Psalm 58: God is Just Critique - Essay Example

Psalm 58: God is Just "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 58:111 Christianity centers on the love of God that is freely given to everyone who believes. John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."2 This act of sending God's Son, Jesus, as atonement for sin, signifies the fact that everyone, after Adam and Eve fell to the temptation of the serpent, inherited their sins. 3 This transgression resulted to God's vanquishing them from the garden of Eden and instigating their journey and the stories of the sons of the earth. From then on, sin and mankind became analogous, in that when we talk of man, we may not be able to separate him from some form of sin. Every religious book of any known religion reveals the contrasting qualities of man and his god. The Bible, the Christian's sacred book, also considered the most read of all literary works, chronicles man's never-ending struggle against sin and how God time and again reclaims him. The books of the bible from Genesis (Old Testament) to Revelation (New Testament) explicitly reveal the condition of man (a sinner) who is destined to die as a consequence of the inherent sin and how God, because of his great love, bore the consequence of sin by dying on the cross. In return, those who repent of their sins and accept God to have power over them will triumph over the consequence of sin. The condition set here is one's recognition of his sinful nature and acceptance that only by the power of God he may be saved. However, those who will harden their hearts and continue in their wicked ways will be chastised. 2 Peter 2:9 clearly states, "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:"(emphasis mine).4 That only goes to prove that the same loving God is a just God, who does not leave the unrighteous unpunished. Such is the case presented in Psalm 58, which unveils the nature of the Sovereign God who rules the universe, will establish His just rule on the earth in and through his people whereupon the righteous will prosper and the wicked will suffer. More on this will be discussed later. In this paper, a single thought (justice of God) is given two almost different interpretations. Both centers on the 58th Psalm, one is the King James Version and the other a version by Christopher Smart. As the explanation progresses, we will see two different pictures of the just God, first in the Old Testament, then in the New Testament. First we shall briefly examine the circumstances prior to the creation of this psalm. During the Old Testament times, judges, prophets, priests, and kings are considered God-ordained and empowered individuals, meaning they were not just elected by people, like we do when we need to change the rulers of the state, but are given inspiration by God to prophesy, to judge or to rule. They are political leaders to whom the Israelites looked up to and fulfill specific roles at a given time. A number of prophets were raised to speak for God, act on His behalf, and communicate His message courageously to the nation of Israel. Among them are Moses, Elijah, Samuel and Elisha, Isaiah and Jeremiah. The judges, on the hand, were used to deliver chastised Israel from the various enemies God permitted to oppress them during the first centuries in the land. Israel's priests fulfilled a more political role, whereas earlier they had led in the more religious sense - in worship, sacrifices and so on. David, was anointed king by Samuel while he was still a shepherd boy to reign after Saul, the first king of Israel, dies. I Samuel records how Saul transgressed against God when he disobeyed God's commission for him to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Instead he spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and took the best of the plunder.5 This incident incited Samuel to anoint David as the next ruler of the Israelites. While Saul was still king, there was an occasion when the Israelites had to fight the Philistine soldier, of whom Goliath (a giant) belongs. No one from the king's army was brave enough to kill Goliath. It was only David who was able to defeat him but not with a soldier's armory but with a sling and a rock. The King was impressed with David and had him later as a musician in his courts and as a soldier. Over time, Saul became jealous over David. Several occasions were sited when he tried to kill the latter but failed. Such incidence forced David to flee the courts and take refuge in the desserts of Judea. Saul missing him, is supposed by Bishop Patrick to have called a council when they, to ingratiate themselves with the monarch, adjudged David to be guilty of treason in aspiring to the throne of Israel. David after learning this, wrote this Psalm. According to Graves (2000), the book of Psalms is a collection of 150 Hebrew lyric poems that written over a period of about 1000 years. Furthermore, a dozen or more authors composed the psalms. Hebrew tradition holds that David compiled the psalms with the help of ten other elders.6 