Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 58:11
So that a man shall say, Verily [there is] a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
11. So that a man shall say ] Rather, So that men shall say: the mass of men, who are neither ‘righteous’ nor ‘wicked,’ but as it were spectators of the conflict between the righteous and the wicked.
Verily ] This particle expresses the recognition of a truth which has been obscured or questioned: ‘after all,’ ‘surely.’ Cp. Psa 73:1.
a reward ] Lit. fruit. Cf. Isa 3:10. Their patient continuance in well-doing bears its harvest in due time (Gal 6:9).
verily he is a God ] Better, Verily there is a God (R.V.). Contrary however to the general usage when God is spoken of, the predicate is in the plural: and perhaps Elhm is meant to be taken somewhat more vaguely, in parallelism and contrast to the judges of Psa 58:1-2 the contrast holds whether lm, ‘gods,’ is read in Psa 58:1 or not as Divine Powers. But the reading is not above suspicion. The LXX and Syr. have that judgeth them, i.e. does the righteous justice (Psa 43:1), the final m being read as the pronominal suffix, not as the sign of the plural [27] .
[27] They must have found written defectively and read shph’tm not shph’tm.
For like confidence in the final manifestation of God’s judgement see Psa 7:11 ff.; Psa 9:7 ff., Psa 9:19; Psa 11:4 ff.; and cp. Luk 18:7 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
So that a man shall say – That is, every man shall say, or people everywhere shall see this. This expresses the result of a close observation of the divine dealings among people. The conclusion from those dealings is,
(a) that there is, on the whole, a reward for the righteous on earth, or that righteousness tends to secure the favor of God and to promote human happiness; and
(b) that there is a God – a just Being presiding over human affairs.
A reward for the righteous – Margin, as in Hebrew, fruit for the righteous. That is, righteousness will produce its appropriate fruits, as trees that are cultivated will reward the cultivator. The idea is, that there is a course of things on earth, even with all there is that is mixed and mysterious, which is favorable to virtue; which shows that there is an advantage in being righteous; which demonstrates that there is a moral government; which makes it certain that God is the friend of virtue and the enemy of vice; that he is the friend of holiness and an enemy of sin. Compare the notes at 1Ti 4:8.
Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth – Or, Truly there is a God that judges in the earth. In other words, the course of things demonstrates that the affairs of the world are not left to chance, to fate, or to mere physical laws. There are results of human conduct which show that there is a Mind that presides over all; that there is One who has a purpose and plan of his own; that there is One who administers government, rewarding the good, and punishing the wicked. The argument is, that there is a course of things which cannot be explained on the supposition that the affairs of earth are left to chance; that they are controlled by fate; that they are regulated by mere physical laws; that they take care of themselves. There is a clear proof of divine interposition in those affairs, and a clear proof that, on the whole, and in the final result, that interposition is favorable to righteousness and opposed to sin. No man, in other words, can take the facts which occur on the earth, and explain them satisfactorily, except on the supposition that there is a God. All other explanations fail; and numerous as it must be admitted are the difficulties that meet us even on this supposition, yet all other suppositions utterly fail in giving any intelligible account of what occurs in our world. See this argument stated in a manner which cannot be confuted, in Bishop Butlers Analogy, part i. chap. iii.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 11. So that a man shall say] That is, people, seeing these just judgments of God, shall say, There is a reward ( peri, fruit) to the righteous man. He has not sown his seed in vain; he has not planted and watered in vain: he has the fruit of his labours, he eats the fruit of his doings. But wo to the wicked, it is ill with him; for the reward of his hands has been given him.
He is a God that judgeth in the earth] There is a God who does not entirely defer judgment till the judgment-day; but executes judgment now, even in this earth; and thus continues to give such a proof of his hatred to sin and love to his followers that every considerate mind is convinced of it. And hence arise the indisputable maxims: “There is, even here, a reward for the righteous;” “There is a God who, even now, judgeth in the earth.”
