¹Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods? Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?… ¹⁰The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹¹And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth!”

This psalm jars the senses of most people, especially we who have come to enjoy God’s mercy, grace and forgiveness. David speaks with super-harshness and a seemingly unforgiving spirit. If he is a godly man and this psalm is included in inspired Scripture, then is God harsh and unforgiving, even vindictive? Skeptics will assert that the God of the NT (who they say is all-loving and forgiving) is different from the God of the OT (who they say is unreasonably severe and violent). The psalm is easy to outline—but hard to swallow! Is David being self-righteous and judgmental? Do we shrug our shoulders in bewilderment and then skip past it to get to the more comforting places of Scripture? What value can this have for us today in the age of grace?

Before we go any further, we must remember that Jesus Himself was quite harsh in denouncing the Pharisees and scribes (read Matthew chapter 23). He called them hypocrites with much the same tone as David’s in Psalm 58, condemning those who pose as believers but whose hearts reject the truth:

“So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:49–50)

The reference to “gods” in the first verse refers to the wicked whom this psalm addresses. While the NASB and ESV versions render the underlying Hebrew word (“elem”) as “gods,” other translators use the word “rulers” (NIV, NLT, NET), with the NKJV giving the translation of “you silent ones.” When the various English translations differ on a word, that is a clue that the underlying Hebrew word does not have an exact equivalence in English. The term is never used for God in the Scriptures, nor even in the sense of deity. Verse 1 contrasts verse 11, where the more familiar Hebrew word, elohim, is used for the true “God who judges on the earth.” David describes those people (“sons of men”) who claim authority on earth to control the moral narrative and see themselves as the arbiters of what is righteous. The NKJV may capture a subtle allusion to lifeless idols that, though they are “silent,” seem to command authority over people’s lives; that’s what the wicked are like, yet in the end, their words are hollow.

The psalm writer cuts through the narcissistic distortions of the false narratives and goes for the proverbial jugular. These people are not just mistaken but are entirely intentional in their deceptions. They tilt the scales of justice, even using violence to control others with their lies (vss. 2-3). He compares them with a venomous snake, the cobra, that can’t be controlled even by its handler (vss. 4-5). Their words and actions are devoted to destroying and killing people. If indeed David’s writing reflects God’s assessment of the wicked, then we can say God’s righteous and venomous judgment will destroy the wicked because of their venomous words and works of unrighteousness. God is gracious to the humble but not so to the arrogant who think they can control the moral narrative in their favor.

Keeping with the graphic portrayal (vss. 6-8), David asks God to break their teeth, let them fade away like water that quickly seeps to the lowest place, that their words, like arrows, be pointless, snails that slink into obscurity and the miscarried child that never sees the light of day. That is quite the prayer request! But, more to the point, David expresses his confidence that God will bring judgment like a burning fire.

One of the most challenging parts of this psalm to comprehend emotionally is when David rejoices in God’s vengeance against the wicked. It’s not that we enjoy the suffering of others, but instead we should rejoice that He is a God of holiness and righteousness. He means what He says! We want Him to be seen by all as being just. How could the Lord be just in allowing injustice to go unpunished? In that sense, we should rejoice with David that God does punish the wicked. Because of this, righteous people can be assured that God will reward those who obey Him.

When David asserts that the righteous person “will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,” he is not venting a bloodthirsty delight in the wicked’s destruction, but is using graphic language that anticipates the celebration of God’s victory over unrighteousness. The wicked deserve the ultimate shame and disrespect that such an action shows, for God indeed despises their arrogant attitude toward Him and His truth. As William MacDonald quotes, “[It] is a sickly sentimentality and a wicked weakness that has more sympathy with the corrupt oppressors than with the anger of God.”

As sobering as this psalm is, the last word in verse 11 is an encouragement to continue to live righteously. This does not mean we can be sinless or arrogantly claim to be more righteous than others. But the righteous in God’s eyes are those who do not make their own laws and assert “their own truth,” but who submit to the God of truth, the One who rules all the affairs of humans. Faith in Him is no soft, comfy, warm feeling, but an acceptance of His truth, for He is the one “who judges on earth.”

Lord, thank You for Your righteous judgment. I look forward to Your ways being vindicated for all creation to see.