Even though not all of the psalms were written by David, most of them were, hence the term "Davidic." A lyric poem is defined as "that which directly expresses the individual emotions of the poet." Religious lyric poetry reflects the inner feelings of the person whose soul is stirred by thoughts of God. The Psalms are thus inspired responses of various individuals to God's revelation of Himself in the Old Testament era. Psalms are an expression of mankind's heart toward God in the varied nature of life: fears, doubts, tragedies, triumphs, joys, hopes.7 Psalm 58 is considered an imprecatory psalm in the sense that, "it breathes a spirit of wrathful indignation at wrongdoings and expresses the belief that God will act soon and swift, summary and startling justice."8 Imprecations were pronounced upon those who continued in rebellion against God's theocracy with a desire that He might deal with them in this life. What is frequently overlooked, however, is the fact that these biblical imprecations are not expressions of personal, hateful vengeance; rather, they are pronouncements regarding the divine justice that is due those who are persistent enemies of the Holy God. And they were uttered, not out of heated passion, but under the calm guidance of the Holy Spirit.9 A superscription to Psalm 58 reads, "To the chief Musician, Al-tas-chith, Michtam of David," when translated would mean it is (intended) for the choir director and so was set to music. It was to be set to Al-tashheth, which means "Do Not Destroy," and which some believe to be a tune-indication. It is a mikhtam (which some take to mean "silent prayer") of David. Another writer supposes that "the Michtam" suggests that this is a personal or a silent prayer. In David's fury against those who failed to carry out their judicial responsibilities with fairness, he took these matters to God in prayer. He asked God to deal swiftly and decisively with the unrighteous and so prove to the faithful the validity of living right. Put in a nutshell, Psalm 58 is a psalm expressing 1) David's reproach of the iniquitous counselors and judges, who distort justice, and stir up the strong against the weak and innocent, as implied in verses 1-5; 2) his petition for their destruction, and how it should be done, as described in verses 6-9; and 3) his anticipation of the consequent reaction of the righteous on the punishment of the wicked, as declared in verses 10 and 11. David begins with an apostrophe, "1. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men" by which he denotes that indeed they do neither. An ironic expression as later revealed in his imprecation for these unjust judges - like the irony of their action as contrasted to the calling that they have. The following verses reveal the real nature of these judges, "2. Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth." In their hearts they meditate nothing but wickedness, and though they hold the scales of justice, yet they use them for violence and injustice. They are in fact no better than those they judge. "3. The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." David describes these wicked men, men who had been always wicked, originally and naturally bad, and brought up in falsehood, flattery, and lying. At this point, their real nature is revealed. "4. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear." Once they are able to bite you with their fangs, as a serpent bits its adversary, they not only harm you physically but emotionally as well. The poison they release is so strong that it can damage even your reputation (like what happened to David when he fled from King Saul's courts). "5. Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." They refuse to listen to any voice of reason. They refuse to listen even to God's Word. They refuse to allow anything to distract them from performing evil. Their behavior is venomous. In the next three verses, describes how grave the damage has been done that in David's anger he has petitioned from God to inflict on the unjust judges: "6. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. 7. Let them melt away as water which runs continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. 8. 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 son. 9. Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath." He wants them to be punished as quickly as possible, "so sudden and swift, that it may be likened to the heat of the first blaze of dry thorns under a pot that has not as yet been able to penetrate the metal, and warm what is contained in it, that they would be taken by God's wrath and perish. God executes His judgment upon the wicked, the righteous will rejoice when upon those who have no regard for Him or for their fellow man. When God executes His judgment upon the wicked, the faith of the righteous will be vindicated. They will know that they have not lived righteous lives in vain; all will know that He is a just God. "10. