Psalm 82:1

The heading names the psalm as Asaph’s. Asaph was one of King David’s chief musicians and seers, and the psalms that carry his name are known for strong declarations about God, reflections on Israel’s history and prophetic warnings. This one stands in Book Three of the Psalter (Psalms 73–89), a collection full of lament and of hard thought about God’s justice and his faithfulness to his covenant. Psalm 82 reads like a prophet’s oracle, with God himself speaking against corrupt rulers.

“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty.” The verb nâtsab means to stand, to take one’s stand or to be stationed. God has come into this assembly and taken his place in it, and he is there to act. Scripture is speaking of him in human terms, as a magistrate who presides over a court, so that we can picture a judgment that would otherwise be hard to grasp. The assembly is ‘êdâh ‘êl in Hebrew, “the congregation of the mighty”, a gathering of those who hold power.

“He judgeth among the gods.” The verb shâphaṭ means to judge, to decide or to govern, and it is the word for pronouncing sentence. Those who sit in judgment over others are here being judged themselves. The first verse sets the scene, and the rest of the psalm follows from it. God charges the “gods” with their failure in verse 2, tells them their duty to the poor, the fatherless, the afflicted and the needy (Psalm 82:3–4), and pronounces their downfall and death (Psalm 82:5–7). The psalm then closes with a plea for God to rise and judge the earth (Psalm 82:8).

The “gods” are those who hold power to judge under God, and the Hebrew word for them, ʼĕlôhîym, is the same word that names God at the start of the verse. Where it names the one true God it is plural in form and is read as a plural of majesty, which speaks of his power and authority. The word is a flexible one. It can also be used of angelic beings, and of human authorities who hold power delegated by God, as in the laws where cases are brought before the judges (Exodus 21:6, Exodus 22:8–9).

Believers differ on which sense the word has at the end of this verse. Some hold that the scene is a heavenly council and that the “gods” are heavenly beings whom God calls to account. The nations around Israel spoke of councils where their gods met, and on this reading the psalm shows the one true God standing as Judge over every such power.

Others hold that the “gods” are human rulers, judges and magistrates, and the psalm itself gives strong support for this. The charges that follow are the ordinary failures of human courts: judging unjustly, favouring the wicked, and failing the poor and the fatherless. In Israel a judge acted as God’s representative, entrusted with his law, as the charges given to judges by Moses and by Jehoshaphat show (Deuteronomy 1:16–17, 2 Chronicles 19:6–7). Jesus also quotes this psalm, and says that Scripture called people “gods” because “the word of God came” to them (John 10:34–35). The name speaks of their position and their responsibility, which were given to them by God, and it makes no claim that they are divine by nature.

On both readings the one true God stands above every power and judges it. There is a sharp irony in the verse as well. Those who bear the name “gods” because they were meant to carry out God’s justice are judged by the true God for failing to do it.

God’s first words are a question, “How long will ye judge unjustly?” He asks it as a rebuke, and “ye” addresses the “gods” of verse 1 directly, as people standing before him. “How long” tells us that their injustice has gone on for a long time and has become their habit. It also tells us that God’s patience with it has a limit and that his judgment is near.

The word behind “unjustly” is ʻevel, which means wrong, injustice or iniquity. It comes from a root that means to distort, and that fits a court where what is right and fair has been bent.

The second half of the charge names the form their injustice takes. “Accept the persons” translates a Hebrew idiom, nâsâʼ pânîym, which is literally “to lift up the face”. It means showing favour to a person because of wealth, rank or influence, whatever the merits of the case. Here the favour goes to “the wicked”, perhaps because they are rich or powerful or offer bribes, and the people who lose by it are the poor and the lowly who had the right on their side.

The law of Moses had forbidden exactly this. It told Israel’s judges to refuse bribes, to keep justice straight for the poor, and to show no respect of persons (Exodus 23:6–8, Deuteronomy 16:19), and it guarded the rights of the stranger, the fatherless and the widow (Deuteronomy 24:17). The prophets took up the same charge again and again. Isaiah pronounces woe on those who write unjust decrees and rob the poor of their right (Isaiah 10:1–4) and tells the people to learn to do well and seek judgment (Isaiah 1:17). Amos condemns those who afflict the just and take a bribe (Amos 5:12), and Zechariah calls for true judgment and mercy (Zechariah 7:9–10). Proverbs condemns respect of persons in judgment (Proverbs 24:23), says that a king establishes the land by judgment (Proverbs 29:4), and teaches that “to do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice” (Proverbs 21:3).

Justice matters this much to God because it reflects his own holy character. When a judge bends it against the weak, he wrongs God as well as the person before him.

These verses teach that God is the highest authority over every earthly power. No ruler, government or court works outside his sight, and the mighty answer to him as surely as the weak do. Paul teaches the same when he writes that the powers that be are ordained of God (Romans 13:1–2). Authority that is given by God is held in trust, and God asks those who hold it how they have used it, above all in how they have treated the poor and the helpless.

The judges of this psalm failed, and the psalm ends by asking God himself to rise and judge the earth. That plea is answered in Jesus Christ. The Father “hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22), the Son of Man who comes with the clouds of heaven in Daniel’s vision (Daniel 7:13–14). He is the righteous King whose government Isaiah foretold (Isaiah 9:6–7), and all power in heaven and in earth has been given to him (Matthew 28:18).

Where the “gods” of the psalm favoured the wicked, Jesus judged with perfect justice, opposed hypocrisy and corruption, and brought good news to the poor and the oppressed (Luke 4:18–19). His is the kingdom where judgment runs down like waters (Amos 5:24). His death on the cross was at once God’s justice against sin and God’s mercy for sinners, and it opened a way to be made right with God that no human judge could give. By it he spoiled principalities and powers (Colossians 2:15), which shows his authority over every earthly and spiritual “god”.

He is King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). Every knee will bow to him and every tongue confess that he is Lord (Philippians 2:9–11). He will judge the quick and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1), and in the new heaven and new earth the longing of this psalm for a world free of injustice will be fully met (Revelation 21:1–4).

This passage gives hope to anyone who lives under unjust rule or has been wronged by people with power. God sees it. He is present in the very place where justice is bent, standing as Judge, and his righteous character guarantees a final reckoning. The question “How long?” is his own, so the wrong that wearies us has already wearied him.

The same verses are a sober word for anyone who holds authority, whether in government, in business, in the church or in a family. That authority is a trust from God, and he asks how it was used. The charge of verse 2 also reaches into ordinary life, where we so easily favour people who have influence and judge others by appearance. When we pray for our leaders and seek justice for the weak, we are asking for what God himself loves.