Psalms 82:1 - Meaning and Application

Here, God’s supreme authority over every council and court is set out as a truth that both rulers and ordinary people must believe (Psalm 82:1). God stands as the chief ruler in the assembly of the mighty, and he judges among the lesser rulers. Both the lawmaking power and the power to enforce the law are under his eye and hand.

First, this shows the dignity and power of magistrates, the civil rulers. They are called “the mighty” because they hold real authority for the public good, and they should use that authority with wisdom and courage. In Hebrew, they are even called gods, using the same word that is used for God himself, not because they are equal to him, but because they serve under him in rule. Good rulers are like God in a limited way, because they are his representatives and a blessing to the people, while wicked rulers can become like roaring lions and hungry bears over the poor (Proverbs 28:15).

Second, the psalm points to a government in which the supreme ruler is joined by his council and judges. The source compares this to a mixed monarchy, where a king rules with advisors, a parliament, and judges. All of them are included in the term “the mighty,” because they share in public authority under the one sovereign Lord.

Third, God’s rule over all these rulers cannot be denied. He stands among them, judges them, and gives them their authority, because kings reign through him. He is present in all their debates, sees what they say and do, and will call them to account for wrong decisions. God can turn their hearts and even their words wherever he wills (Proverbs 21:1). Magistrates should be humbled by this, and subjects should find comfort in it, because even when rulers mean badly, God can hold them in check.

The psalm then gives a charge to all magistrates to use their power well, because they will answer to the one who entrusted it to them (Psalm 82:3, 4). They are to defend the poor, who have no money to gain help, and the fatherless, who have lost those who should have guided and protected them. Magistrates should act like fathers to their country, and especially like fathers to those who have none. In that way, they follow God, who is the Father of the fatherless. Job was such a man, too (Job 29:12).

They must also give fair judgment to the afflicted and needy, who are often wronged because they are weak. Their poverty must never count against them, no matter how powerful their opponents are. If a poor person has a just case, the judge must treat it as just. They are also to rescue those who have already been seized by oppressors and set them free. This is the kind of work that brings no reward from the world, but it is exactly the work judges and rulers are called to do, because they must care for the comfort and cause of the helpless.

The psalm also speaks against bad magistrates who neglect these duties and misuse their power, as if God were not among them (Psalm 82:2, 5). Their sin is that they judge unfairly, against what is right and against what their own consciences tell them. Sometimes they side with the guilty out of favor or affection, and sometimes they condemn the innocent out of malice. To do wrong is bad, but to judge wrong is worse, because it uses the appearance of justice to hide injustice. Such corruption was one of the greatest evils Solomon saw under the sun, where the place of judgment was filled with evil (Ecclesiastes 3:16; Isaiah 5:7).

These rulers do more than favor the rich. They even favor the wicked because they are wicked, and they support wicked interests. That is a disaster for any nation. They were clearly told that their duty was to protect and deliver the poor, yet they judge unjustly because they do not know, and will not understand. They refuse to learn what is right, and they are driven by self-interest instead of reason or justice. Secret bribes blind their eyes. They do not know because they will not understand. No one is so blind as the person who refuses to see. When people keep walking in such darkness, they are moving toward lasting darkness.

The result of this corruption is that all the foundations of the land are shaken out of place. When justice is twisted, what good can be expected? Public wrongs become public ruin. As the psalm says in another place, when judgment fails, the whole land is loosened and in danger of collapse (Psalm 75:3). The sins of those in office become the suffering of the whole people.