Psalm 58 is a cry for justice. The feeling of injustice, and the anger that accompanies it, is quite natural. When we look at the evil that takes place in the world, we should feel disturbed. And, when we feel disturbed, we should express this in constructive ways towards God. The psalms of justice like Psalm 58 give us a language of faith with which to express everything we feel, not least our anger at evil and injustice. God is grieved by what happens in the world and he is doing something about it. When we bring our grief and anger to God we connect with his grief, and we also are reminded about what he is doing about this situation. The psalms have a strong anticipatory perspective in them, that is, they anticipate with longing, the very things that God is doing. This is called ‘hope’. Hope is the longing for what God has promised to do but hasn’t done yet. Paul says in Romans 8:24 that we are saved through our hope. Hope wrests us away from a love of this world as it is and causes us to connect with what God is doing. This then aligns our hearts with what God wants to do. The psalms of justice like Psalm 58 are looking forward ultimately to the return of Christ when he will come to purge the earth of all evil. To live in anticipation of this event is the right orientation for our hearts. Come Lord Jesus!
Reflect and pray about what is happening in the world today that particularly disturbs you.
Read Psalm 58 and Romans 8:18-27.
