and true faith. Rather than earthly sacrifi ces, the psalm
explains, the most appropriate gift to God is praise.
Signifi cantly, substantially different versions of Her-
bert’s Psalm 50 exist; that found in Text A, commonly
used by editors, contain notable differences in wording
and structure than that found in Text B, a variant col-
lection. Unless otherwise designated, quotations refer
to Text A.
Herbert uses the spread of God’s word throughout
all of the earth to recall the proliferation of Protestant-
ism, but by the second stanza she moves from describ-
ing God to invoking his voice directly. The remainder
of the psalm conveys God’s message to his people. His
people are not at fault, he says, because of a lack of
sacrifi ces or offerings; rather, Psalm 50 suggests the
ultimate inappropriateness of such actions. God refuses
gifts of bullocks, beasts, or birds because all creatures
on earth are his; he knows all, and all know him. God’s
possession of all things living on earth suggests the
paradox of animal sacrifi ce; owning “all that the earth
doth beare” (l. 28), he has no need, or hunger, for his
own possessions to be returned to him in the form of
sacrifi ce.
God demands a different sacrifi ce, one of “praise” (l.
33), which is more valuable and everlasting than a
material sacrifi ce. In exchange for “peace” granted in
response to “the knott that anguish tyes” (l. 37), God
requests true faith—not merely actions or deeds, but
belief. The behavior of the faithful stands in sharp con-
trast to the deceptive conduct of the “godlesse” (l. 40).
These unreformed people may publicly follow religious
statutes, but in private and in their hearts they fail to
follow God’s commandments. Notably, Herbert associ-
ates the “reformed religion” with perfect righteousness.
Of particular interest is the language Herbert uses to
describe the unrighteous; in versions of the Psalm
found in both Texts A and B, Herbert focuses on the
mouths of sinners. Text A describes “thie mouth is
slaunders ever-open porte, / and from thie tounge doth
nought, but treason, fl ow” (ll. 47–48), while Text B
observes, “Thy mouth a denn where Serpent slaunder
lyes / Thy tongue a stamp that coines but fraud and
lyes” (ll. 51–52). In the Text A version, Herbert equates
treason against God—slander—to betrayal of the state.
The image of the Serpent is an unsurprising and tradi-
tional choice to suggest the ills of evil; more interesting
is the word choice of “coines,” equating language with
money. Both, in Herbert’s analogy, are currency; both
are used to communicate different types of value.
Notably, both versions ultimately express the same
concept: Betrayal of God must also infect the secular
state. The psalm ends with both an implicit threat and
a promise: To the unfaithful, God promises to clutch
with “griping fi ngers,” (l. 60) which none can escape.
In contrast, those whose offerings consists of the
“sweete perfume of offred praise” (l. 52) will “see gods
saving grace” (l. 64).
See also SIDNEAN PSALMS (OVERVIEW).
Winter ElliottSidneian Psalms: Psalm 58 (“Si Vere Utique,”
“And call ye this to utter what is just”) MARY
SIDNEY HERBERT, COUNTESS OF PEMBROKE (1599)
The Biblical psalm presents a plea for justice by David,
Israel’s King, which MARY SIDNEY HERBERT and her con-
temporaries linked to the Protestant situation in Eng-
land and the Continent. Therefore, the language of this
psalm may be interpreted as both justifi cation and
encouragement for the Protestant faith. The psalm
opens with a direct address to those who sit in judg-
ment—rulers—and the fi rst lines question the justice of
sentencing the “wronged” (l. 4). The psalm contrasts
the honored status and positions of judges with their
own mortality; no matter how privileged they may be,
they are still descended from Adam and created from
the same earthly dust as he. Signifi cantly, Herbert’s
translation of the Psalms opened with a dedicatory
poem to Queen ELIZABETH I, “EVEN NOW THAT CARE,”
which itself underscored the need to continue to
advance the Protestant cause in England and elsewhere.
The rulers suggested in the opening lines of Psalm 58
thus subtly recall Herbert’s address to Elizabeth.
Herbert consistently uses strong and politically
charged language throughout the psalm. From the sug-
gestions of legal issues and public policy implied in the
opening lines, she shifts to problems of justice and
oppression. The speaker notes that his oppressors,
who now sit in judgment of him, have long harbored
wrong in their hearts—a prejudice that, from a posi-
tion of power, they now reveal to the world. However,404 SIDNEIAN PSALMS: PSALM 58