The Terrible Gladness of the Saints Text: Psalm 58:10-11
Introduction: A Gladness That Offends
We live in a sentimental age. Our generation has fashioned for itself a god who is respectable, tame, and, above all, nice. He would never be so rude as to judge anyone, never so uncouth as to have wrath, and certainly never so indecorous as to shed blood. This god is a cosmic therapist whose chief aim is to affirm everyone's life choices. He is, in short, a god made in our own soft, effeminate image. And he is a liar. He is an idol.
Into the midst of this treacly, modern piety, Psalm 58 lands like a hand grenade. This is an imprecatory psalm, a psalm that calls down curses. And it does not just call for judgment; it dares to describe the reaction of the righteous to that judgment. And that reaction is gladness. Not quiet satisfaction, not grim acceptance, but unvarnished, foot-stomping joy. This is a gladness that deeply offends our modern sensibilities. It is a terrible gladness.
Many Christians, when they encounter passages like this, do not know what to do. They try to explain it away, or they suggest that this is the Old Testament God, before He went to finishing school and became the meek and mild Jesus of the New. But this is a profound error. The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the one who inspired these words. The same Spirit who descended like a dove at Jesus' baptism is the one who moved David to write this psalm. To be embarrassed by this psalm is to be embarrassed by God Himself.
We must therefore face this text head-on. We must ask what it means for the righteous to be glad at vengeance, to wash their feet in the blood of the wicked. We must understand that this is not about personal vindictiveness or petty score-settling. This is about a deep, settled, theological joy in the final vindication of God's perfect justice. It is about the universe being set right. And if we cannot rejoice in that, then our hearts are not yet aligned with the heart of God.
The Text
The righteous will be glad when he beholds the vengeance;
He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
And men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who judges on earth!"
(Psalm 58:10-11 LSB)
A Holy Joy in Vengeance (v. 10a)
We begin with the part that causes the most discomfort:
"The righteous will be glad when he beholds the vengeance..." (Psalm 58:10a)
Let us be clear about what this is not. This is not a fleshly glee in the suffering of another human being as such. This is not the petty gloating of a schoolyard bully. The righteous are not glad because someone is in pain; they are glad because God's justice is being displayed. The object of the gladness is not the misery of the wicked, but the manifestation of the vengeance of God.
The word "vengeance" itself makes us nervous. But biblical vengeance is not wild, out-of-control revenge. God's vengeance is simply His justice in motion. It is the restoration of moral order to a world that has been disordered by sin. Paul tells us in Romans, "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord'" (Romans 12:19). We are forbidden from taking personal vengeance precisely because it is God's prerogative. It belongs to Him because He alone can execute it with perfect righteousness, without sin, without malice, and without error.
So, when the righteous see this vengeance, what are they seeing? They are seeing God's promises kept. They are seeing God's holiness vindicated. They are seeing evil finally and decisively dealt with. For generations, the wicked have prospered. They have lied, cheated, murdered, and blasphemed. They have mocked God and oppressed His people, saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" (2 Peter 3:4). The execution of God's vengeance is the definitive answer to that question. It is the public declaration that God is not mocked, that He is not blind, and that His Word is true.
This gladness is what the saints in heaven experience. In Revelation, when Babylon the great prostitute is judged, what is the reaction in heaven? "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of His servants" (Revelation 19:1-2). The saints rejoice because justice has been done. To desire anything less is to desire a universe where evil is never ultimately defeated, where righteousness is never finally vindicated. That is not a desire for mercy; it is a desire for moral chaos.
The Grisly Metaphor of Vindication (v. 10b)
The psalm then uses a shocking, visceral image to drive the point home.
"He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked." (Psalm 58:10b LSB)
This is battlefield language. It describes a warrior walking across the field after a total and complete victory. The enemy has been so thoroughly routed that their blood covers the ground. To "wash his feet" in it is a poetic and graphic way of saying that the righteous man will walk in the aftermath of God's decisive triumph over evil. It signifies his participation in the victory of his King.
