Psalm 58:2 Study Bible: No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.

◄ Psalm 58:2 ►

No, in your hearts you devise injustice; with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.

No, in your hearts you devise injustice;
This phrase addresses the internal motivations and intentions of the wicked. The heart, in biblical terms, often represents the center of human will and emotion (Jeremiah 17:9). The accusation of devising injustice suggests a deliberate and premeditated plan to act unrighteously, contrasting with God's call for justice and righteousness (Micah 6:8). This reflects the broader biblical theme of the heart's condition being crucial to one's relationship with God (1 Samuel 16:7). The psalmist's rebuke here aligns with the prophetic tradition of condemning leaders and judges who pervert justice (Isaiah 10:1-2).

with your hands you mete out violence on the earth.
The hands symbolize action and the execution of one's plans. The phrase "mete out violence" indicates the tangible manifestation of the injustice conceived in the heart. This reflects the biblical principle that evil thoughts lead to evil actions (James 1:14-15). The mention of "on the earth" emphasizes the widespread impact of such violence, affecting the community and creation itself. This echoes the biblical narrative of the earth suffering due to human sin (Genesis 6:11-12). The psalmist's lament here can be seen as a call for divine justice, anticipating the ultimate judgment and restoration promised in scripture (Revelation 21:1-4).

Persons / Places / Events

1. David
Traditionally attributed as the author of this Psalm, David often wrote about justice and the wickedness he observed in the world.

2. The Wicked Judges/Rulers
The Psalm addresses corrupt leaders who pervert justice and use their power to commit acts of violence.

3. The Earth
Represents the realm where these injustices and acts of violence are carried out, affecting the lives of many.

Teaching Points

The Heart's Role in Justice
The verse highlights that injustice begins in the heart. Believers are called to examine their own hearts and ensure they align with God's standards of justice.

The Consequences of Injustice
Injustice leads to violence and chaos on earth. Christians are encouraged to be agents of peace and justice in their communities.

God's View on Leadership
Leaders are held to a high standard of justice. Those in positions of authority should lead with integrity and righteousness.

Personal Responsibility
While the Psalm addresses leaders, it also serves as a reminder that all individuals have a role in promoting justice and righteousness.

Prayer for Justice
Believers are encouraged to pray for justice in their communities and for leaders to act righteously.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does Psalm 58:2 challenge us to examine our own hearts regarding justice and righteousness?

2. In what ways can we, as individuals, contribute to justice in our communities, even if we are not in positions of power?

3. How do the themes of justice and violence in Psalm 58:2 relate to the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to support leaders who promote justice and righteousness?

5. How can we incorporate prayer for justice into our daily spiritual practices, and what specific issues should we focus on in our prayers?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Psalm 82
This Psalm also addresses unjust rulers and calls them to defend the weak and the fatherless, highlighting God's concern for justice.

Proverbs 21:15
Discusses the joy of justice for the righteous and terror for evildoers, emphasizing the moral order God desires.

Isaiah 59:4-8
Describes a society where justice is absent, and violence prevails, echoing the themes of Psalm 58.

Micah 6:8
Calls for justice, mercy, and humility, providing a contrast to the behavior of the wicked described in Psalm 58.

Matthew 23:23
Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness, aligning with the critique of leaders in Psalm 58.

Sermons

Sin in the Heart	N. Jones.	Psalm 58:2
A Bold Protest Against Unrighteous Judges	C. Short	Psalm 58:1-11
Faith in Righteousness	J. Stalker, D. D.	Psalm 58:1-11
Man in Many Aspects	Homilist	Psalm 58:1-11
The Perversion of Justice	Plutarch.	Psalm 58:1-11
Unjust Judges	W. Forsyth	Psalm 58:1-11

People

David, Psalmist, Saul

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Cruel, Deal, Devise, Doings, Evil, Full, Hands, Heart, Hearts, Iniquities, Injustice, Measure, Mete, Nay, Plot, Ponder, Purposes, Unrighteousness, Violence, Weigh, Wickedness, Wrongs, Yea, Yes

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Psalm 58:2

5156 hand

Psalm 58:1-2

5346 injury
5568 suffering, causes

Library

Of Internal Acts
Of Internal Acts Acts are distinguished into External and Internal. External acts are those which bear relation to some sensible object, and are either morally good or evil, merely according to the nature of the principle from which they proceed. I intend here to speak only of Internal acts, those energies of the soul, by which it turns internally to some objects, and averts from others. If during my application to God I should form a will to change the nature of my act, I thereby withdraw myself …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

