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WHEN LIFE IS A ZOO (Psalm 58)

Life is a zoo at times, and feel as though animals are running wild.

I have been truly amazed at the number of psalms in which David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, used animals as a picture of what was going on in the world around him and of what God was doing. We saw this in our previous psalm, which pictured his enemy as a lion.

Look at the first verse 1-2 of Psalm 58. “Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the earth.”

This passage describes people who are going through religious motions but whose hearts are full of sin. It sounds a great deal like what passes for Christianity in our world today. Many people say all of the right things with their mouths while disguising their wicked hearts.

Verse 3: “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” This is a reference to man’s sin nature, which is within him from birth. We saw it in Psalm 51:5 as well: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

We are all born sinners, but the wicked start on that course and stay on it.

Verse 4 begins, “Their poison is like the poison of a serpent.” There is the first animal reference in this psalm, and it is a reptile; a snake in the grass.

We know that the first time Satan channeled through a living creature in Scripture, it was the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). He is referred to in Revelation 12:9 as “that old serpent, called the Devil.”

As sinners, when we follow satan's path, we spew the same poison that he does. We become his mouthpiece.

Verse 4 concludes, “they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear.” Here is another snake. Not only is there poison coming out of the mouth, but truth is not allowed to come in through the ears. They don’t want to hear the truth or speak the truth.

Verse 5: “Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.” Have you ever seen a picture of a snake charmer using music to control a serpent? Here it doesn’t work, and it is an illustration of how nothing can control the sin nature. Only God can tame the poison of a wicked heart.

Verse 6: “Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord.” We saw lions portrayed in Psalm 57, but what is the significance here of the young lions? It is a reference to the lion that simply will not give up, having enough energy and ferocity to keep pursuing and attacking.

Verse 7: “Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.” Do you ever feel like the world just keeps after you and Satan is unrelenting? Be encouraged by remembering that God can take care of them.

Verse 8: “As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.” Here is the third animal depicted in this chapter, the snail.

Do you see the digression? A serpent is considered intelligent and sly, capable of doing whatever needs to get done. The lion projects an image of strength. But God shows us here that in the end, they are like snails which melt away.

The serpent reminds us of the enemies’ poison.

The lion reminds us of their fierceness.

The snail is a reminder of how they are only temporary. They will not last.

Verse 9: “Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.” Look at these verses again. This is the end of the wicked.

Psalm 58 is known as an imprecatory prayer - literally a prayer against one’s enemies. It is a prayer of judgment.

Keep in mind, this is not as simple as praying for bad things to happen to someone you don’t like. In David’s mind, it wasn’t so much that they were his enemies as they were God’s enemies — enemies of truth and right. Imprecatory prayers are to be used against Satan and those who serve him.

If you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, it doesn’t matter what it looks like to you right now or what others think and say. All that matters is the truth revealed in God’s Word.

Years ago I heard a man sing a song that has stayed with me all these years. Its title is “I’m On The Winning Side.” If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, that is your position today.

Psalm 58 does not end with the wicked. It ends with the righteous.

Verses 10-11: “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.”

You might be wondering today if everything you’re going through is worth it. I want to tell you that it certainly is. It pays to serve God. It pays both now, and for all eternity. The Bible speaks of eternal dividends when we see Jesus Christ face to face.

If you are feeling defeated, know that you are “more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Roman 8:37). At the end of this psalm, at the end of your story and at the end of time, the righteous will have victory. Our Captain, the One who leads us, has already overcome.

Psalm 58 should bring you up, not down. The Christian life should be an ever-ascending life. There are down moments, discouraging things and difficult people to deal with. But if you can get your mind off all that and back on the Lord, you can find the courage and strength to keep moving forward by His grace.

Forget the serpent, the lion and the snail. Get your eyes on the God who is greater than all of them. May the Lord help you, when life is a zoo, to put yourself in His hands.