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth." The King James Version (KJV) of Psalm 58 contains vivid figures, e.g., hyperbole the simile, and metonymy. Hyperbole is an exaggeration for emphasis' sake (verse 3 - "they go astray as they be born, speaking lies." Certainly it takes years before one learns to speak, even months to utter a syllable. Simile is a comparison between two objects by the use of "like" or "as," etc., (e.g verse 4-" their poison like the poison of a serpent.). Metonymy involves the substitution of one name for another in order to stress an important truth, example of which is the use of the word serpent to refer to the unjust judges. The imagery used is apt and highly descriptive. It is taken from nature mainly, from widely diverse creatures which we fear and dislike such as snakes, lions, and snails, and from the calamities experienced by man such as the miscarrying womb, water in uncontrollable flood, and the savage vortex of the whirlwind. In Christopher Smart's translation of this Psalm, however, these sinners are given a second chance at salvation. Verse 5 of his translation states the utter condition of these siners, "Though Christ himself the pipe should tune, They will not to the measure tread, Nor will they with his grief commune, Though tears of blood he shed." From verses 6-8, we can imagine a gentler spirit asking for these sinners to be convicted of their sins and by grace be changed completely. Further he petitions that they would return to the church and devote themselves to praising Christ. In closing, Smart mentions of the consequence to a sinner coming back to Christ who is pictured as the loving and forgiving God. A God who is just in giving the penitent sinner the reward that he deserves for confessing his sins and asking for God's sovereignty over his life. As in the case of the KJV of Psalm 58, Smart's version carries with it certain rhythm to make his poetry more appealing to its readers. A particular rhyming scheme like that of a Shakespearean sonnet is notable in this version. Both versions nonetheless carry with it the basic idea that we have a just God. Though it is impossible to escape the consequence of sin, He will provide a way for us to triumph over it. We are given enough time to repent, if we answer His call by His grace we will be saved, like the sinners pictured in Smart's version. If not, like the judges in the Old Testament era, eternal eternal damnation awaits. Refereces: 1 Psalm 58:11 King James Version, c. 2006. Philippines: Philippine Bible Society, 2 John 3: 16. Ibid. 3 Genesis chapter 3. Ibid 4 II Peter 2:9. Ibid 5 I Samuel 15:9. Ibid. 6 Graves, David E. (2000) "Psalms," Electronic Christian Media. Accessed on 07 April 2008 from 7 Malick, David E. The Book of Psalms. Bible.Org. Accessed on 06 April 2008 from 8 Phillips, John .(2002) Exploring Psalms: An Expository Commentary (E-copy). Kregel Publications. Accessed on 06 April 2008 from 9 Wayne Jackson. The Book of Psalms. [0nline] Available [World Wide Web] Accessed on 06 April 2008 from Psalm 58 by Christopher Smart Ye congregation of the tribes, On justice do you set your mind; And are ye free from guile and bribes Ye judges of mankind Nay, ye of frail and mortal mould Imagine mischief in your heart; Your suffrages and selves are sold Unto the general mart. Men of unrighteous seed betray Perverseness from their mother's womb; As soon as they can run astray, Against the truth presume. They are with foul infection stained, Ev'n with the serpent's taint impure; Their ears to blest persuasion chained, And locked against her lure. Though Christ himself the pipe should tune, They will not to the measure tread, Nor will they with his grief commune Though tears of blood he shed. Lord, humanize their scoff and scorn, And their malevolence defeat; Of water and the spirit born Let grace their change complete. Let them with pious ardor burn, And make thy holy church their choice; To thee with all their passions turn, And in thy light rejoice. As quick as lightning to its mark, So let thy gracious angel speed; And take their spirits in thine ark To their eternal mead. The righteous shall exult the more As he such powerful mercy sees, Such wrecks and ruins safe on shore, Such tortured souls at ease. So that a man shall say, no doubt, The penitent has his reward; There is a God to bear him out, And he is Christ our Lord. PSALM 58 King James Version To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David. 1. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men 2. Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. 3. The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. 4. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; 5. Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. 6. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. 7. Let them melt away as water which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. 8. As a snail which melteth, let every one of the pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the son. 9. Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. 10. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. Read More