Inside of every believer, there is a desire for justice. That God will one day right every wrong and pronounce judgment on the wicked.

In Psalm 82, the Psalmist gives us a bold promise and a powerful warning. The promise that justice will prevail! The warning is one day, every corrupt magistrate will give an account for their wicked judgment.

A vivid picture:

The setting is a courtroom where God, the creator of the universe, is the judge. On trial are the unjust leaders of Israel who have perverted justice.

They have tipped the scales of justice in favor of the rich and powerful against the poor and weak.

And now, they must answer to God.

Controversy:

Psalm 82 is somewhat controversial; there are a few different ways to interpret what is meant by gods.

The most popular interpretation amongst conservative evangelicals is that the gods here in Psalm 82 with the lowercase g is a reference to the leaders of Israel.

“For example, the word translated “judges in Exodus 21:6 is “elohim,” which could also be translated as “God” (see Gen 1:1) or gods (see Psa 95:3).

How it's translated is dependent on the context. The context here indicates that it should be translated as “magistrates” or “judges.”

Verse 7 says that these “gods” will “die like humans and fall like any other ruler.”

 Calling a human magistrate “god” indicates three things:

  • First, he has authority over other human beings
  • Second, the power he wields as a civil authority is to be feared and
  • Third, he derives his power and authority from God himself, who is pictured as judging the whole earth in verse 8

This psalm, like Psalm 2 and Psalm 58, focuses on the injustices of tyranny.

The psalmist pictures God standing in a gathering of earthly leaders to whom He has delegated authority and condemning their injustices.

The final prayer of the psalmist (Psalm 82:8) is that God Himself will take direct control of this world's affairs.

The theme of this Psalm is: No one is above the law:

Every society and culture has dealt with this problem: people in charge who think the rules do not apply to them.

If Psalm 82 were a courtroom drama on television, there would be 3 acts:

  1. An indictment
  2. A trail
  3. A sentence

An indictment:

Psalm 82:1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

In Hebrew, leaders are called "gods" not to equate them with God, the Creator of the universe.

This is one of the problems with worldly leadership. They think they are God.

The president isn’t God; God is God. Here, magistrates are called gods to highlight their role as divine representatives.

Their job as divine representatives is maintaining order, justice, and peace.

Good leaders should reflect the character of God and act as God's agents on earth,

Listen to what Paul says:

Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Romans 13:2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

There are times when followers of Jesus are justified in disobeying the government.

  • We are not free to disobey the government when we don’t like a law.
  • However, when a law forces us to go against our Christian convictions, we are justified in disobeying that law.

When you read the gospel, you will find that neither Jesus nor his disciples disobeyed the law for personal reasons.

They always practice a form of social disobedience which recognizes the law of God as the highest authority:

And when they disobeyed, they were willing to pay the price:

  • They were threatened
  • Beaten
  • thrown in jail
  • tortured
  • and some were even executed

If you follow Jesus and are convinced that God has called you to oppose the government, you must be ready to accept the consequences.

This is where Psalm 82 offers some encouragement:

Earthly judges who oversee the administering justice here on earth will one day be held accountable by God:

Psalm 82:2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

This King James makes this difficult. The idea here is that the “judges” in Israel have been acting in unjust ways and showing partiality.

So, the promise here is: “One day, God will hold every government official accountable for their abuse of power.

David Guzik notes: “This confrontation shows that God Himself is the Judge at the ultimate Supreme Court[1].”

This is where God brings His indictment against these unjust judges; they were showing partiality.

The idea here is that instead of judging by God's law, they were judging by their preference.

The showing of partiality was a shirking of responsibility:

  • They should have been defending the poor and fatherless vs. 3
  • And delivering the poor and needy out of the hands of the wicked vs. 4.

But instead, they turned a blind eye and walked in darkness:

If we were to summarize this indictment, favoritism and partiality leave the helpless unprotected and allow the wicked to prosper.

The trial:

Psalm 82:5 They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

James Boice, when commenting on this verse, said this:

“This is a right description of all godless governments, whether overt godless governments like that of the former Soviet Union and the communist bloc or the subtle godless governments like our own.

A government that does not acknowledge God and try to govern according to the responsibilities for it that God has laid down will inevitably succumb to the three Perils listed in this verse:

  1. Ignorance: “They do not know.” It will not perceive what is happening or what to do about it; events will outstrip its ability to cope.
  2. Inept action: “They walk in darkness.” When it does act, it will operate in darkness, and its programs and politics will be ineffective.
  3. The foundations of common life will be shaken: That is exactly what happened in the communist countries when their governments collapsed in the fall of 1989 and what seems to be happening in our own country right now.”

We must remember that government institutions are not on trial here; rather, the leaders of government who have exercised their power unjustly are.

This is an indictment of all Godless government institutions and a reminder that one day, they will stand before God and give an account for their actions.

The sentence:

Psalm 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

Psalm 82:7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

The key point is that even those judges referred to as “gods” possess considerable authority. Yet, there remains an authority that surpasses all others—God.

Matthew Hennery said, "Those who will not observe the judgments of God’s mouth shall not escape the judgment of His hand.”

In the Bible, often, corrupt leaders are compared to predatory animals that exploit the vulnerable.

Proverb 28:15  As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.

This verse uses the imagery of lions and bears to describe the predatory behavior of wicked rulers toward the people they govern.

Leaders should work for and look after people, not prey on them. However, these corrupt leaders have used their authority to pervert justice, and now they must face God.

Here’s what I want us to take home:

Psalm 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

In the previous two verses, God is talking, but here, in verse 8, we hear the voice of the Psalmist in a prayer.

This is a prayer of hope. It looks to the day when God will put all things right.

Hope in Despair:

When we feel overwhelmed by injustice in the world, Psalm 82 is a source of comfort.

  • It reminds us that our struggle against injustice is not in vain.
  • We have a divine promise that all will be set right one day.
  • This assurance helps us to maintain our hope when change seems impossible

[1] Guzik, David. Psalms 81-118 Commentary (p. 17). Enduring Word.