Psalms 58:10

The righteous shall rejoice&c. On the moral aspects of the triumph of the godly at the just punishment of the wicked see note on Psalms 5:11, and generally, Introd. pp. lxxxviii ff. It is important to observe that the rejoicing of the righteous is at the vengeance which God has taken upon the wicked, and that that vengeance is only taken upon those who have wilfully and obstinately resisted every effort for their reformation (Psalms 58:4). God has proclaimed, "Vengeance is mine" (Deuteronomy 32:35; cp. Nahum 1:2); in other words the time must come when evil can no longer be tolerated but must be extirpated (2 Thessalonians 1:8); and the righteous cannot but rejoice at the triumph of good over evil and the proof that God is true to His revealed character as a just Judge and sovereign Ruler. It is not for them to usurp God's function and avenge themselves, but they must rejoice when right is vindicated. In the O.T. that joy took a concrete form which is repugnant to us, who have learned to distinguish between the sinner and his sin: it is not the spirit of the Gospel: but we may well beware lest the right feeling of moral indignation, not only against wrong in the abstract but against the wrongdoer, should be weakened.

he shall wash his feet&c. The metaphorical and hyperbolical language of a warlike age. Cp. Psalms 68:23; and for a similar metaphor see Job 29:6.