Psalms for a Pandemic Summer 6 Psalm 58

Psalm 58

 

Does the nature or nurture debate extend to morality?  Psalm 58 claims that some people are born evil. I once lived in a good neighbourhood full of kind and considerate families.  In one home there was a child whose mental health problems were leading to violent actions even at the age of ten.  The parents were devastated, mortified, conflicted and confused.  The rest of us struggled with how to be understanding yet keep our children safe. 

I have heard people claim that the virus is God's judgment on the world for its sins, or God's way of dealing with over-population.  This is not a God I would worship.  

How do we rationalize the presence of suffering and evil in God’s good world?  The Psalms just accept its reality and pray for release and hope for redemption.

Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?    Do you judge people fairly? 2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;     your hands deal out violence on earth. 3 The wicked go astray from the womb;     they err from their birth, speaking lies. 4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,     like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter. 6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;  tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! 7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; like grass let them be trodden down and wither. 8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime; like the untimely birth that never sees the sun. 10 The righteous will rejoice when they see     vengeance done; they will bathe their feet in the blood  of the wicked. 11 People will say, “Surely there is a reward  for the righteous;      surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

You who think you are in control,    are you truly wise? Do you judge people fairly? No, you devise corruption    and deal out violence, You have been wicked from birth, speaking lies     and turning a deaf ear to the truth.   O God, tear out the fangs of those wicked lions    when they are young; let them vanish like water in the desert; let them be trodden down like grass on the beaten path; let them be like snail that dissolves into slime;  let them be stillborn.   The righteous will rejoice when the wicked    are punished; they will dance on their graves. They will finally know that evil doesn’t pay,  that they will be rewarded for their goodness and that God is good and just.    Photo by Ali Yahyn (unsplash)