Daily Devotional Podcasts

491_Surely there is a reward for the righteous Psalm 58 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? 2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. 3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter. 6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! 7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. 8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. 9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! 10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.” A missionary in Africa was persistently opposed by a tribal chief who was deeply involved in traditional occult practices. As the missionary continued to preach the gospel of Christ and sought to do good to the people, he was constantly slandered, threatened, and attacked. Often the attacks came from the tribal council that was supposed to administer justice. At one point, this council was swayed by the chief to falsely accuse the missionary of several crimes. He was publicly humiliated and his work nearly came to a halt. But he refused to give up. He humbly persisted in prayer, entrusting himself to the One who judges justly. Within a few years, the chief fell into disgrace, his rule undone by corruption. Many in the village turned to Christ, including some of those who had once spoken lies against the missionary. One of them, in tears, confessed: “We now know you were speaking the truth all along. Your patience and your faith in God’s justice were your greatest sermon.” Psalm 58 echoes this message. It is the outraged cry of a righteous man against injustice and violence. It is the faith-filled plea of someone who believes, against all appearances, that surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges the earth. The psalm begins with a direct challenge to the wicked authorities of that day. They wielded authority, not to uphold justice, but to perpetuate injustice. “Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?” he asks. “Do you judge the children of man uprightly?” The answer is obvious, as verse 2 says: “No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.” These "gods" are the powerful rulers and judges of his time. They were meant to be stewards of justice under God's authority. However, they had become gods unto