Psalms 58:4

“The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, etc.] What he swore about, and did not repent of, was the priesthood of Christ, as follows; and which shows the importance of it, since when Jehovah swears, as it is by himself, because he can swear by no greater; so it is about matters of great moment only that are sworn to by the Lord, as this of the priesthood of Christ was; which was concerned in things pertaining to God and his glory, as well as in making reconciliation for the sins of his people: and it shows the truth, and was for the confirmation of it; since doubts might arise whether the Aaronic priesthood was changed, seeing it was given to Phinehas for an everlasting priesthood; and since…”

“stoppeth her--literally, "his." ear--that is, the wicked man (the singular used collectively), who thus becomes like the deaf adder which has no ear.”

“Their poison - Their malignity; their bad spirit; that which they utter or throw out of their mouth. The reference here is to what they speak or utter Psalms 58:3, and the idea is, that it is penetrating and deadly. Like the poison of a serpent - Margin, as in Hebrew, “according to the likeness.” In this expression no particular class of serpents is referred to except those which are “poisonous.” Like the deaf adder - Margin, “asp.” The word may refer either to the viper, the asp, or the adder. See the notes at Isaiah 11:8. The “particular” idea here is, that the serpent referred to was as it were “deaf;” it could not be tamed or charmed; it seemed to stop its own ears, so that there was no…”

“Poison - Their malicious disposition. Psalms 58:5”

“58:4 Venom here means poisonous speech (see 140:3).”

“poison: Psa 140:3; Ecc 10:11; Rom 3:13; Jam 3:8 like: Heb. according to the likeness of serpent: Mat 3:7, Mat 23:33 the deaf: Jer 8:17, adder or asp, Pethen, is no doubt the boeten of the Arabians, which M. Forskal describes as spotted with black and white, about one foot in length, nearly half an inch thick, oviparous, and its bite almost instant death. It is the aspic of the ancients, and is so called the literati of Cyprus, though the common people call it κουφη, deaf. Job 20:14, Job 20:16; Isa 11:8 Psalms 58:5”