Psalm 58. Psalm 58. This psalm is fitting for our day. As I've looked at it and studied it, David, to just give you the overview of it, complaining about the judges in Israel, those who were in power. And this is supposedly also around that time when Saul was still after him. And he was watching the injustice done by Saul and those who were in authority going right along with him. And you'll see this as we go along here, but David is complaining about these judges who are, one translation called them politicians. He called them politicians. But the one thing, when I was reading, I've read this thing over and over and over because it's not an easy psalm to speak from. But I've read it over and over, and the one verse, the very first time I read it, the one verse that stood out to me gives me the psalm. And it's verse 11. In the latter part of that. Verily He is a God that judgeth in the earth. When all is said and done at the end of the day, and all the injustice that's going on, and all the ignoring of laws that's going on, God is still the judge, and He will correct things sooner or later. In His time, just look at history. Look at history. Look at Pharaoh. You know, God raised him up. And in His time, He brought him down. And you can just look at one king after another, one leader after another. You know, there was a time when Hitler looked like he was going to rule the world. There was a time that it looked like that might be possible. And what happened? He shoots himself. He ends up shooting himself, committing suicide. God knows how to lift up and He knows how to bring down. And this verse 11, it gives me great comfort. God is the judge. No matter how high the person or the position may be held in this country, God is the judge. It stops with Him. It doesn't stop with anybody else. Now, despite how things look, there is a God that is judge in the earth. That's what David is saying here. There is a God that is judge in the earth. This earth is His and all who dwell in it." Now in this Psalm, David has given us assurance. He's given us assurance that God is the judge and He will correct in His time injustice. He will correct it. Since the fall, there has been two standards of justice used by men. It's really injustice. There's the standard that is used for rulers and politicians. And then there's a standard that's used for people like me and you, that they use against us. They don't hold themselves to the same standards they hold us to. That's what Dave's complained about. They are not living up to the standard of justice, of right and wrong, of equity. They're not living up to the standard. And that was going on in David's day. It's like you could take David and sit him right here in this day with what's going on right now in this country, and this psalm fits it. It fits it. This is what David's pointing out. The injustice by those who are in power will not overrule the justice of God." We can hear our Lord speaking here in David. He's speaking about the injustice of those scribes and those Pharisees. They took Him to the judgment hall, they lied on Him, they got false witnesses on Him to condemn an innocent man. As far as they are concerned, he's an innocent man. Pilate said, I find no fault in this man. God found no fault in Christ. There's no fault in Him. And yet, they condemned Him. They said, crucify Him, crucify Him. Listen to what our Lord says in Matthew 23, 2 and 4, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sat in Moses' seat, All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do. But do not ye after their works. For they say and do not." They live by a different standard. They do not hold themselves to the standard of justice that they hold you to. But the Lord said, don't you be like that. Just because they're unjust, don't you be unjust. That doesn't give me a reason to be unjust. It doesn't matter what the world thinks, it's what God thinks. He says, Listen here. You can just set that right in our day, can't you? You can just set it right in our day. Let's look here, let's start in verse 1. Here's an interrogation of these judges. David's going to reprove these wicked judges. Now this is to the chief musician at Altashqeth, and that means this. David is saying this, put this to the tune of Do Not Destroy. There was a tune to Do Not Destroy. And David said, put this psalm to that tune of Do Not Destroy. And it's a MGTAM of David. It's a golden psalm. It's one of those golden psalms. It's one of those instructive psalms. It's one of those psalms we are to receive instruction by. And he says this in verse 1, Do you indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do you judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Now here, let me read another translation to you, and it'll make it a little more clear. Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity? These judges, these people who were in authority, were unrighteous in their dispense of justice, and they did not hold themselves to the same standard. Someone said this, "...no iniquity is more hateful than that which is practiced under the cover of law." There's no wickedness. And the Pharisees come to mind. They are a perfect example of this. They would bind heavy burdens, as I read to you, and they wouldn't lift a finger to do one of them. Christ said, "...it is said that thou shalt not commit adultery," and you commit adultery? You do that? I think Paul is referring to this over in Romans chapter 2. Go over to Romans chapter 2. In Romans chapter 2, listen to this. This fits that. Therefore, in verse 1, Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For when thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest dost the same things. He said, But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth. Now God cannot judge wrong. God cannot do wrong. He cannot judge wrong. He cannot pass a wrong judgment. The Scripture says, and I was reading this today, I didn't write it down, but God is no respecter of persons. That's the worst thing that can happen in justice. When you become a respecter of persons, that's when you start perverting justice. Listen to Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3.16. Solomon says, "...and moreover I saw under the sun..." He's talking about some of the wickedness he saw under the sun. "...I saw under the sun the place of