{"id":70318,"date":"2023-07-12T15:16:03","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T07:16:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/?p=70318"},"modified":"2023-07-14T14:02:48","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T06:02:48","slug":"heavenly-devotion-psalm-58-we-want-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/heavenly-devotion-psalm-58-we-want-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavenly Devotion: Psalm 58 &#8211; &#8220;We Want Justice!&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Crab63bi9ps\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p id=\"E981\" class=\"qowt-stl-Heading1 x-scope qowt-word-para-0\"><strong><span id=\"E982\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\" style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 24pt;\">Psalm 58 &#8211; We want justice!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"E985\" class=\"x-scope qowt-word-para-1\"><span id=\"E986\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\" style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">(Written by Phillips Koh)<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"E987\" class=\"x-scope qowt-word-para-1\"><span id=\"E988\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\" style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">This meditation is on Psalm 58 and the title is \u201cWe want justice!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"E989\" class=\"x-scope qowt-word-para-1\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span id=\"E990\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\">Tragically, Jewish survivor <\/span><span id=\"E991\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\">Kitty Hart and <\/span><span id=\"E992\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\">her mother, lost all their extended family members to the gas chambers during World War 2. After the American troops liberated her <\/span><span id=\"E993\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\">Auschwitz<\/span><span id=\"E994\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\"> concentration camp, Kitty was consumed by an inordinate desire for justice and vengeance toward the Germans. But then she realised that doing so would put her at par with the murderous Nazis. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"E995\" class=\"x-scope qowt-word-para-1\"><span id=\"E996\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\" style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Aghast that King Saul is trying to exterminate him, David, the author of Psalm 58, cries out for justice too (vv. 1-2). He also invokes God to reduce the power of the wicked to harm others (vv. 6-7). Do you and I pray that injustice and unfairness would be minimised in our own country as well?<\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"E997\" class=\"x-scope qowt-word-para-1\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span id=\"E998\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\">Next, David employs grotesque language in how evil people should be treated: \u201c<\/span><span id=\"E999\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\">the righteous bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked<\/span><span id=\"E1000\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\">.\u201d (v. 10). So, should we gloat over the fate of the wicked like David? Not really. Here David is just expressing his honest, raw emotion for vengeance to God, rather than a literal wish. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"E1001\" class=\"x-scope qowt-word-para-1\"><span id=\"E1002\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\" style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Finally, David finds the resolution to his justice cry by remembering the inexorable law of divine retribution (v. 11). This brings much comfort to David, after being hunted like an animal by King Saul. Likewise do we rest peacefully on this truth that God will execute immediate, delayed, or ultimate justice on all wrongdoings one day?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p id=\"E981\" class=\"qowt-stl-Heading1 x-scope qowt-word-para-0\"><strong><span id=\"E-122\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\" style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Let&#8217;s Read Psalm 58<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"E1006\" class=\"qowt-stl-line x-scope qowt-word-para-3\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span id=\"E1007\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">1\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1008\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">Do you rulers indeed speak justly?<\/span><span id=\"E1010\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1011\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1012\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">Do you judge people with equity?<\/span><span id=\"E1014\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1015\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">2\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1016\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">No, in your heart you devise injustice,<\/span><span id=\"E1018\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1019\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1020\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">and your hands mete out violence on the earth.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"E1021\" class=\"x-scope qowt-word-para-3 qowt-stl-line x-scope qowt-word-para-3\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span id=\"E1022\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">3\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1023\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">Even from birth the wicked go astray;<\/span><span id=\"E1025\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1026\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1027\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.<\/span><span id=\"E1029\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1030\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">4\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1031\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">Their venom is like the venom of a snake,<\/span><span id=\"E1033\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1034\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1035\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,<\/span><span id=\"E1037\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1038\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">5\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1040\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">that will not heed\u00a0the tune of the charmer,<\/span><span id=\"E1042\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1043\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1044\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">however skillful the enchanter may be.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"E1045\" class=\"qowt-stl-line x-scope qowt-word-para-3\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span id=\"E1046\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">6\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1047\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;<\/span><span id=\"E1049\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1050\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1051\" class=\"qowt-stl-small-caps\">Lord<\/span><span id=\"E1052\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">, tear out the fangs of those lions!<\/span><span id=\"E1054\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1055\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">7\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1056\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">Let them vanish like water that flows away;<\/span><span id=\"E1058\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1059\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1060\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.<\/span><span id=\"E1062\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1063\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">8\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1064\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,<\/span><span id=\"E1066\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1067\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1068\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">like a stillborn child\u00a0that never sees the sun.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p id=\"E1069\" class=\"qowt-stl-line x-scope qowt-word-para-3\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><span id=\"E1070\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">9\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1071\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns\u2014<\/span><span id=\"E1073\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1074\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1075\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">whether they be green or dry\u2014the wicked will be swept away.<\/span><span id=\"E1076\"> <\/span><span id=\"E1078\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1079\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">10\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1080\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">The righteous will be glad\u00a0when they are avenged,<\/span><span id=\"E1082\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1083\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1084\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.<\/span><span id=\"E1086\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1087\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">11\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1088\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">Then people will say,<\/span><span id=\"E1090\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1091\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1092\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">\u201cSurely the righteous still are rewarded;<\/span><span id=\"E1094\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span id=\"E1095\" class=\"qowt-stl-indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span id=\"E1096\" class=\"qowt-stl-text\">surely there is a God who judges the earth.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Let&#8217;s Pray,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p id=\"E1100\" class=\"x-scope qowt-word-para-1\"><span id=\"E1101\" class=\"qowt-font2-TimesNewRoman\" style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">God, help us to remember that you will set everything right one day. Therefore grant us the patience to wait for the execution of your perfect justice upon all wrong doers. In the Name of Jesus your Son. Amen.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"contentsContainer\" class=\"style-scope qowt-page\">\n<div class=\"style-scope qowt-page\">\n<p><em style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">This devotional was kindly contributed by Dr. Chow Li Sze and her channel Heavenly Devotion. You may find the channel at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/HeavenlyDevotion\/videos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/HeavenlyDevotion\/videos<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>About the Heavenly Devotion channel<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><em>The Heavenly Devotion channel is dedicated to encouraging you to listen to Bible Scriptures and pray with the Scriptures. They are inspired by the call of service as expressed and exemplified by Apostle Paul in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2%20Corinthians%209%3A12-15&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2 Corinthians 9:12-15<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;\">\u201cFor the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.\u201d (<strong>Hebrew 4:12 NKJV<\/strong>)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 24pt; color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>|Share The Good News|<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Psalm 58 &#8211; We want justice! (Written by Phillips Koh) This meditation is on Psalm 58 and the title is \u201cWe want justice!\u201d Tragically, Jewish survivor Kitty Hart and her mother, lost all their extended <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/heavenly-devotion-psalm-58-we-want-justice\/\" title=\"Heavenly Devotion: Psalm 58 &#8211; &#8220;We Want Justice!&#8221;\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":70319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2202],"tags":[11587,10701,11135,11487,11137],"class_list":{"0":"post-70318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-video","8":"tag-finding-refuge-in-god","9":"tag-gods-covering-and-justice","10":"tag-heavenly-devotion","11":"tag-phillips-koh","12":"tag-psalms"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70318"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70321,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70318\/revisions\/70321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianitymalaysia.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}