Psalm 82
A psalm of Asaph.
Asaph was a choir director in David’s time. He was appointed to his post some time before the ark of the covenant was brought to Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 16:1-7), commissioning Asaph’s praise-choir to sing Psalm 105 for that occasion. Later, Asaph wrote about a dozen psalms of his own, including the group we number as Psalms 73-83, and also Psalm 50. Old Testament temple musicians were given a special status and did not do any other work besides preparing music for worship, in the same way the the other Levites and priests were funded by the nation at God’s command to perform their work for the Lord. As late as the time of Nehemiah (c. 450 BC) this funding was still in place, despite the economic hardships of the post-exilic times: “For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the singers and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron” (Nehemiah 12:46-47).
1 God presides in the great assembly;
he gives judgment among the “gods”:
2 “How long will you defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
The term “gods” appears a few times in the Bible as a reference to judges or human rulers (Exodus 21:6, 22:8). In this kind of context, the “mighty one” definition of the word elohim (“god”) applies to people rather than to the Triune God. In this psalm, God calls the rulers of the people, and especially the corrupt rulers of Israel, into his courtroom. They are doing the opposite of what they should be doing: They are defending the guilty and the unjust, and they are letting the wicked, the wrong, and the sinful get away with their crimes and other sins.
The term selah appears in quite a few psalms. It means “lift up” in some way, and although we don’t know whether this is a musical term or direction, it always emphasizes the words that have just been spoken. Often, there will be more than one selah, underscoring the problem and the solution, but here the only word that is emphasized with selah is “wicked.” That’s the whole problem of the psalm, the “wicked” are the ones that are being “lifted up”!
3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
The solution should be obvious: Do what’s right! Obey God! Defend the ones who need defending, and rescue the ones who need rescuing. The NIV does a nice job of handling four different Hebrew words that all mean “poor” in these two verses. It was one of the most important tasks for a king to make sure that the poor people of the land were not oppressed and exploited (Isaiah 11:4; “...with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth”). Not every poor person is virtuous, of course, just as not every rich person is oppressive, but too often the poor are put into an impossible predicament from which they can’t extract themselves. Without help from those who govern, their difficulties only multiply.
5 “They know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
The middle verse is disturbing, and can easily be misunderstood depending on one’s perspective. An oppressive ruler or rich man might think that “they” who “know nothing” are the poor who were just mentioned in verses 3-4. It could certainly be taken that way. In fact, this central verse speaks to both groups, the oppressors and the oppressed. The oppressed “walk about in darkness” because the light of justice and even of God’s word has been hidden from them. Like a wicked clergyman telling his people not to read their Bibles because only he can understand it correctly, the oppressed are kept from knowing what comfort is really there for them. They might “know nothing,” but this is because they have not been taught. Everything good, even an education, has been withheld.
These words can also point to the wicked rulers themselves, who have abandoned what they know or should know about God, and have trusted in money or power or greed or whatever it is to which they have let themselves become addicted.
In both cases, and perhaps we would do well to just leave both cases stand, “the foundations of the earth are shaken.” Things are not right.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mere men;
you will fall like every other ruler.”
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance. (NIV)
Now judgment on corrupt rulers is called for; justice from God is begged for. In the final verse, two imperative verbs (“rise up…judge”) call God to act on behalf of the speaker (Asaph) and God’s people in general. This is a special form of the Hebrew imperative called a “long imperative” which always asks for some action to take place on behalf or for the benefit of the speaker. Professor Paul E. Eickmann wrote an excellent article for students of Hebrew about his form which can be found on the Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary website’s Essay File.
In the same way that God’s judgment on behalf of his people is certain and assured, so also is his forgiveness and rescue. All of our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, and we ask God to help us to turn away from sins like those described in this Psalm. How easy it is, once we gain a little security, to want to dish out whatever it is that we’ve been taking for so long. But God wants us to be compassionate with the world just as he has been compassionate with us. His love for us spurs us on to love others, and to share the message of the gospel. Lift that up, and you will be serving him always.
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. His wife, Kathryn, attended Chapel from 1987-1990 while studying Secondary Education (Theater and Math) at UW-Madison. Kathryn’s father, John Meyer, was also the first man to serve as a Vicar at Chapel.
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