I have seen Indian priests who professed to charm, not only serpents, but the most ferocious wild beasts; even the enraged elephant, and the royal tiger! Two priests of Budhoo, educated under my own care, repeated the Sanscrit incantations to me, and solemnly asserted that they had seen the power of them repeatedly and successfully put to the test. I have mislaid these incantations, else I should insert them as a curiosity; for to charms of the same nature the psalmist most undoubtedly alludes.
The term chober, which we translate charmer, comes from to join, or put together; i.e., certain unintelligible words or sentences, which formed the spell.
I once met with a man who professed to remove diseases by pronouncing an unintelligible jingling jargon of words oddly tacked together. I met with him one morning proceeding to the cure of a horse affected with the farcin. With a very grave countenance he stood before the diseased animal, and, taking off his hat, devoutly muttered the following words; which, as a matter of peculiar favour, he afterwards taught me, well knowing that I could never use them successfully, because not taught me by a woman; “for,” said he, “to use them with success, a man must be taught them by a woman, and a woman by a man.” What the genuine orthography may be I cannot pretend to say, as I am entirely ignorant of the language, if the words belong to any language: but the following words exactly express his sounds: –
Murry fin a liff cree
Murry fin a liss cree
Ard fin deriv dhoo
Murry fin firey fu
Murry fin elph yew.
When he had repeated these words nine times, he put on his hat and walked off, but he was to return the next morning, and so on for nine mornings successively, always before he had broken his fast. The mother of the above person, a very old woman, and by many reputed a witch, professed to do miracles by pronouncing, or rather muttering, certain words or sounds, and by measuring with a cord the diseased parts of the sick person. I saw her practice twice:
1st, on a person afflicted with a violent headache, or rather the effects of a coup de soleil; and,
2ndly, on one who had got a dangerous mote or splinter in his eye.
In the first case she began to measure the head, round the temples, marking the length; then from the vertex, under the chin, and so up to the vertex again, marking that length. Then, by observing the dimensions, passed judgment on the want of proportion in the two admeasurements, and said the brain was compressed by the sinking down of the skull. She then began her incantations, muttering under her breath a supplication to certain divine and angelic beings, to come and lift up the bones, that they might no longer compress the brain. She then repeated her admeasurements, and showed how much was gained towards a restoration of the proportions from the spell already muttered. The spell was again muttered, the measurements repeated, and at each time a comparison of the first measurement was made with the succeeding, till at last she said she had the due proportions; that the disease, or rather the cause of it, was removed; and that the operations were no longer necessary.
In the case of the diseased eye, her manner was different. She took a cup of clean pure water, and washed her mouth well. Having done so, she filled her mouth with the same water, and walked to and fro in the apartment (the patient sitting in the midst of the floor) muttering her spell, of which nothing could be heard but a grumbling noise. She then emptied her mouth into a clean white bason, and showed the motes which had been conveyed out of the patient’s eye into the water in her mouth, while engaged in muttering the incantation! She proffered to teach me her wonder-working words; but the sounds were so very uncouth, if not barbarous, that I know no combination of letters by which I could convey the pronunciation.
Ridiculous as all this may appear, it shows that this incantation work is conducted in the present day, both in Asia and Europe, where it is professed, in precisely the same manner in which it was conducted formerly, by pronouncing, or rather muttering certain words or sounds, to which they attach supernatural power and efficiency. And from this came the term spell: Anglo-Saxon [A.S.], a word, a charm, composed of such supposed powerful words; and [A.S.] wyrkan spell signified among our ancestors to use enchantments.
ANALYSIS OF THE FIFTY-EIGHTH PSALM
David deprecates the danger that hung over his head from Saul and his council.
The Psalm is divided into three parts: –
I. A sharp invective, or reprehension of his enemies, Ps 58:1.
II. An imprecation, or denunciation of God’s judgment on them, Ps 58:6-9.
III. The benefits that from thence redound to the righteous, Ps 58:10-11.
I. 1. David begins with an apostrophe, and figures it with an erotesis, which makes his reproof the sharper. 1. “O congregation;” O ye counsel of Saul. 2. “Do you indeed speak righteously?” 3. “Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?” By which he intimates that indeed they do neither.
