Psalms 82

Psalms 82:1

Psalm 82: Earth’s Rulers on Trial82:1 The court is called to order. The Judge has taken His place at the bench. It is God Himself. He has called a special session of the divine council in order to reprove the rulers and judges of the earth. They are called gods because they are representatives of God, ordained by Him as His servants in order to maintain an ordered society. Actually, of course, they are only men like ourselves.

But because of their position, they are the anointed of the Lord. Even if they do not know God personally, yet they are God’s agents officially and therefore dignified here with the name of gods. The basic meaning of the name is mighty ones.82:2 First God rebukes them for malfeasance in office. They have been guilty of graft and corruption. Under their administration, the rich have been favored while the poor have been oppressed. Criminals have escaped unpunished, and the innocent have had to suffer loss without recourse.

The scales of justice have become scales of oppression. 82:3, 4 Then the Judge of all the earth reminds them once more of their responsibilities in the area of social justice. They are to champion the rights of the poor and fatherless, . . . the afflicted and needy. They should be the helpers of all who are dispossessed and downtrodden. 82:5 But despite all the Lord’s warnings, there seems to be no hope of improvement. As if in an aside, He sighs that they fail to act with knowledge and understanding. Since they themselves are groping about in darkness, there is scant hope of their helping others who need direction. And as a result of their failure to act righteously and wisely, the foundations of society are unstable. Law and order have all but vanished. 82:6, 7 Though exalted to heaven in privilege, they shall be cast down in punishment. The fact that God calls them gods and children of the Most High does not grant them immunity from judgment. They will be subject to the same treatment as other men, and fall like one of the princes. Actually the degree of their punishment will be greater because of their greater privilege. Our Lord quoted verse six in one of His confrontations with His foes (Joh_10:32-36). They had just accused Him of blaspheming because He claimed equality with God. Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’? If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” To the western mind, the argument might not seem clear or convincing, but it obviously had compelling power on His hearers. They understood that Jesus was arguing from the lesser to the greater. The force of the argument is as follows: In Psalms 82, rulers and judges are addressed by God as gods. Actually they are not divine, but because of their position as God’s ministers, they are dignified with the name of gods. Their greatest distinction is that the word of God came to them, that is, they were officially ordained by God as higher powers concerned with government and justice (Rom_13:1). If the name gods could thus be loosely applied to men like them, how much more fully and accurately can the name God be applied to the Lord Jesus. He had been sanctified and sent into the world by God the Father. This implies that He had lived with God the Father in heaven from all eternity. Then the Father had set Him apart to a mission on earth and had sent Him to be born in Bethlehem. The Jews understood perfectly that He was claiming equality with God, and they sought to apprehend Him but He eluded them (Joh_10:39). 82:8 But now back to the last verse of the Psalm: Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations. It is Asaph calling on the Lord to intervene in the affairs of men, bringing righteousness and justice to replace corruption and inequity. The prayer will be answered when the Lord Jesus returns to reign over the earth. At that time, as the prophets predicted, “justice shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field” (Isa_32:16). The earth will enjoy a time of social justice and freedom from graft and deceit.