Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely.
The wicked are like the deaf adder that deliberately stops its ears and will not listen to the voice of the charmer, however skillfully and wisely he charms. The deafness is willful, for they shut the ear against even the most skillful enticement. The psalm speaks prophetically of the punishment that will come upon the wicked because they have merited it, and its words are not a prayer arising from personal hostility toward them. Those who refuse to hear Christ's wise instruction, reasoning, and appeals remain resistant even when heavenly wisdom calls them, and they face ruin and eternal death.
Warnings of coming judgment may be clear, bold, and persistent yet fail to move people whose ears are dull to truth and who remain set on sin, worldliness, and rebellion against God, so they reject the warning and continue toward destruction. The sinner is therefore urged to wake and hear the warnings spoken by prophets and saints, which the Spirit confirms by signs and tokens, and heeding the warning means finding refuge in the cross to escape the approaching danger. There is wisdom in closing the ear to voices and suggestions that would draw one away from duty and right while remaining attentive to the Father's voice, and those who heed the Saviour's call to be wise as serpents should do so. Christ shut out worldly temptations and listened to His Father, while the first parents listened to the tempter, bringing sin, sorrow, and death. A person must refuse to listen to someone speaking evil of another, even when the speaker uses a gentle manner, sweet words, or professions of goodwill to make the gossip persuasive. Covetousness makes people deaf like the adder to the cries of the poor and needy, keeping them from sharing what they have. There is danger in yielding to an enticing voice, for children without the influence of their parents' prayers may heed the call of vice and be lost.
The wicked are like the deaf adder that deliberately stops its ears and will not listen to the voice of the charmer, however skillfully and wisely he charms. The deafness is willful, for they shut the ear against even the most skillful enticement. The psalm speaks prophetically of the punishment that will come upon the wicked because they have merited it, and its words are not a prayer arising from personal hostility toward them. Those who refuse to hear Christ's wise instruction, reasoning, and appeals remain resistant even when heavenly wisdom calls them, and they face ruin and eternal death.
Warnings of coming judgment may be clear, bold, and persistent yet fail to move people whose ears are dull to truth and who remain set on sin, worldliness, and rebellion against God, so they reject the warning and continue toward destruction. The sinner is therefore urged to wake and hear the warnings spoken by prophets and saints, which the Spirit confirms by signs and tokens, and heeding the warning means finding refuge in the cross to escape the approaching danger. There is wisdom in closing the ear to voices and suggestions that would draw one away from duty and right while remaining attentive to the Father's voice, and those who heed the Saviour's call to be wise as serpents should do so. Christ shut out worldly temptations and listened to His Father, while the first parents listened to the tempter, bringing sin, sorrow, and death. A person must refuse to listen to someone speaking evil of another, even when the speaker uses a gentle manner, sweet words, or professions of goodwill to make the gossip persuasive. Covetousness makes people deaf like the adder to the cries of the poor and needy, keeping them from sharing what they have. There is danger in yielding to an enticing voice, for children without the influence of their parents' prayers may heed the call of vice and be lost.