2. Which in the next verse he affirms in plain terms, and brings home to their charge: “Yea in heart you work wickedness; you weigh the violence of your hands in the earth;” heart and hand are bent to do evil, which the words, well considered, do exaggerate. 1. They were iniquities, a plurality of them. 2. It was their work. 3. Their hearty work. 4. Their handy work. 5. Weighed out by their scale of justice. 6. Which, indeed, under the colour of justice, was but violence. 7. And it was in this earth – in Israel, where no such thing was to be done.
3. This, their wickedness, he amplifies, both from their origin and progress: –
1. The root of it was very old; brought into the world with them: 1. “The wicked are estranged from the womb:” from God and all goodness. 2. “They go astray:” from their cradle they take the wrong way. 3. “As soon as they be born, speaking lies:” from their birth inclined to falsehood.
2. And in this their falsehood they are malicious and obstinate. 1. Malicious. The poison of their tongue is like the poison of a serpent, innate, deadly. 2. Obstinate. For they will not be reclaimed by any counsel or admonition: They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear, which refuseth to hear the voice of the charmer, “charm he never so wisely.”
II. Their wickedness, malice, and obstinacy, being so great, he now prays against and devotes them to God’s judgment. He prays, in general, for their ruin, esteeming them no better than lions. Saul, the old lion; and his council, lions’ whelps.
1. To God he turns his speech; and prays against their means to hurt, whether near or afar off.
2. And thence, against their persons: “O God, break their teeth in their mouth; break out the great teeth of the lions.” O Lord, remove their strength; their nearest instruments to hurt, to destroy: “O God, when they purpose to harm us, let it be in vain; when he bends his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.”
Thus let it fall to their arms: but as for their persons: –
1. “Let them melt away as waters.” Great brooks, that run with great force from the mountains, and overrun for a little while the valleys; but run quickly into the channels, and thence to the sea, and are swallowed up.
2. Let them be as a snail that melts in her passage, and leaves a slimy track behind, which yet quickly passeth away. So let them be like a snail, which, when its shell is taken off, grows cold and dies.
3. Let them be “like the untimely fruit of a woman, that they may not see the sun.”
4. “Before your pots can feel the thorns” – ere they do mischief, “He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living and in his wrath.”
III. The benefits which, from his judgment upon the wicked, shall flow to the righteous.
1. Joyfulness: “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance.”
2. Amendment. Being warned thus, “He shall wash his footsteps in their blood.” Their slaughter shall be great; and he shall be near it, yet unhurt.
3. Confirmation of their faith, and giving glory to God: “So that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous: doubtless; there is a God that judgeth in the earth.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And these administrations of Gods providence shall be so evident and convincing, that not only good men shall be sensible thereof, but any man that sees them, yea, even such as were apt to dispute or doubt of Gods providence, shall upon this eminent occasion break forth into such exclamations as this: Now I see that religion is not a vain and unprofitable thing, and that there is a God who doth now observe and govern, and, when he sees fit, judgeth the inhabitants of the earth, and will hereafter judge the whole world in righteousness, and recompense every man according to his works.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
So that a man shall say,…. Any man, and every man, especially, that is observing, wise, and knowing; he shall conclude, from such a dispensation of things, from God’s dealing with the wicked after this manner:
verily, [there is] a reward for the righteous; or “fruit” k for them: they have the fruits of divine love, the blessings of an everlasting covenant; and the fruit of Christ, the tree of life, which is sweet unto their taste, as are the benefits of his death, his word and ordinances; and the fruits of the Spirit, his several graces wrought in their souls; and the fruits of righteousness, the effect of which is peace; and is a reward they receive in, though not for keeping the commands of God; and they gather fruit unto eternal life, which is the recompence of reward, the reward of the inheritance, the great reward in heaven, which remains for them; and which they shall have, not for their own righteousness’s sake, but for the sake of Christ’s righteousness; from which they are denominated righteous persons, and which gives them a right and title to it: so that this is a reward, not of debt as due to them, and to be claimed by them on account of any thing they have done; but of grace, streaming through the blood and righteousness of Christ;
