Psalm 82 A Psalm of Asaph.

 ¹God stands in the congregation of the mighty;

He judges among the gods.

²How long will you judge unjustly,

And show partiality to the wicked? Selah

³Defend the poor and fatherless;

Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

⁴Deliver the poor and needy;

Free them from the hand of the wicked.

⁵They do not know, nor do they understand;

They walk about in darkness;

All the foundations of the earth are unstable.

⁶I said, “You are gods,

And all of you are children of the Most High.

⁷But you shall die like men,

And fall like one of the princes.”

⁸Arise, O God, judge the earth;

For You shall inherit all nations.

Commentary

Vs. 1-2 ¹God stands in the congregation of the mighty;

He judges among the gods.

²How long will you judge unjustly,

And show partiality to the wicked? Selah

God is the One who is now sitting as the Supreme Judge, but here not of ordinary men, rather of all the earth’s mighty ones, referred to here as “gods;” for they are representative of His Authority on earth; and so all those who govern, judge, rule, who exercise power and authority over others are now called to account. For in His examining them God finds some gross disparities and flagrant violations of what is justice. Therefore, He calls them to account saying, “How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” For such things God Himself does not do, for can He endure their unjust judgments, their showing partiality to the wicked. And yet sadly on earth this is the norm as governments inevitably corrupt themselves in seeking political advantages and favors from their wealthy supporters, and of course their are those openly corrupt regimes and rulers who treat human life and dignity with utter disregard, even police and security forces (and not just theirs), but ours here in first world countries who justify their own injustices and evils in the name of upholding "justice" and "protecting" the public. For in this world and in their eyes they are the authority, therefore they do not like to take correction or rebuke from “outsiders.” For in their pride and arrogance they feel they need only be accountable to themselves and their own. Thus, they can often justify just whatever they feel is justifiable, for they often are their own moral compass and guide.  This then is the state of this world as official watches over official and higher officials watch over them (consider Ecc. 5:8).

Vs. 3-4 ³Defend the poor and fatherless;

Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

⁴Deliver the poor and needy;

Free them from the hand of the wicked.

God now calls them to account, calls them to forsake their perverse judgments and do justice here on earth, to no longer show partiality or favoritism to anyone, and certainly not to the rich and powerful, thus to no longer serve the corporations and the multi millionaire and billionaires desires and interests, (in order to try to enrichen themselves), but rather,

³Defend the poor and fatherless;

Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

⁴Deliver the poor and needy;

Free them from the hand of the wicked.

For in this world justice is never found by those who have no means to buy it for themselves. For being the least in this worlds eyes often means being mistreated; suffering then exploitation and abuse by those who are higher up in this world’s food chain. And yet God always puts these first, puts their well being as His priority, especially for us His people. Thus, we are to be their defenders, we are to be the ones who do justly towards them and seek justice for them, we are to be the ones who stand shoulder to shoulder with them in their time of need and free them from the hands of the wicked. Defend then the cause of the poor and needy, because the rich already has their defense.

Vs. 5-7 ⁵They do not know, nor do they understand;

They walk about in darkness;

All the foundations of the earth are unstable.

⁶I said, “You are gods,

And all of you are children of the Most High.

⁷But you shall die like men,

And fall like one of the princes.”

Truly then they do not know, nor do they understand God and His ways, therefore they walk in darkness, for the wicked does not understand such knowledge (Prov. 14:31; 28:5; 29:7; 31:8-9; Daniel 12:10 etc.). And yet God in calling them “gods” and now children of the Most High seems to be focusing in own His own people Israel, telling them that for their evil and corrupt ways they shall die like men and fall like princes overthrown in battle. The Believer Bible Commentary notes that the Lord Jesus Christ quoted verse six when He rebuked the Pharisees for accusing Him of blasphemy for declaring Himself equal with God (see John 10:32-36). Being then apart of God’s people is a privilege bound with responsibilities, not a right of entitlement.

Vs. 8 “Arise, O God, judge the earth;

For You shall inherit all nations.”

In concluding Asaph now calls upon God; the Most Just Judge; to judge all the earth, to make straight what mankind has made crooked. And that is what the Lord Jesus Christ shall do when He inherits all nations which God His Father has given Him. For on that Day, He will!

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.