Psalm 58 (57):10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

They should acknowledge their punishments in this life; prior to that resurrection, when those who have risen in the flesh will not undergo transformation. For we shall all rise, but we will not all be transformed. (1 Cor. 15:51) The corrupt flesh will endure suffering, but not to the extent of death; otherwise, even such pains would cease. Then will the thorns that pierce arise, signifying all pain and torment. These painful thorns represent what we have sometimes mocked: (Prem. 5:3) thorns which evoke tears of repentance, though they come too late and are unfruitful, much like the thorns themselves. The repentance of this age brings healing from pain; while the repentance of that age is punishment for pain. Would you bear these thorns? In the present, you will be pricked by the thorns of repentance, fulfilling the words spoken, “I turned in sorrow when the thorn pierced my heart; I acknowledged my sin, and my guilt was not hidden; I proclaimed my transgressions before the Lord, and You forgave the iniquity of my heart.” Now, fulfill this, now be pierced, so you can discern whether the fate mentioned about certain wicked individuals, “They were cleaved but not pierced,” has befallen you. Observe those who are split open yet not pierced. You witness individuals torn apart, yet they remain unpierced. Here they are within the church, with no sorrow for their return to wholeness from their division. The thorns shall surely grow thorns in the future. Presently, they lack healing from their piercing; in the future, they will face punishment. Even before the thorns bear their thorns, a fire has descended upon them, obscuring their sight from the sun; that is, the wrath of God consumes them while they breathe. This fire of sinful desires, empty accolades, pride, selfish interests, and all that burdens them prevents them from seeing the truth, so they do not appear subdued, nor do they yield to the truth itself. What could be more glorious, dear friends, than being subdued and conquered by the truth? Allow the truth to overpower you; for whether you desire it or not, it will inevitably conquer you. The torments of the underworld have not yet arrived, the eternal fire is not yet upon them: let the one who now thrives in God compare themselves to the wicked person, the blind heart with the enlightened soul: reflect upon the two—one who sees and one who is blind in the flesh. What is the significance of merely seeing in the flesh? Did Tobiah possess physical sight? (Tob. 4:3-19) His son did, while he did not; yet the seeing man guided the blind man towards the path of life. Therefore, when you witness such chastisement, rejoice, for you are not within it.

Indeed, it manifested as such; Saul's time in wickedness was short-lived; he died by his own hand due to a wound received in battle against his enemies. I shall (as it were) live, and I shall consume in wrath. He speaks of the consuming fury of God that will overtake Saul and his confederates, leaving them alive in form but devoid of true life; for Saul, having received revelation of his impending doom, existed merely in pretense. Thus, they are depicted as being under the weight of divine wrath, indicating the severe ruin that was imminent. He will devour them, illustrating the ease with which their destruction will occur. Simmachus conveys this meaning: before your thorns develop and take shape, the storm will raise those still among the living, for nothing is truly secure. This translation conveys the idea that every sin is denoted as a thorn in divine Scripture due to its capacity to wound and inflict harm. The thorn, large and white, resembles a tree in size, but inherently dry; and upon encountering fire, it is immediately consumed, lacking any green bark, appearing dead. Consequently, this prophecy warns Saul and his companions of impending judgment: for before the wickedness within you grows and becomes like ramnus—the most formidable thorn—while you persist in your sinful acts, seemingly alive therein, the wrath of God, resembling fire, will swiftly confront and annihilate you. He conveys this with the term: devour; for that which is consumed is made to vanish, and so too shall you be forgotten. This notion is similarly expressed by Theodoret, though with slight variations. Chrysostom states that thorns represent the wicked, while ramnus symbolizes the cross, as ramnus is a thorny plant, and the cross bore thorns, bearing our sins. Thus, before they grasped the power of the cross, they were warned of being consumed alive (for those without faith do not truly live); not in anger (devour) but rather as if in wrath (for God is not wrathful); yet following their realization of the cross's power, they are no longer subjects of wrath.

However, these thorns will not have the opportunity to flourish; at the very outset of their existence, they will be consumed by the fire of God’s wrath. In other words, they will not be permitted to act on their malevolent schemes before the Lord unleashes His judgment upon them. As stated previously, the prophet illustrated it differently: fire rained upon them, and they were blind to the light of the sun.