judgment..." Listen, that wickedness was there. "...and the place of righteousness..." That iniquity was there. where there should be justice and equity and right. He said wickedness was there and iniquity was there. I mean, that just describes our court system. It literally describes our court system. And here David describes the nature of these wicked judges. He says, In heart you work wickedness. You weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. And the translation is this, no, no, in your heart you devise injustice. That's what you're doing. You're not devising justice and right, you're devising injustice. And your hands mete out violence on the earth. What, really, in all these disturbances and the riots we got going on, who's stirring it up? Who's really stirring it up? It's our leaders. It's up there, it's in the politics. They're the ones stirring this up. And that's what he's saying here. He's saying this, you, you in your heart, you devise wickedness and you weigh violence out in your hands. Listen, you dispense out violence in scale, in the scales where justice ought to be weighed. But you're dispensing your violence. You're violent in the way you treat men, those lower than you, you consider to be lower than you. And he says here's the problem. The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. It starts at birth. When did they become like this? You say, when did they become like this? From birth. It started from birth. As soon as they be born, at the beginning, someone said this, at the beginning of their course of moral action, they naturally depart from God. They just depart from God. Men are from the beginning of their very existence prone to evil. And we know that. We know that by nature. We know what we are by nature. Everyone whom God saves, they know what they are by nature. Prone to evil. Prone to wonder. Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave. God, I love. Isn't that in us? We know that. But now, these that he's speaking of here, They're estranged from the womb, they've gone astray. Listen, they keep going astray. They keep going astray. Wicked by nature, wicked by habit, and they go astray all their lives. That describes the leaders. And I'll tell you this, sooner or later, Those who follow the leaders become like them. You just mark it down. Sooner or later, they become like them. And he says in verse 4, they're poison. They're poison. That's what it is. It's not just a difference in opinion. We're not talking about a difference in opinion. He's talking here about their inward workings, and what they're after, and their misuse of justice. He says their poison, their venom, is like the poison of a serpent, a snake. They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear. They are evil in spirit and deceitful in heart. This describes them, and they are incorrigible. It's like the adder that will not be turned by the voice of the charmer. Do you see any people that try to charm these cobras? That word there is supposed to be cobra. The serpent is the cobra. And they'd stop their ears. They would not listen to the charmer, though he'd charm ever so smoothly. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent. And listen to this, their poison is their anger. Have you ever seen a time when there's so much anger? That's their poison. And I tell you, there's nothing that'll destroy a family, a community, a country, like hatred and anger. He says this poison, they are full of it. The poison of a snake is within that snake. It makes its own poison. And that sinful nature that we are born with makes its own poison. We carry within us, by nature, our own destruction. Listen to what Solomon says here. His own iniquity shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holding with the cords of his sins." Their own sinfulness and conduct is like cords tied around them, and that eventually will take them. They carry their own destruction within themselves. And notice here in verse 5, He says in verse 4, "...their poison is like the poison of a serpent, they are like the deaf adder that stops her ear, which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." If you put this on a spiritual level, skillfully, skillfully preaching the gospel, they will not listen. They will not listen to the gospel. Though you talk to them and tell them, Week in and week out. Week in and week out. They don't want to hear it. They don't want to hear it. Our Lord preached to them and they wouldn't hear Him. They wouldn't do it. But He's saying here, they will not listen. They purposely closed their ears, just like you and I at one time did. If God had not gotten our attention, if He had not given us an ear to hear and an eye to see, because the Scripture says the hearing ear and the seeing eye is of the Lord, we would have stopped our ears and had no interest at all. You know, I know this, I've lived long enough to know this, that hatred shuts out reason. Hatred shuts out reason. You can't reason with that. Not at all. When Pilate said, I find no fault in him, they shouted him down. Crucify him. Crucify him. There was so much animosity and hatred toward the Lord Jesus Christ, they wouldn't even listen to reason at all. Hatred will not listen to reason. It shuts its ears, shuts its eyes, and it's going to have its way one way or another. Listen to Luke 7, verse 32. Our Lord said this, They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, you've not danced. We've mourned to you, and you have not wept. You've shut your ears. You don't even hear. You know, if God did not sovereignly save sinners, they wouldn't be saved. No one born into this world, not one single human being born into this world, wants God to save them from their sins. No one. He said, there's none that seeketh after Me. There's none that seek after God. There's none that understand. He said, they've all gone astray. All of us. All of them and all of us. We've all gone astray. If He did not sovereignly choose us, call us, and Christ die for us, and rise for us, and seated at God's right hand for us, we would not be saved. In the Gospels, When you read the Gospels, do we ever read of a demon, a devil asking the Lord to save him? Do you? Why not? Because they don't want saved. They don't want saved. Now, they don't want to be tormented. Nobody wants to be tormented. But they don't