verily, he is a God that judgeth in the earth; that there is a God is known by the judgments that he executeth; and that he judgeth in the earth, and is the Judge of all the earth, who will do right, may be concluded from the vengeance inflicted on wicked men; and he will one day judge the world in righteousness, by him whom he has ordained to be Judge of quick and dead. The words in the Hebrew text are in the plural number, , “gods that judge”: which Kimchi and Ben Melech say is on account of honour; or as they, with Aben Ezra, interpret it, of the angels: but these are not judges in the earth; rather it is expressive of a trinity of Persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father is the Judge of all, though he does not execute judgment; but has committed it to the Son, who is Judge of quick and dead; and the Spirit judges, reproves, and convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
k “fructus”, V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward. We have additional evidence from what is here said of the cause or source of it, that the joy attributed to the saints has no admixture of bad feeling. It is noticeable from the way in which this verse runs, that David would now seem to ascribe to all, without exception, the sentiment which before he imputed exclusively to the righteous. But the acknowledgement immediately subjoined is one which could only come from the saints who have an eye to observe the divine dispensations; and I am, therefore, of opinion that they are specially alluded to in the expression, And a man shall say, etc At the same time, this mode of speech may imply that many, whose minds had been staggered, would be established in the faith. The righteous only are intended, but the indefinite form of speaking is adopted to denote their numbers. It is well known how many there are whose faith is apt to be shaken by apparent inequalities and perplexities in the divine administration, but who rally courage, and undergo a complete change of views, when the arm of God is bared in the manifestation of his judgments. At such a time the acknowledgement expressed in this verse is widely and extensively adopted, as Isaiah declares,
“
When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness,” (Isa 26:9.)
The Hebrew particle אך , ach, which we have translated verily, occasionally denotes simple affirmation, but is generally intensitive, and here implies the contrast between that unbelief which we are tempted to feel when God has suspended the exercise of his judgments, and the confidence with which we are inspired when he executes them. Thus the particles which are repeated in the verse imply that men would put away that hesitancy which is apt to steal upon their minds when God forbears the infliction of the punishment of sin, and, as it were, correct themselves for the error into which they had been seduced. Nothing tends more to promote godliness than an intimate and assured persuasion that the righteous shall never lose their reward. Hence the language of Isaiah, “Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings,” (Isa 3:10.) When righteousness is not rewarded, we are disposed to cherish unbelieving fears, and to imagine that God has retired from the government of the world, and is indifferent to its concerns. I shall have an opportunity of treating this point more at large upon the seventy-third psalm.
There is subjoined the reason why the righteous cannot fail to reap the reward of their piety, because God is the judge of the world; it being impossible, on the supposition of the world being ruled by the providence of God, that he should not, sooner or later, distinguish between the good and the evil. He is said more particularly to judge in the earth, because men have sometimes profanely alleged that the government of God is confined to heaven, and the affairs of this world abandoned to blind chance.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
REFLECTIONS
MY soul, pass over and forget all lesser considerations, while perusing this Psalm, to behold Jesus, thy almighty Saviour, beautifully set forth under these Michtams of David. It is true, thou mayest gather much instruction from beholding David’s exercises under ungodly judgment, and similar exercises of the church in all ages upon like occasions, as are here represented. But how flat and uninteresting do all these appear, in comparison with the views afforded of Jesus, in his unequalled meekness under unjust judgment? Who that reads of the mockings and scourgings the Lamb of God went through, and at length hears Pilate’s unjust sentence, can willingly take off his attention to look at the sufferings of others? Surely all, and every part of the oppressions which have taken place among men sink to nothing, when the judgment-hall of Pilate, and the mount of Calvary, arise in contemplation before us? Every heart feels constrained to take up the prophet’s lamentation, and to say, Behold and see, was there ever any sorrow like unto thy sorrow, wherewith the Lord afflicted thee in the day of his fierce anger?
