Psalm 82
About Psalms
The Psalms are 150 songs and prayers, written over many centuries by David and others, and gathered into five books for Israel’s worship. Every human feeling is here: joy, fear, anger, grief, confusion and thanks. Many begin in trouble and end in trust. Jesus prayed them too, even on the cross, where He spoke the opening line of Psalm 22. Read them slowly. They are meant to be prayed, not only read.
Before you read Psalm 82Written by AI
A courtroom scene: God stands in the divine assembly and judges the “gods,” the powers or rulers who fail to defend the weak and fatherless. Christians have read these figures as unjust human judges or as spiritual powers. Jesus quotes verse 6 in John 10. The psalm ends asking God Himself to judge the earth.
God Presides in the Divine Assembly
A Psalm of Asaph.
God presides in the divine assembly;
He renders judgment among the gods:
“How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?
Selah
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
uphold the rights of the afflicted and oppressed.
Rescue the weak and needy;
save them from the hand of the wicked.
They do not know or understand;
they wander in the darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
I have said, ‘You are gods;
you are all sons of the Most High.’
But like mortals you will die,
and like rulers you will fall.”
Arise, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are Your inheritance.