Psalms 58:1

“The wicked are estranged from the womb”

Psalms 58:1-3 says, “Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? Do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth. The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”

These verses are a way of describing the sinfulness of all mankind. Man is born in sin. Since Adam and Eve fell in the garden of Eden it is simply the consequences to their actions. Even though all men are born with a sinful nature there still remains the freedom of choice. Some men from the womb go astray these verses say. In other words some people follow the path of evil from the time they are very young. This being true the opposite is also true. Some people, very few turn to Jesus at a young age.

The prime example of this is John the Baptist. It says of Him in the gospel of Luke chapter 1:41-44, “And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And when is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine eyes, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”

Perhaps this is one of the reasons John the Baptist became such a great Christian. He started out at an early age. Unfortunately most people start out at an early age down the path of sin and selfishness.

The next several verses give more detail about wicked men Psalms 58:4-5 says, “Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.” Their words and deeds are poisonous in the way they influence other people and they are the kind of people who do not listen to the truth when it is spoken.

Psalms 58:6-9 “Break their teth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows let them be as cut in pieces. As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in His wrath.” In other words there does come a time when God will eventually judge the wicked and punish them for their evil. Evil cannot go on forever God is holy. When God does decide to destroy the wicked it is a complete and thorough destruction that is what is being described here. Oh if only the wicked would repent of their sins and turn to the love of Jesus Christ.

Psalms 58:10, “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily He is a God that judgeth in the earth.” The word vengeance is not a word that means unjust revenge. It is just to rejoice in the vengeance of God because God is holy and what God does is just and holy.

But notice even amidst judgment the kind of language that is used here, “he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.” Christ became sin for us when he hung on the cross and took upon himself our sins and the vengeance of God. Christ became the wicked. Are you washed in the blood of the lamb.

Psalms 58:11 says, “So a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily He is a God that judgeth in the earth.” You will reap what you sow in life. If you sow sin and evil then you will eventually reap the judgment of God. If you sow righteousness you will eventually reap good rewards.

This verse implies that many people doubt that God actually judges men. After all people live their lives and nothing happens they all things continue as they have before, they see no changes. But these verses make it very clear that judgment is coming on the wicked it would be wise to repent of your sins today. Turn to Christ find forgiveness and salvation and eternal life.

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