Precious Lamb of God! help me to be continually not only beholding thy sufferings, but connecting with them their blessed effects. Yes, holy Lord, I would behold thee on thy cross, and I would behold thee on thy throne: and in the united view and contemplation, I would desire grace to keep in mind, what the angels told the wondering disciples, that this same Jesus, who is gone into heaven, will come again to judgment, He will come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all that believe. Oh! for grace to be always on the look-out, that when thou shalt, come, my soul may arise with joy unspeakable to hail thy coming, and in thy righteousness to be found waiting thy approach, that the Lord my righteous Judge may give me at that day the crown of glory, as well as all them that love thy appearing.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 58:11 So that a man shall say, Verily [there is] a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
Ver. 11. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward ] Not the religious only, but the rational, Passim et palam haec duo profitebuntur, shall everywhere, and all abroad, say, as here,
There is a reward
Verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the righteous = the righteous one.
He is a God: or, There is a God, judges in the earth [will say]. Note the Introversion in this verse.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Verily there is: Psa 73:13-15, Psa 92:15, Mal 3:14, Rom 2:5
a reward for: Heb. fruit of the, etc. Isa 3:10, Rom 6:21, Rom 6:22
verily he: Psa 9:16, Psa 64:9, Psa 67:4, Psa 33:18, Psa 96:13, Psa 98:9, Mal 2:17, 2Pe 3:4-10
Reciprocal: Gen 15:1 – and thy Gen 18:25 – Shall Exo 10:2 – that ye Exo 34:7 – that will by no means clear the guilty Deu 4:35 – know Deu 6:22 – before Jdg 5:31 – So let Jdg 9:56 – God rendered Jdg 16:28 – that I may Rth 2:12 – recompense 1Sa 25:39 – Blessed 1Ki 20:28 – therefore will 1Ki 21:19 – In the place 2Ch 15:7 – your work 2Ch 23:21 – General 2Ch 24:23 – princes Job 19:29 – that ye may Job 34:26 – in Psa 7:7 – So Psa 18:20 – rewarded Psa 21:13 – so will Psa 35:9 – General Psa 36:12 – There Psa 37:10 – thou Psa 52:6 – laugh Psa 54:7 – and mine Psa 75:7 – God Psa 79:10 – let him Psa 91:8 – Only Psa 94:15 – But Psa 107:42 – righteous Pro 11:10 – when Ecc 5:8 – thou seest Isa 14:16 – shall narrowly Isa 26:9 – for Isa 49:26 – and all Isa 66:24 – and look Jer 51:48 – the heaven Eze 25:14 – and they shall know Eze 30:8 – shall know Eze 36:35 – they shall Mal 1:5 – The Lord Mal 3:18 – discern Mat 5:12 – for great Rom 3:5 – Is God Rom 11:22 – therefore Heb 11:6 – a rewarder Rev 6:10 – dost
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 58:11. So that a man shall say, &c. These administrations of Divine Providence shall be so evident and convincing, that not only good men shall be sensible thereof, but any man that sees them; yea, even such as were apt to doubt of Gods providence shall, upon this eminent occasion, be ready to exclaim, Now I see that religion is not a vain and unprofitable thing, and that there is a God who at present observes and governs, and, when he sees fit judges the inhabitants of the earth; and will hereafter judge the whole world in righteousness, and recompense every man according to his works.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
58:11 So that a man shall say, {k} Verily [there is] a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
(k) Seeing God governs all by his providence, he must put a difference between the godly and the wicked.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Taking the longer view, the just would find encouragement to continue trusting in the Lord because He punished the wicked rulers. They would renew their purpose to continue to obey Him.
Why did David not punish the unjust judges in Israel himself? He certainly had the authority to do so since he was the king. Perhaps he did punish them. This psalm shows that as Israel’s king, David looked to Yahweh as the ultimate authority in Israel. David’s view of his own relationship to Yahweh was proper and admirable. Even though he had the authority to punish the wicked, he still looked to God as the Person who had final authority over them, and he appealed to Him to act.
Believers should pray about unjust rulers and ask God to deal with them righteously. Even when we have the authority to punish them, we should still look to God as the ultimate authority (sovereign) and express our submission to His will by praying.