For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; a prayer of David.
David wrote this song for the music director of the Levitical choir. The Levites would sing these songs at the feasts of Israel. This song was written to the tune of “the al-tashcheth style,” which was a popular tune of that day. This song includes a prayer of David against unjust judges who were making unrighteous judgments in Israel.
58:1 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions? Do you judge people fairly?
In this song to be sung by the nation, David asked the judges if they were making righteous decisions? When making court decisions, the judges were representative of God on earth. They were supposed to make the same decision which God would make in their place.
58:2 No! You plan how to do what is unjust; you deal out violence in the earth.
The answer to this question was “no.” The judges of Israel were not making righteous decisions. They were using the power of their bench to intentionally execute innocent people. The prophet Micah would later make these same accusations against the judges of Israel.
58:3 The wicked turn aside from birth; liars go astray as soon as they are born.
These wicked judges went astray from birth, speaking lies.
58:4 Their venom is like that of a snake, like a deaf serpent that does not hear, 58:5 that does not respond to the magicians, or to a skilled snake-charmer.
The unrighteous decisions of the judges was like the venom of a deaf snake who could not be charmed. This type of snake bites the charmer, causing him death.
58:6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths! Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord!
David asked God to break the teeth and the jawbones of these unrighteous judges. The judges could not make unjust decisions with broken teeth and broken jawbones.
58:7 Let them disappear like water that flows away! Let them wither like grass!
David asked Jehovah to remove these unrighteous judges from the earth just as water disappears and flows away. He asked that these judges wither like grass.
When a nation establishes laws where judges hold their office for life, then they are placing their nation in peril. Eventually, Satan will get his judge in there for life. The only way for a nation to remove these unrighteous judges is to pray and ask God to remove these judges from office. God can remove these judges in many ways, such as by disease, illness, early retirement, or an invasion by a foreign power.
58:8 Let them be like a snail that melts away as it moves along! Let them be like stillborn babies that never see the sun!
David asked that these unrighteous judges be like snails who melt away and move along. He prayed that these judges would be like stillborn babies who would never see the sun. David was basically asking Jehovah to slay these wicked judges.
58:9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots, he will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat.
Jehovah will sweep away these unrighteous judges very quickly. A fire that burns thorns or brambles dies quickly. Before pots can be placed on the fire, it goes out. God will sweep the wicked judges away before their evil can finish its work.
58:10 The godly will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
When God brings death to these wicked judges, then the godly people will rejoice. The godly people will bathe their feet in the blood of these wicked judges.
58:11 Then observers will say, “Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded! Yes indeed, there is a God who judges in the earth!”
When the observers see the death of these wicked judges, then they will know that there is a God who judges in the earth. The observers are angels, demons, humans, and other created beings.