Lawlessness Punished & Righteousness Praised (Psalm 58:6-11)

3/15/2012 9:45:53 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time   Focus:  Lawlessness Punished & Righteousness Praised

Bible Reading & Meditation                                          Reference:  Psalm 58:6-11

            Message of the verses:  In today’s Spiritual we will look at the rest of Psalm 58 beginning with the second main point.

            “Condemnation—Lawlessness Punished: (vv. 6-8):  “6 ¶  O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD. 7  Let them flow away like water that runs off; When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts. 8  Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, Like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun.”

“6 ¶  Break off their fangs, O God!  Smash the jaws of these lions, O LORD! 7  May they disappear like water into thirsty ground.  Make their weapons useless in their hands. 8  May they be like snails that dissolve into slime,  like a stillborn child who will never see the sun.”  (NLT)

            David is very upset with the unjust judges and therefore He asks the Lord to do the things that are described in these verses, for David knew that according to Deuteronomy 32:35 “’Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.’”  David knew that there would come a time when the wrongs of these unjust judges would be taken care of by the Lord for as we mentioned in yesterday’s SD part of the character and attributes of the Lord is Justice.  Here is how the Bible teaches that justice will be taken care of by the Lord:  At the cross of Jesus Christ God the Father punished His Son for our sins and what this is called is propitiation and this word was used by the heathens in the days of the Romans and Greeks to mean “the satisfaction of an angry God.” God is angry with sin, but when Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins God was satisfied with this payment and thus His justice was satisfied.  Those who will not accept the payment that Jesus Christ paid on the cross will have to pay for their own sins, and that means they will die in their sins and be sentenced to hell for they did not receive the free gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

            What David is describing in these verse is that he wants the weapons that they are using against the righteous to become useless, for water loses its power when it is dried up in the ground and a lion without teeth is not to powerful, and a snail looks like it is melting away as it travels over a rock because of the slime it leaves.  What David is saying is “let those unjust leaders be gone.”

            “Vindication—Righteousness Praised” (vv. 9-11):  “9  Before your pots can feel the fire of thorns He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning alike. 10  The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11  And men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!’”

“9  God will sweep them away, both young and old,  faster than a pot heats over burning thorns. 10  The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged.  They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. 11  Then at last everyone will say,  “There truly is a reward for those who live for God;  surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth.’’”  (NLT)

We could understand that David is saying in verse nine that these unjust leaders were only a “flash in the pan.”  When you try to cook a meal using thorns the fire will be very hot very fast, but will go out just as fast because there is no substance to the thorns.

The picture in verse ten is of a victorious soldier with blood on his feet walking around picking up the spoils of their victory and that is what David is saying will happen to those who are godly.  According to Job 29:6 walking in cream and oil was a picture of wealth which contrasts with the blood on the soldier’s feet.

Dr. Wiersbe writes “The fact that the righteous rejoice at this is no more sinful than that prisoners of war rejoices at the fall of Babylon (Rev. 18:20-19:6).  God vindicates Himself, His law, and His people, and He does it justly.  So effective is His judgment that outsiders will say, ‘Surely there is a God who judges on earth’ (v. 11 NASB).”

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the justice of the Lord for I know that His justice will be perfect.  I am most thankful for His justice at the cross and the willingness of my Lord in taking my punishment and then exchanging it for His righteousness.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Live a life that is steadfast before the Lord.  Trust the Lord to guide my steps along the path He will lead me today.  Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.  Put on the spiritual armor.  I want to continue to learn contentment.

3/15/2012 10:29:08 AM