Psalm 58 – Justice Given to Unjust Rulers

Mar 8, 2026 | Pastor's Blog, Psalms

Timeless Biblical Truth.

Unjust rulers who corrupt society will be judged severely when the Judge of all the earth rewards righteousness.

  1. Plight: Believers will deal with corrupt rulers (1-5).
    1. Addressed: The godly denounce calculated injustice (1-2).
    2. Pictured: The unjust rulers are corrupt of character and are aggressive and uncorrectable (3-5).
  2. Prayer: Believers may pray that God will deal decisively with the unjust rulers and remove them (6-9).
  3. Praise: The righteous will rejoice when, with justice, God judges the wicked and rewards the righteous (10-11).
“How is it that this Hebrew book becomes . . . the most English of all books? Because it speaks to the heart of humanity. Consider all the minds which in the past this book has influenced. Unless you exam-ine with this special purpose,—thanks to the writings of Milton and Shakespeare and other great authors,—you cannot imagine how the Bible narratives, the Bible truths, the Bible similes, the Bible expres-sions, have entered into the very marrow of English literature. You continually find terms and expressions which they owe to the Bible.” Adolph Saphir, Divine Unity of the Scriptures, pp. 19-20. “I think it is obvious that if the reader is to achieve artistry he must be prepared to devote an athletic attention to what is worth reading . . .” Holbrook Jackson: The Reading of Books, p. 11.

Questions for Second Milers

  1. Who are the “gods” of verse 1? Of what does David accuse them? How does he characterize them and their behavior?
  2. On what basis does David demand this severe vengeance? How do you answer the accusation that this call for vengeance is a spiteful end-justifies-the-means revenge (besides calling it by the milder term like “retribution” or “karma”)?
  3. Why is widespread evil so detrimental to godly people?
  4. How do godly people respond to the downfall of evil men?
  5. What do you do when surrounded by flagrant injustice brought about by evil people? What should be your attitude toward their defiance of God?
  6. Do you pray for destruction of the wicked, as David does here? Why or why not?
  7. State what you believe is the theme of this psalm?
  8. Give your own short title to this psalm.

“The poetry of the Bible is not only the highest poetry to be found anywhere in literature, it contains the essence of all religion, so far as religion consists in aspiration. In this way Job, the Psalms, and Isaiah contain an eternal ele-ment of truth, that no advance in the world’s thought can make obsolete. Through such poetry rather than through any formal creed, man is lifted into a communion with the Divine Spirit. For in these immortal poems, which express a fundamental and universal passion, the human soul rises to that elevation which brings assurance and peace.” William Lyon Phelps: Reading the Bible, p. 37. Phelps was professor of English literature at Yale for 40 years.

The Bible Church of the Lakes