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A Reward for the Righteous-Psalm 58
A REWARD FOR THE RIGHTEOUS
---- PSALM FIFTY-EIGHT
"Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye 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 stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. 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 bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. As a snail which melteth, 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. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth 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 judgeth in the earth." (Psalm 58:1-11)
God is very displeased with unrighteous earthly judges. Some earthly judges who are supposed to condemn corruption and crime are actually involved in it. These corrupt judges are often silent when they should speak and deaf when they should hear. These judges are very wicked. The psalmist prayed that such judges would receive proper punishment. God will judge the earth. We should have total confidence that God will punish the wicked. He will likewise reward the righteous.
People may not be concerned about doing right -- Psalm 58:1-5: People who should be concerned about doing right sometimes fail to do right themselves. Instead of judging righteously these judges are corrupt and violent. God is over all. We are accountable to God for our actions. He sees and knows what we do. There is so much violence in our world and violence is often the result of wicked rulers. The psalmist described wicked rulers saying, "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." (Psalm 58:3) They were not born evil. They were brought up in falsehood, flattery, and lying. The picture is that they go astray as quickly as they can. Either righteousness or wickedness can be learned early in life. Let us learn that God hates wickedness and that the wicked will be punished. He will also bless abundantly the righteous. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10)
There is a God who rules righteously -- Psalm 58:6-11: The psalmist prayed for God to deal with the wicked judges. "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 bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces." (Psalm 58:6-7) God is still in control. He is King of Kings. There may be empty thrones on earth but God is continually on the throne in heaven. Isaiah wrote, "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." (Isaiah 6:1) The main lesson to be learned in Psalm 58 is, "Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth." (Psalm 58:11)
Our heart must rely on God. Let us walk confidently in righteousness. He will bless His people. Are you His child? To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus as the Christ (Mark 16:16), repent of all sins (Acts 17:30), confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized for remission of sins. (Acts 2:38) After baptism remain faithful to God. (Revelation 2:10) We will not accidentally end up in heaven. Heaven is too great and too glorious to miss. It will be beyond our greatest expectation.
By Charles Box, Walnut Street Church of Christ, P.O. Box 551, Greenville, Alabama 3607 USA
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