John Gill Commentary Psalms 58

Do you indeed speak righteousness, O congregation ?
&c.] Of the mighty, as in (Psalms 82:1) ; the judges of the land, who were many, and therefore called a congregation, as it is necessary they should; for, being many, they are not so easily bribed; and besides, one may see that in a cause which another does not. The word signifies a "sheaf"; and so it is by some rendered, to which a bench or assembly of judges may be compared; because consisting of many, and a select body, who should unite together in a sentence or decree, and act uprightly, like a sheaf of wheat standing upright; see (Genesis 37:7) ;

Some think the word has the signification of dumbness, or silence; so Jarchi and R. Moses ^F21 ; as "elem" in (Psalms 56:1) , title, and render it, "do you indeed speak dumb justice?" or "the dumbness of justice" ^F23 ; or are you dumb, or your mouth silent, when you should speak righteousness? and so the psalmist accuses them for their criminal silence, in not contradicting Saul and his courtiers when they spoke against him; and for not advising him to another kind of conduct towards him.

All men ought to speak that which is right and truth; but especially judges on the bench, who are to judge the people with just judgment, (Deuteronomy 16:18) ; but here this is doubted of, and called in question; at least their sincerity in giving judgment: yea, it is denied; for this interrogation carries in it a strong denial; and the meaning is, that they did not speak righteousness, or that which was just and right in the cause of David, when before them;

do you judge uprightly, O you sons of men ?
no, they did not; they were unjust judges. The psalmist calls them "the sons of men", as in (1 Samuel 26:19) , in distinction from God the Judge of all, and to put them in mind of their frailty and mortality; for though they were gods by office, they were but men, and should die like men, and be accountable to the supreme Judge for all their proceedings in judgment here, (Psalms 82:1Psalms 82:6Psalms 82:7) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F21: In Aben Ezra in loc.
• F23: So Varenius, Reinbech, Michaelis.

Yea, in heart you work wickedness
So far were they from speaking righteousness, and judging uprightly. The heart of man is wickedness itself;it is desperately wicked, and is the shop in which all wickedness is wrought; for sinful acts are committedthere as well as by the tongue and hand, as follows.

This phrase also denotes their sinning; not withprecipitancy, and through surprise; but with premeditation and deliberation; and their doing it heartily,with good will, and with allowance, and their continuance and constant persisting in it;

you weigh the violence of your hands in the earth ;
they were guilty of acts of violence and oppression, which, of all men, judges should not be guilty of; whosebusiness it is to plead the cause of the injured and oppressed, to right their wrongs, and to protect anddefend them:

these they pretended to weigh in the balance of justice and equity, and committed them under ashow of righteousness; they decreed unrighteous decrees, and framed mischief by a law; and this they didopenly, and everywhere, throughout the whole land.

The wicked are estranged from the womb
Which original corruption of nature accounts for all the wickedness done by men: they are conceived in sin, shapen in iniquity, and are transgressors from the womb; they are alienated from God, and from that godly life which is agreeable to him, and he requires; and from the knowledge and fear of him, and love to him; and they desire not the knowledge of him nor his ways; they are far from his law, and averse to it; and still more so to the Gospel of Christ; the doctrines of which, as well as the great things written in the law, are strange things to them.

And they are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, estranged from the people of God, know nothing of them, neither of their joys, nor of their sorrows;

they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies ;
they are wicked from their infancy, from their youth upward; and sin, which is meant by "going astray", as soon as they are capable of it, and which is very early. Sin soon appears in the temper and actions of then; they go out of God's way, and turn everyone to their own way, and walk in the broad road which leads to destruction: and particularly they are very early guilty of lying; as soon as they can speak, and before they can speak plain, they lisp out lies, which they learn from their father the devil, who is the father of lies.

And so they continue all their days strangers to divine things, going astray from God, the God of truth, continually doing abominations and speaking lies; which continuance in these things makes the difference between reprobate men and God's elect; for though the latter are the same by nature as the former, yet their natures are restrained, before conversion, from going into all the sins they are inclined to; and if not, yet at conversion a stop is put to their progress in iniquity.

