Week 26 Psalm 58
David’s opener is a question-and-answer:
Q: do you rulers really pronounce just decisions? Do you judge people fairly?’
A: No! You plan how to do what is unjust, you deal out violence in the earth.
He’s talking to the people who get to administer justice. Officials who make decisions and have authorization to lay-down-the-law.
There are a couple of things in-play when it comes to justice. There’s the law code itself. Then there’s the person who applies the law – the Legal Umpire. When there’s an injustice problem – let’s say I get assaulted & robbed – then that needs to be resolved. So the umpire listens to the evidence and then interprets the law and makes decisions & rulings & judgments. When the umpire is impartial then justice-is-served.
But in psalm 58 David is talking about a certain type of umpire who isn’t impartial. A partisan judge. Someone who: a) plans how to do what is unjust & then b) administers violence in the earth. So that’s a concern for me in my assault-&-robbery case: what if I end up getting a Psalm 58 umpire?
David reassures me that in the end there is a God who judges in the earth – an Umpire of the umpires. But while I wait for the slow turning of the wheels-of-justice I have to build stamina. Recognize justice’s limitations. Concede that I might not get a fair-shake. Endure the way things actually are.
Note: quotes from Psalm 58:1-2 & 11 (NET)