language; and so the Targum
here,
"as
the snail moistens its way;'
which
moistness it gradually exhausts, and melts away, and dies: so the psalmist
prays that everyone of his enemies might die in like manner. Some think
reference is had to the snail's putting out its horns to no purpose when in
danger, and apply it to the vain threatenings of the wicked; a strange
difference this, between a roaring young lion, Psalm 58:6, and a
melting snail. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions,
render it, "as wax which melteth": see Psalm 68:2;
like the untimely
birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun; see Job 3:16. The
Targum is,
"as
an abortive and a mole, which are blind and see not the sun.'
So
Jarchi renders it a "mole", agreeably to the TalmudF7T.
Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 6. 2. . Or, "let them not see the sun"F8בל חזו שמש
"ne videant solem", Pagninus, Montanus. ; let them die, and never see
the sun in the firmament any more; Christ, the sun of righteousness; nor enjoy
the favour of God, and the light of his countenance; nor have the light of
life, or eternal glory and happiness; see Psalm 49:19.
Psalm 58:9 9 Before your pots can feel the
burning thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, As in His
living and burning wrath.
YLT
9Before your pots discern
the bramble, As well the raw as the heated He whirleth away.
Before your pots can feel the thorns,.... Which is
soon done; for as dry thorns make a great blaze, so they give a quick heat; the
pots soon feel them, or the water in them soon receives heat from them. From
imprecations the psalmist proceeds to prophesy, and foretells the sudden
destruction of wicked men, which would be before a pot could be heated with a
blaze of thorns. The Targum is,
"before
the wicked become tender, they harden as the thorn:'
that
is, they never become tender, or have any tender consciences, but are hardened
in sin from their infancy. Some render the words, "before your thorns grow
up to a brier" or "bramble"F9Tigurine version. ;
little thorns become great ones, tender thorns hard ones, as Jarchi; that is,
as he interprets it, before the children of the wicked are grown up, they are
destroyed; those sons of Belial, who are like to thorns thrust away, 2 Samuel 23:6.
Others, as Aben Ezra, "before they understand"; that is, wise and
knowing men; "that your thorns are a bramble"; or from lesser ones
are become greater; and so denotes, as before, the suddenness and quickness of
their destruction, as follows:
he, that is, God,
shall take them away as with a whirlwind: not to
himself, as Enoch; nor to heaven, whither Elijah went up by a whirlwind; but
out of the land of the living, and as with a tempest, to hell, where snares,
fire, and brimstone, are rained upon them; see Job 27:20;
both living, and in his wrath: when in
health and full strength, and so go quick to hell; as Korah and his company
alive into the earth; and all in wrath and sore displeasure: for the righteous
are also taken away; but then it is from the evil to come, and to everlasting
happiness; and through many tempestuous providences, which are in love, and for
their good, do they enter the kingdom: and those that are alive at Christ's
coming will be caught up to meet him in the air; but the wicked are taken away
as in a whirlwind, alive, and in wrath.
Psalm 58:10 10 The righteous shall
rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He shall wash his feet in the blood of the
wicked,
YLT
10The righteous rejoiceth
that he hath seen vengeance, His steps he washeth in the blood of the wicked.
The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance,.... Before
imprecated and foretold; the punishment inflicted by the Lord, to whom
vengeance belongs, in a way of vindictive wrath; for what befalls the wicked in
an afflictive way is in wrath, and as a vengeance upon them: and as the
judgments of God are sometimes manifest, are to be seen, they are observed by
the righteous, who rejoice at them; not as evils and miseries simply
considered, nor from a private affection; but as the glory of divine justice is
displayed therein, and the goodness of God is shown to them, by delivering them
out of their hands; see Revelation 18:20;
he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked; which denotes
the great destruction of the wicked, and the abundance of blood that shall be
shed; see Revelation 14:20;
and the entire victory the saints shall have over them, and their security from
them, Psalm 68:21; as
well as the satisfaction, and pleasure and refreshment, as it were, they shall
have in their destruction; signified by their feet being washed in their blood,
instead of being washed in water, usual in the eastern countries; because of
the glory of the divine perfections appearing therein. The Septuagint, Vulgate
Latin, and all the Oriental versions, read, "his hands".
Psalm 58:11 11 So that men will say, “Surely
there is a reward for the righteous; Surely He is God who judges in the
earth.”
YLT
11And man saith: `Surely
fruit [is] for the righteous: Surely there is a God judging in the earth!'
So that a man shall say,.... Any man, and every
man, especially, that is observing, wise, and knowing; he shall conclude, from
such a dispensation of things, from God's dealing with the wicked after this
manner:
verily, there is a reward for the righteous; or
"fruit"F11פרי
"fructus", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, &c. for them: they have the
fruits of divine love, the blessings of an everlasting covenant; and the fruit
of Christ, the tree of life, which is sweet unto their taste, as are the
benefits of his death, his word and ordinances; and the fruits of the Spirit,
his several graces wrought in their souls; and the fruits of righteousness, the
effect of which is peace; and is a reward they receive in, though not for
keeping the commands of God; and they gather fruit unto eternal life, which is
the recompence of reward, the reward of the inheritance, the great reward in
heaven, which remains for them; and which they shall have, not for their own
righteousness's sake, but for the sake of Christ's righteousness; from which
they are denominated righteous persons, and which gives them a right and title
to it: so that this is a reward, not of debt as due to them, and to be claimed
by them on account of any thing they have done; but of grace, streaming through
the blood and righteousness of Christ;
verily, he is a God that judgeth in the earth; that there is
a God is known by the judgments that he executeth; and that he judgeth in the
earth, and is the Judge of all the earth, who will do right, may be concluded
from the vengeance inflicted on wicked men; and he will one day judge the world
in righteousness, by him whom he has ordained to be Judge of quick and dead.
The words in the Hebrew text are in the plural number, אלהים
שפטים, "gods that judge": which Kimchi and
Ben Melech say is on account of honour; or as they, with Aben Ezra, interpret
it, of the angels: but these are not judges in the earth; rather it is
expressive of a trinity of Persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit. The
Father is the Judge of all, though he does not execute judgment; but has
committed it to the Son, who is Judge of quick and dead; and the Spirit judges,
reproves, and convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)