“Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
Which will not heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.
Break their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
Let them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
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.
Before your pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
So that men will say,
‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who judges in the earth.’” ~ Psalm 58, NKJV
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
Which will not heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.
Break their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
Let them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
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.
Before your pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
So that men will say,
‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who judges in the earth.’” ~ Psalm 58, NKJV
As I remember, the 9/11 Commission determined that our failure to anticipate the attacks made on that day was one of "imagination." We didn't think big enough to believe that our enemies would hijack passenger jets and drive them into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Even today we repeat the mistakes of the 1930s, choosing to deny or ignore or diminish the reality of evil. This is the evil of silence, and it is just as deadly as the evil that clamors and draws attention to itself. But David makes no bones about declaring evil for what it is. He speaks his mind; he uses graphic, vivid language; he calls it like he sees it. Evil is real. Evil is everywhere. Evil is powerful. To deny it and claim that doing so is righteous and upright is just to participate in a different form of evil, which weighs out violence in the earth and brings death and destruction. But where there is evil, there is also judgment! David's God - our God, the God of Israel - is a just God. He is righteous and He judges in the earth. There have been times in history when His hand of judgment has been apparent; there have been other times when it seems not so. There is also coming a day when every evil will be judged, every unrepentant soul will face His wrath - and everyone will know it. I take comfort in this psalm. Yes, the evil that I see and feel in the world around me is real, no matter how much it is denied; and yes, that evil will face judgment from a righteous and holy God. When those truths guard my heart the madness of this world cannot bring me to despair. I have hope instead.
By Rebecca Lilley..
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