Psalm 82

1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

Elohim stands up in the midst of the gods of the world and pronounces his judgment. The ancient world it was common to believe that the gods of the various nations assembled in the heavenly realm to hold council, to discuss human affairs and make decisions as to their actions.
These were essentially “What should be done about…?” type of discussions among the gods with each registering his/her opinion. In the middle of this scene, God himself stands up and all is hushed as the King of the earth, the sovereign ruler of the universe, the God above all gods stands to speak. His judgment begins with a rhetorical question, “How long will you judge unjustly and lift up the wicked?” The implication is that this is the normal practice for those in leadership positions (human kings and judges). They’ve been doing it for sometime, and so God asks when they are going to quit. They have been showing partiality to the wicked. The word “partiality” is the common word for “lift up.” So in essence they have been lifting up, supporting the wicked, allowing them to continue harming others without consequence. The image of the scales of justice comes to mind, and it is as if the judge were putting his hand on the scale to lift up the wicked to give them the advantage, to present the illusion of justice while denying equality before the law for the innocent. This is a general human condition for as long as there have been societies. Justice can be bought when selfishness overpowers responsibility. God’s question here has been asked countless times throughout history. In fact, it would seem that the default position of much of the world for much of human history is that of favoring injustice over justice. This fits into an evolutionary framework where the power of the strong always overcomes the innocence of the weak. Into this cycle of injustice, God interjects and pronounces judgment on injustice. His triumph over injustice will ultimately take place on the cross where the just requirements of the law are met while at the same time mercy is shown to the guilty resulting in transformation of the heart, the real center of the problem of injustice.  

3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

A literal translation of these verses would be, “Judge the poor and orphan, do right by the afflicted and needy. Set free the weak and needy, from the hand of the wicked deliver them.” The word “judge” in verse three has thus far been used in every verse of this psalm. “God judges” (verse 1), “When will you judge…?” (verse 2), and “Judge the poor and orphan.” The clear message is that we are to do right by others, particularly the poor, the fatherless, the afflicted (sick, disabled) and anyone else in need. We take this for granted, but it seems to me that this was an unusual concern for the gods of the ancient world. The gods of Egypt, Babylon, Greece, and Rome do not strike me as being overly concerned for the well-being of humans and certainly couldn’t bother themselves with the injustices that they commit against one another. A God that cares about the poor -- this stands out in contrast to the selfish narcissistic gods who were invented in the image of their creators -- men. If humans were to make up a religion and a god to lead that religion, why would they envision a god who cares for the poor? Wouldn’t they prefer a god who favors them, the powerful, over the poor? This thread throughout the psalms of a God who is deeply concerned about the state of the poor and marginalized seems to be a strong argument for the existence of God. Surely humans wouldn’t dream of creating a God that makes demands like this upon them. If men didn’t create God, then he must have already existed, and he must have the capacity to communicate his will to his creation. In this case, his will is clear. There are four imperatives here, four commands: give justice, do right, rescue, deliver. James 2:27-29 reminds us that pure religion is looking after widows and the fatherless in their distress. There’s no question that single motherhood and fatherlessness is a root cause of poverty. The abdication of responsibility by vast numbers of men in this culture is an indictment on a culture that allows (encourages?) such a thing by its permissive attitudes toward sex out of wedlock and no-fault divorce. These two things are gifts to men and curses to women and children. If you want to make a difference when it comes to poverty, do something about fatherlessness, both at the policy level and at the personal level.