want to be saved. When he came to that man that was possessed with legion, which is about 2,000, he was possessed with many devils. Not one of them said, Lord, would you save me? Every time he cast the devil out, that devil went out screaming. But he went out in hatred of God. And that's us until God saves us. That's us until He saves us. What a miracle of grace you are. What a miracle of grace. Oh, one time we didn't want to hear it. God saved us by His grace. But my friends, there are still those out there, and they'll go to hell like this, refusing to hear the Gospel. Refusing to hear it. I mean, they can sit under it and refuse to hear it. Refuse to obey Him. Listen to this. Let me read this to you. In Proverbs 1, I wanted to read this. Proverbs 1, 24 through 31, listen here. God says this, Because I have called, I have called, the gospel call has gone out, and you refused. I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded. But you have said it not, all my counsel, and would none of my reproof." You call it an accident. You call it bad luck. How about calling it what it is, God's reproof? You would have none of my reproof. He said, now listen, I also will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind. When distress and anguish comes upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer." That is so frightening to me. They will call upon me and I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. It's over with. that they hated knowledge." They hated knowledge. They hated the knowledge of God, the knowledge of Christ. They hated it. "...and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel." They wouldn't listen to me. "...though I charmed ever so much." That's what he said. They stopped their ears. It's like, I don't want to hear it. "...they would none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof. Therefore, shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices." That's the end of everyone who believes not on the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone. Now, David here, in verse 6, he devotes these judges, these wicked politicians, these wicked rulers, to God's judgment. He says, break their teeth, O God, in their mouth. That is, break their power to devour with their words. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. Listen, youth is an asset to many things, but rarely is it an asset in leadership. Henry said youth was an asset to everything but the ministry. But it is an asset to a lot of things, but not in leadership. Not in leadership. And I can say this, as I was reading this, I can say this, because I have prayed this. I pray that the Lord would, as much as possible, living in this world, would rid our government of the corruption that's in it right now. It needs to be purged. It needs purged. Just like right here, he's saying, break their teeth. That is, break the power of their devouring words. I mean, I'll tell you something, there's probably nothing more powerful than a word. The power of words. And he says here, break their teeth. It's in their mouth. Hit them right in the mouth. and break out the great teeth of the young lions. Let them become the object of your wrath. Purge them." That's what he's doing. David is praying, Lord, purge Jerusalem. Purge her of this corruption. Deal with these corrupt judges, these corrupt officials. And I pray that God would do that now. We pray that God would give wisdom to our leaders, but you first got to have leaders. We don't have that anymore. Not in this day and time. Let them melt away, he says, as water which runs continual. That is, it's like water that runs in a desert. And it runs out and it just goes down into the sand. That's the idea. It just runs out and it just sinks down into the sand. And it disappears. He said, Lord, make them to just run out and disappear. Fade out. And when he bends his bow to shoot his arrows at God's innocent, at God's people, he says, let them be cut in pieces, or let them fall short of the mark. Bring the wicked to an end. Frustrate all their evil designs. Oh, that God would do that now. That He would frustrate the evil designs of the wicked rulers. And as a snail which melteth, this is such an insert so much imagery going on here. As a snail which melteth, you know what he's talking about there when a snail, you know when a snail, you can tell when a snail's been around, can't you? You got this slime, you got this slime pit. You can just track it, it's just this long, And what he's saying here is this snail crawls and it's slime and leaves a slime trail. The snail doesn't even realize that he's melting himself away. He's melting himself away. He's saying here, let them as they crawl and do their mischief, let them melt away. Let every one of them pass away like the untimely birth of a woman, a miscarriage. that they may not see the sun. Is this too hard? Some of the people I was reading said, you know, this sounds pretty tough, you know, praying like this. I can honestly say, I would to God, He would take our government and just shake it to pieces and get the corruption out of it. Whoever gets, who's ever in the way, is in the way. It's gotta be dealt with. And I'm telling you this, this takes some courage to pray like this. Deal with them. Deal with them. And move them out of the way. And this is not only David, this is our Lord speaking. This is our Lord speaking in David. He prays for the destruction of the wicked. He hateth the workers, the Scripture says. He hateth the workers of iniquity. God doesn't love everybody. He says He hates the workers of iniquity. Their slime is their destruction. Let them melt away. And before their pots can feel the thorns, here they are, here's the image, here's the image of them sitting down to cook up the next rotten meal they're gonna eat. In other words, the next thing they're gonna do, the next mischievous thing they're gonna do, they're sitting down and they're cooking it up. And he's saying here, before the pot that they're cooking this up in, before it can feel the heat of the thorns, He says, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living and in His wrath. Both living, someone said that's in health. They think they're not going to die. The young think they're not going to die, especially when they get in power. When they get in power, they think they're invincible. But look at history. God has taken them away time after time after time. And now he turns to the righteous. That's everyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are made the righteousness of God in Him. The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance, when he sees justice executed properly, when he sees God rise up and deal with these people. He'll rejoice. