Let the wicked become “Like a slug melting away as it moves along … may they not see the sun” (Ps 58:8 NIV). David didn’t show a lot of sympathy for wicked people in this Psalm. However, what he says is true not only of them but those of us who were once counted in their position. Before coming to Christ, we thought righteous people were the bad ones and we judged them, calling them self-righteous. The truth is that we aren’t self-righteous but God-righteous because our righteousness isn’t our own, it is God’s given to us by faith in Jesus (Rom 6:22).
Back to the wicked and the way we were, we were wicked from birth. We spoke lies all the time because our father, Satan, is the father of lies (John 8:44). But now, we who have faith in Jesus are blameless in God’s sight and have been adopted by God though Jesus Christ (Eph 1:4-5). We previously stopped up our ears so that we wouldn’t hear God’s word and we were blinded to the truth, but by the power of the Holy Spirit the veil was lifted when we turned to the Lord.
Then David goes ballistic and wants God to wipe out wicked people. Before we judge David too harshly, we need to see that he’s talking about people who are trying to do harm to others. The wicked “aims his arrows” (Ps 58:7). We want those who are taking aim and shooting people in public places, schools, and at work to stop also. We also would like God to stop them. However, we also recognize that saving them would be much better than having God tear out their teeth.
If we don’t do something to help them, like sharing the gospel, what will happen to them? They will melt away like a slug. Their path in the sun will shimmer for a while but it will dry up and any slug caught in the sun will shrivel and die. That’s a pretty good picture of what will happen to anyone who doesn’t turn to Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins and eternal life.
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