Epistle vi. To Januarius, Bishop of Caralis (Cagliari).
To Januarius, Bishop of Caralis (Cagliari). Gregory to Januarius, &c. The Jews who have come hither from your city have complained to us that Peter, who has been brought by the will of God from their superstition to the worship of Christian faith, having taken with him certain disorderly persons, on the day after his baptism, that is on the Lord's day of the very Paschal festival, with grave scandal and without your consent, had taken possession of their synagogue in Caralis, and placed there the …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Peaceable Principles and True: Or, a Brief Answer to Mr. D'Anver's and Mr. Paul's Books against My Confession of Faith, and Differences in Judgment About Baptism no Bar to Communion.
WHEREIN THEIR SCRIPTURELESS NOTIONS ARE OVERTHROWN, AND MY PEACEABLE PRINCIPLES STILL MAINTAINED. 'Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?'--Psalm 58:1 SIR, I have received and considered your short reply to my differences in judgment about water baptism no bar to communion; and observe, that you touch not the argument at all: but rather labour what you can, and beyond what you ought, to throw odiums upon your brother for reproving you for your error, …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Faith the Sole Saving Act.
JOHN vi. 28, 29.--"Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." In asking their question, the Jews intended to inquire of Christ what particular things they must do, before all others, in order to please God. The "works of God," as they denominate them, were not any and every duty, but those more special and important acts, by which the creature might secure …
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Augustin's Part in the Controversy.
Both by nature and by grace, Augustin was formed to be the champion of truth in this controversy. Of a naturally philosophical temperament, he saw into the springs of life with a vividness of mental perception to which most men are strangers; and his own experiences in his long life of resistance to, and then of yielding to, the drawings of God's grace, gave him a clear apprehension of the great evangelic principle that God seeks men, not men God, such as no sophistry could cloud. However much his …
St. Augustine—Anti-Pelagian Writings

Moral Depravity.
VIII. Let us consider the proper method of accounting for the universal and total moral depravity of the unregenerate moral agents of our race. In the discussion of this subject, I will-- 1. Endeavor to show how it is not to be accounted for. In examining this part of the subject, it is necessary to have distinctly in view that which constitutes moral depravity. All the error that has existed upon this subject, has been founded in false assumptions in regard to the nature or essence of moral depravity. …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

An Address to the Regenerate, Founded on the Preceding Discourses.
James I. 18. James I. 18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. I INTEND the words which I have now been reading, only as an introduction to that address to the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, with which I am now to conclude these lectures; and therefore shall not enter into any critical discussion, either of them, or of the context. I hope God has made the series of these discourses, in some measure, useful to those …
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

The Necessity of Actual Grace
In treating of the necessity of actual grace we must avoid two extremes. The first is that mere nature is absolutely incapable of doing any thing good. This error was held by the early Protestants and the followers of Baius and Jansenius. The second is that nature is able to perform supernatural acts by its own power. This was taught by the Pelagians and Semipelagians. Between these two extremes Catholic theology keeps the golden mean. It defends the capacity of human nature against Protestants and …
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

The Mystery
Of the Woman dwelling in the Wilderness. The woman delivered of a child, when the dragon was overcome, from thenceforth dwelt in the wilderness, by which is figured the state of the Church, liberated from Pagan tyranny, to the time of the seventh trumpet, and the second Advent of Christ, by the type, not of a latent, invisible, but, as it were, an intermediate condition, like that of the lsraelitish Church journeying in the wilderness, from its departure from Egypt, to its entrance into the land …
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

The Justice of God
The next attribute is God's justice. All God's attributes are identical, and are the same with his essence. Though he has several attributes whereby he is made known to us, yet he has but one essence. A cedar tree may have several branches, yet it is but one cedar. So there are several attributes of God whereby we conceive of him, but only one entire essence. Well, then, concerning God's justice. Deut 32:4. Just and right is he.' Job 37:23. Touching the Almighty, we cannot find him out: he is excellent …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Wrath of God
What does every sin deserve? God's wrath and curse, both in this life, and in that which is to come. Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.' Matt 25: 41. Man having sinned, is like a favourite turned out of the king's favour, and deserves the wrath and curse of God. He deserves God's curse. Gal 3: 10. As when Christ cursed the fig-tree, it withered; so, when God curses any, he withers in his soul. Matt 21: 19. God's curse blasts wherever it comes. He deserves also God's wrath, which is …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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