Psalms

Psalms 58: God judges the earth with justice

Begin in prayer

Before we hear a prayer against injustice, let us ask God to search our own hearts for the wrong we defend. Pray that He would bring us to Jesus and teach us to entrust judgment to Him.

Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the courts. It may be that Yahweh, the God of Armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

Amos 5:15

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word, and help us to see Christ. Show us that God sees injustice, judges wickedness and remembers the righteous. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

David confronts people who should judge rightly yet plot injustice in their hearts and spread violence through their hands. Their wandering begins from birth, and their refusal to listen is pictured as a cobra stopping its ear. He asks God to break their power to harm and make their lives and attacks come to nothing. Images of things vanishing and being swept away press the plea for swift judgment. The righteous will rejoice when God answers wickedness with His justice. People will then confess that there is a reward for the righteous and a God who judges the earth.

As you read Psalms 58, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God judges the earth, ending the wicked's power to harm and rewarding the righteous.

Those addressed should speak and judge rightly, yet their silence serves injustice planned in the heart and carried out by their hands. Their lies begin with the fallen nature they have from birth, so evil reaches deeper than their public judgments. The deaf cobra pictures a deliberate refusal to listen, even when an appeal is skilfully made. David asks God to break the predators' teeth, meaning that the Judge must remove their power to harm. The child who never sees the sun gives a painful picture of lives that have no future. These severe petitions ask for the wicked themselves to be ended, with their weapons and schemes unable to prevail. God sweeps them away before a thorn fire can warm a pot, showing how swiftly their seeming strength can disappear. Washing feet in the wicked's blood pictures complete battlefield victory, with righteous joy in God's justice while vengeance belongs to Him. That victory makes the final confession possible, that righteousness has a reward and God Himself judges the earth.

How does Psalm 58 show us that God judges the earth, ending the wicked's power to harm and rewarding the righteous?

God sees the wicked hearts behind unjust judgments.

Those who should judge rightly plan violence in their hearts. Their refusal to listen is pictured as a cobra stopping its ear. The God they disregard sees the evil behind their public words.

God's judgment ends wicked power and vindicates the righteous.

David places the demand for judgment before God, asking Him to stop the wicked themselves and the harm they do. Their seeming strength will be swept away by the Judge. The righteous rejoice to see His justice, and people confess that He judges the earth.

Memorise

Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.

Psalm 58:11

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what unfairness in my own heart must I confess to the Lord Jesus?

The song ends by confessing “a God who judges the earth.” The pleas for judgment put evil before the Lord whose justice cannot be silenced. Those who planned harm will answer to Him, and righteousness will not be forgotten.

That holy judgment also exposes the unfairness and lies in our own hearts. Jesus died in His people's place, carrying the punishment their sins deserved at the cross. The Father raised Him from the dead. His saving work is finished once for all, so His people stand forgiven before the God who judges the earth.

Turn from sin and trust Jesus. The Judge grants forgiveness through His Son to sinners who confess their guilt and trust Him. Confess the wrong you have defended and ask Him to give you a love for what is right. The righteous Judge receives His people's cause, so believers can refuse cruelty and wait for His faithful judgment.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God sees injustice, judges wickedness and remembers the righteous. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He judges the earth and will not leave righteousness forgotten. Bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I don’t seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.

John 5:30

Righteous Judge, You see the injustice planned in human hearts and the harm done by cruel hands. Please bring us to Jesus for pardon through His finished work. Give those entrusted with judgment a love for truth. Protect the oppressed, stop wicked power and teach Your people to wait for Your just answer. Amen.