Their poison [is] like the poison of a serpent
Either their "wrath" and fury, as the word ^F24 may be rendered, against God, his people, and even one another, is like that of a serpent when irritated and provoked; or their mischievous and devouring words are like the poison of asps under their lips, (Romans 3:13); or the malignity of sin in them is here meant, which, like the poison of a serpent, is latent, hid, and lurking in them; is very infectious to all the powers and faculties of the soul, and members of the body; and is deadly and incurable, without the grace of God and blood of Christ;

[they are] like the deaf adder [that] stoppeth her ear ;
the adder is a kind of serpent, in Hebrew called "pethen"; hence the serpent "Python". This is not, deaf naturally, otherwise it would have no need to stop its ear, but of choice; and naturalists ^F25 observe, that it is quicker of hearing than of sight. Jarchi indeed says, when it grows old it becomes deaf in one of its ears, and it stops its other ear with dust, that it may not hear the voice of the charmer; though others say ^F26 it stops one ear with its tail, and lays the other to the ground; but these seem fabulous. David speaks of it figuratively, that it acts as if it was deaf, regarding no enchantments, but bites notwithstanding; these having no influence on it, which, if they had any, could not be hindered by its deafness; and he compares wicked men to it, who are wilfully deaf to all good counsel and advice given them ^F1 .

FOOTNOTES:

• F24: (tmx) (yumov) , Sept. "furor", V. L.
• F25: Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 23.
• F1: Vid. Gataker. Adversaria, c. 8. p. 70

Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers
Or "that use enchantments", to enchant serpents, by muttering certain words, or by magical songs; by which means it is said that they have been drawn out of their holes, or caused to fly, or have become stupefied, and have lost their poison, and even burst asunder; as Bochart ^F2 relates from Pliny, Aelianus, Lucan, Isidore, Virgil, Ovid, Horace, and others: but an "asp" is unmoved by enchantments, and they are of no avail against its bites and poison ^F3 . Nor do these words suppose that the psalmist approved of enchantments, or affirms the virtue of them to be real, but rather suggests the contrary; he only takes his similitude from the seeming deafness and disregard of serpents to enchantments, to set forth the obstinacy of wicked men: and their resolution to continue in their wicked ways; like the serpent that disregards men:

charming never so wisely ;
being "wise, skilful" ^F4 , or made wise in enchanting enchantments; one very learned and expert in the art; or in "associating associations, skilful" ^F5 : who makes a consort of magical words to obtain his point, as some think; or because by his enchantments he associates and gathers many serpents together, and tames them; or because he does this by society and fellowship with the devil; methods no ways approved of by the psalmist, only alluded to. It may perhaps better be rendered, "which will not hearken to the voice of the eloquent, putting things together ever so wisely": the word is used for an eloquent orator, (Isaiah 3:3) . Such Gospel ministers are, who are mighty in the Scriptures. The voice of the Gospel is a charming voice; it publishes good news and glad tidings; it is a voice of love, grace, and mercy, of peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation by Christ; and is wisely charmed when it gives no uncertain sound, is all of a piece, and is faithfully preached, as it was by the apostles of Christ; who, as wise men, laid him as the foundation of eternal life and salvation; and especially as it was preached by Christ himself, who spoke as never man did: and yet, such were the hardness and obstinacy of the wicked Jews, that they stopped their ears to his ministry, nor would they suffer others to attend upon it; and so it is now:

which shows the insufficiency of the best means of themselves, and the necessity of powerful and efficacious grace, to work upon the hearts of men.

FOOTNOTES:

• F2: Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 2. c. 6. col. 390.
• F3: Aelian. de Animal. l. 1. c. 54.
• F4: (Mkxm Myrbx rbwx) "incantantis incantationem periti", Vatablus; "vel incantationes exercitati ac peritissimi", Michaelis; "of him that is made wise", Ainsworth.
• F5: "Jungentis conjunctiones docti", Montanus; "consociantis societates serpentum", Michaelis.