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. You say, that's pretty strong language. Wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. The righteous rejoice when justice is executed properly. Just think about it. If justice was truly executed properly in this country, if it was executed properly, do you know what a country we would have? I was listening to this one particular person this week, and he kept saying this, you know, we are a nation of laws and a nation of laws, and we are a nation of laws. Well, if those laws were actually executed properly, we would have such a great country. But I tell you what, you can tell when a country or a nation is going down is by the justice or the injustice that's going on in it. The righteous shall rejoice when he sees God's vengeance. First of all, our Lord shall rejoice, for He shall have the final victory in battle. You know what's going on right now? Jesus Christ is putting down all power and all authority. It's in Acts or Corinthians right now. I can't think of it. But whenever he delivers up the kingdom to God, he's going to rule, he's going to reign until he puts down all rule and all authority. That's what's going on. It doesn't look like it to us. That's exactly what's going on. He's putting down all rule and all authority. And listen, not one saint will weep when God destroys the wicked. No saint is going to be weeping over anyone whom God cast into hell when all of this is over. I was reading just before coming down here, over in Revelation, when God cast the great whore into hell. And there the whole host says, Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Those who have been victim to the injustice of men will see their overthrow. The righteous will see the overthrow of the wicked, of the unjust. You know, all of those martyrs, Those who have been martyred, they've had their heads cut off. They've been killed by animals and all kinds of ways that they've thought up to kill God's servants. They will see, they will see their avengers, those who tormented them. They will see them overthrown by the power and justice of God. And you know what? They'll rejoice. They will rejoice. And here's what they'll rejoice also in. Here's what we rejoice in right now. They shall rejoice that there is a God that judges among men. Brethren, take that home with you. And this mess we got going on, take that home with you. Verse 11, "...so that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward, there is fruit for the righteous, there is life for the righteous." Truly, He is a God. Truly, God is the God that judges in the earth. He will correct and right it in His time. He lets it go. It's like the sea. He says, "...hither shall thy waves come, and no further." No further. And also, if nothing else, you and I as the church, as believers, are watching how wicked the world is. The whole world lies in wickedness. And you and I are getting to step back and look at it and say, wow, look what God has saved us from. Look what He has saved us from. I don't have to perish with that group. By the grace of God, I've been saved from it. Plucked out of it like a bram, plucked from the fire. There is a reward for the righteous. What did God say to Abraham? I am thy exceeding great reward. Enter in to the kingdom that your Father prepared for you from the beginning. Enter in. There is a God, and Jesus Christ is that God who shall correct all injustice. Justice will not perish from the earth. It looks like it will, doesn't it? It does to me. It looks like it's about gone, but it's not going to perish from the earth. The earth is the Lord. It still is. He hasn't turned it over to anyone else. He's still fulfilling His purpose and His plan. I read through Revelation the other night because I wanted to read again. Every now and then I like to go through there and read where this angel does this to the earth, and this angel leads with this vial, and this angel... Nothing's happening to this earth that is not coming from heaven. He brings the angel out of the river Euphrates, and then there's one that hurts the third part of the earth, and God says, don't hurt them until all mine are sealed. I mean, when you read that, and you take your eyes off of this, and you read the Word of God, and you get over there and read all those plagues and things that are going on, it's coming from heaven. It's under the control of our heavenly Father. There is a judge in the earth and His name is Jesus Christ. All judgment has been turned over to the Son. All judgment. Turn over to Psalm 33 and I'm going to close. Psalm 33 verse 8 through 12. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought." Just put that on your refrigerator. He maketh the devices of the people of non-effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Do you know who that is? That's the church. That's the church. The nation whose God is the Lord is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a nation on this earth that is a Christian nation, and it is the church. She's called holy. Peter calls her a holy nation. And no other nation now, no other nation is holy. No other nation is a Christian nation. The nation that is a Christian nation and is a holy nation is the church. All others are made up of heathens. They hate God. We see it. We see it every day. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. Oh, the counsel of the Lord shall stand forever, the source of His heart to all generations. When you and I are gone, whatever God has purposed will be accomplished. You know, I mean, I've said this and I said this, I said, I feel, feel so sorry for my grandchildren and my, you know, and the future generations. Well, that's been for, it's been going on for 6,000 years. We're still here. You know why? Because there is a judge in the earth and his name is God and he's Jesus Christ. And when you and I are gone, he'll correct it and write it and do what he needs to do as time goes on. All right.