This is not a command for us to literally do this. It is a metaphor for total victory and public vindication. For too long, the wicked have been trampling on the righteous. Their lies and injustices have been the mud through which God's people have had to walk. But the day is coming when the tables will be turned completely. God's judgment will be so thorough that the evidence of it will be everywhere. The righteous will no longer be walking through the mire of injustice, but on the firm ground of God's executed righteousness.
We must remember that the ultimate fulfillment of this is found at the cross. On the cross, Jesus Christ, our righteous champion, crushed the head of the serpent. He absorbed the full measure of God's wrath against our sin. In one sense, it was His own blood that was shed. But in that act, He triumphed over all the wicked powers of this world. When He returns, He will be seen as the one whose robe is "dipped in blood," and He will "tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty" (Revelation 19:13, 15). Our vindication is found in His. We walk in the victory that He has already won. This verse is a promise that we will share in the spoils of His conquest.
The Public Verdict (v. 11)
The result of this public and decisive judgment is a universal confession. The debate is over.
"And men will say, 'Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!'" (Psalm 58:11 LSB)
Notice who is speaking here. It is not just the righteous; it is "men." This is the general verdict of mankind. When God finally acts, the moral clarity is so overwhelming that it compels a confession even from the observers. The fog of relativism and skepticism is burned away by the brightness of His coming.
Two great truths will be established beyond all dispute. First, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous." All the years of faithful, unheralded service, all the prayers in secret, all the patient endurance of injustice, all the sacrifices made for the kingdom, none of it was in vain. The world operates on the assumption that righteousness is for suckers, that the wicked are the ones who get ahead. God's final judgment will reverse that verdict for all to see. It will be demonstrated that living for God is the only sane and profitable investment. There is a payoff. There is a reward.
Second, "Surely there is a God who judges on earth!" The great lie of the wicked is practical atheism. They may not deny God's existence in theory, but they live as though He does not matter. They believe He is distant, disinterested, or impotent. They think the earth is a playground for their ambitions, with no final accountability. But this judgment is not some far-off, ethereal event. It is a judgment "on earth." God is not an absentee landlord. He is the sovereign King who is actively involved in the affairs of men, and He will bring His rule to bear in a way that no one can ignore.
This is the great hope of the saints. We are not waiting for an escape from the world. We are waiting for the restoration of the world. We are waiting for the day when the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. This psalm is a promise that history is headed toward a final accounting, a great audit. And on that day, the books will be balanced, and everyone will see that our God reigns.
Conclusion: Aligning Our Hearts with Justice
So, how do we apply this psalm without becoming bitter, vindictive people? We do so by ensuring our prayers for justice are rooted in a zeal for God's glory, not our own. We pray these prayers against the enemies of God, against principalities and powers, against wickedness in high places. We pray them against abortionists, against tyrants, against those who corrupt our children and call evil good.
We must learn to hate what God hates. God hates sin. He hates injustice. He hates arrogance and blasphemy. And because He loves righteousness, He must, of necessity, judge unrighteousness. Love and wrath are not opposites; they are two sides of the same coin. Because God is love, He must have wrath against all that would destroy what He loves.
Our problem is not that we are too hateful; it is that our loves are too small. We love our own comfort and our own reputation more than we love God's perfect justice. We want a peace that is merely the absence of conflict, rather than the peace that is the fruit of righteousness. This psalm is a corrective. It calls us to enlarge our hearts, to love what God loves, to hate what God hates, and to long for the day when He will make all things new.
On that day, there will be a terrible gladness. It will be terrible for those who have set themselves against the Lord and His Christ. But for those who have taken refuge in Him, it will be a gladness that is pure, holy, and everlasting. It will be the joy of seeing our King on His throne, His enemies made His footstool, and His righteousness established forever. And all men will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth!" Amen.