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

This is a summary statement of the way the world is when knowledge of God is rejected, when those in power have no regard for the two great commandments: love God and love your neighbor. This psalmist is specifically addressing those in leadership, those with power in a culture whether that is legal, political, economic or social power. They know they have power, but they wield that power primarily for their own benefit to the detriment of others. This is all they know. They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, so they have not started in the right place. If you start in the wrong place, you are going to end up in the wrong place because you have the wrong reference point. This can be illustrated with the metaphor of navigation. You need to know which way is north to orient yourself. Without God there is no true north, each man is an authority unto themselves. Each person is their own starting point. That is where we find ourselves today with the triumph of expressive individualism. It is a case of the blind leading the blind, and the result is instability, the foundations of the earth are shaken. Modern man has his feet firmly planted in relativism, the denial of absolute truth, the elevation of the psychological over the physical, and the supremacy of personal experience over external authority, reason, and tradition. No wonder there is so much human carnage, wounding of self and others as we walk around blindfolded by our own pride and selfishness. Living during such times is nothing new. In the pre-Christian world, this is the way it was everywhere until light dawned as men and women brought the good news of the gospel through preaching and through deeds of love and mercy. This is our calling today, to help people take off the blindfolds and see the light, to see where their steps in the dark are taking them, to orient them toward the light and reality. Keep your feet planted in reality and your life oriented by the Son. 

6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;

7 nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” [Or fall as one man, O princes]

God continues to speak in his divine council. Men who are referred to as “gods” in verse 1 are still in mind when he says, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you.” This is the truth. Every human being is made in the image and likeness of God. We are all inspired by Him. He breathed life into dirt and we are the result. As CS Lewis wrote, “You have never met a mere mortal.” Here and elsewhere the Bible speaks of the inherent dignity, glory, and god-likeness of human beings. We were not created to be slaves of God to meet his needs as if we even could. We were made to reflect God’s glory, to rule and steward the earth and its resources for the glory of God and the flourishing of mankind. This is Psalm 8 theology here in Psalm 82. In spite of our lofty position, here is another truth: we are all going to die. So on the one hand, we are god-like, but on the other hand, we are also fully human, fragile as can be, and with a certain expiration date. This is a call to humility. The god-like stuff can go to our heads and we confuse being made in the image of God with believing that we are gods. Jesus uses this text in an interesting way. He is accused of blasphemy because he claims to be the “son of God”, and his reply is that the scripture says that “we are all sons of God, so how can I be accused of blasphemy when I am speaking the truth of your own scriptures?” It silences them. There is then this tension in our human nature. We have god-like powers that are designed to be used for God’s glory and for human flourishing, but those same powers can be used for self-glorification and self-advancement to the detriment of others. This is what God is judging in this psalm, the corruption of the imago dei. If we are made in the image of God that most certainly includes the idea that we must reflect God’s character of justice, love and mercy. We have the capacity to do great and good things for others, but we have equal capacity to do great harm to others. In this, God is the ultimate judge of the earth and each of us is accountable to Him. Jesus said it this way in his sermon on the mount: “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect” -- this in the context of loving your enemies. God loves those who are his enemies and to reflect his image certainly means that we must do the same. It is one of the most god-like things that we can do. 

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!

The psalm culminates in a final prayer for justice, that the true and just judge would rise and judge the earth. The scene throughout this psalm has been the heavenly throne room. God is presiding over the universe, and he speaks to those in power on the earth, chiding them for their lack of judgment in general and their partiality in their mistreatment of the least among them. Now the psalmist speaks and asks God to stand up and take action. This is implied in the word, “arise”. The judge listens and then stands to pronounce the judgment. He has authority to do this because the nations are his inheritance. They belong to him. He owns them. This is reminiscent of Psalm 24:1 -- “the earth is the LORD’s and everything in it, the world and all who dwell in it.” Justice on earth is something that most everyone would like to see (unless of course it impacts them negatively). By this we mean that the wrongs are made right, the poor are elevated, the fatherless get parents, the lonely get families, those who have lost have things restored. It’s hard to conceive of how this happens in the present, not with human free will running rampant, and so we envision this as something future, at the end of time when God finally comes to visit the earth and fix everything (Psalm 98). But what if the prayer of this text is answered by Jesus? Did he not come to judge the earth? And was not the judgment of God poured out on him? And as individuals are transformed by this truth, the psalmist’s prayer is slowly answered. Through the church the poor are elevated, the fatherless get parents, the lonely get families, and what’s lost is restored. It is not perfect as we expect the final judgment to be, but it is beautiful when the church exercises her calling to bring justice in all of its aspects to the earth.