Psalm 58:8

Psalm 58:8

Some slug facts! 

Cool weather, rain and fog is the best weather for slugs because since they don’t have an outer shell to protect them, they may dry out in dry and warm weather. When the weather is warm and dry, slugs will try and find a cool, dark and damp area to hide in. However, if there is a long dry spell then slugs will encase themselves in a papery, cocoon-like structure and attach themselves to a wall or a tree and wait it out. When they move, slugs leave a slimy trail that is both an oil and a glue. Somehow, they absorb moisture from the air and produce this shiny track that tells us where they have been and where they are going. 

David uses the analogy of the slug to describe his enemies, the wicked rulers who are the subjects of this Psalm. In a hot country slugs would find it difficult to secret themselves away and presumably many would be dried up by the sun’s heat.

The analogies keep coming and the next one is particularly gruesome and painful for anyone who has suffered a stillbirth. Again, the language is incredibly harsh. There is a saying that “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy!” David would! He prays that these violent, wicked leaders might be like a stillborn and never see the light of the sun. In other words, it would have been better if they had never been born! 

I find these verses difficult to read and to digest, that’s because I should! This is God telling us how He hates the wickedness of men and how evil and dark and destructive they are. As they plot and scheme and bring devastation upon so many on the earth, so the Lord God, in His holiness, will bring far worse upon them. Hell is a real place and judgement is a part of God’s nature. No evil tyrant will escape the wrath of God. That’s the reality on a Christmas morning when much of the world idolises a baby in a manger. Most do not realise just what He came to save them from and just how merciful the God of heaven is, towards this world. 

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