PSALM 82. A PROBLEM OF POWER...AMONG THE GODS. This is a most peculiar psalm, and although it is small, our Lord Himself quoted an important thing from it. Consider first that the principles of Just Judgment and the consequence of Unjust Judgment are the same in all Ages and Cases. When we consider that in our case we have had an unjust judgment, we feel very upset about it. But we are apt to ignore the fact that there are many, many, cases where people are wrongly accused, or wrongly done by. Our God is the one who holds the balances, and He is a God of Justice. The Lord of the earth: The Judge of the earth will do right. The psalmist Asaph opens with, "The Lord standeth among the congregation of the mighty, and He judgeth among the Gods." We are told in the New Testament that we, the children of God, are to judge the angels. If we are to judge the angels, it is high time we learned the Power of JUST JUDGMENT. Not that we should judge now, but that we should learn the power of just judgment; remembering that God has for Christ's sake forgiven us, and that He is just when He justifies. It is a right judgment by the Almighty. In John 10.34-36 it is recorded that our Lord quoted from this psalm.. "Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your law, I said ye are gods?. If He called them gods, unto whom the Word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; say ye of him whom the father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, 'Thou blasphemest', because I said, "I am the Son of God?" He was being harried and pressed on all sides by the Jews who said, "We are going to stone you, not for the good works you have done; but we stone you because you being a man make out that you are god." Then Jesus quoted this very psalm. Now, note the qualification made by our Lord. He said, "You are become gods because the Word of the Lord came unto you." This is very wonderful. We rejoice in the fact that we are the children of God. If we are the children of God, we are gods. But we are not gods to be worshipped; we are gods because we have received the Word of the Lord . Upon consideration it becomes obvious that it is the Word of God which transfers us from natural men and women, to spiritual men and women. It is the receiving of the Word of God which causes the transformation. With this reception of the Word of God there comes a responsibility. The Word has a capacity to bring Power. Since the New Birth we have been receiving the power to distinguish natural things from spiritual. there are millions around us who cannot discern the spiritual. Paul is adamant about this in 1 Corinthians 2. He makes the point clearly that there is a great difference between natural knowledge and spiritual. the spiritual person receives spiritual things because the Holy Spirit reveals them to him. There is a tremendous power in that. A natural person can read right through the Bible and it will mean nothing to him. A spiritual person can read one chapter and receive from God more than the other person can receive in a lifetime. It is the power of discernment. This is the power which is operative in TRUE JUDGMENT. Note the responsibility of this power. All power brings with it responsibility. Responsibility is a sign of growing up. When we were very young we were very irresponsible. Parents know this, so they give a very limited amount of responsibility to their children.. With maturity and growth, responsibility should grow also. The Power of just judgment is given because we are accountable to God. It is easy to read in the Scriptures that we "shall judge angels." What an awesome task. But living on this earth the issue of spiritual discernment challenges us every day of our spiritual lives. God expects us to advance in our spiritual lives for the accountability the power of discernment has given us.. One young believer said to me, "I believe I can raise the dead!". I advised him not to try it, adding, "It might kill you!". It is one things to say a thing, it is another to DO it and accept the responsibility. In his song, Asaph sees God standing in the congregation of the Mighty. Standing among those who have the Power and Responsibility. God - Jehovah - STANDS - it is a posture of Power. He, the Almighty is by His Nature All Powerful. He stands above all. There is not one place in the Universe - earth - haven - or hell, where God cannot stand. He is ALMIGHTY GOD. He stands above all in His posture of Power and Authority. ALL power and authority belong to God. As those to whom the Word of comes are like gods - God judges them. He judgeth among the gods. There is a sense in which we have no right to judge one another, for we all shall be judged. No one but God Himself can truly judge us. But when He does, shall not the judge of all do right?. Whatever power God gives us, He will hold us responsible for it. The psalmist now faces the dreadful effect of erroneous human judgments. Men judge unjustly for various reasons:- 1. WEAKNESS - being themselves in the power of others. 2. PREJUDICE - having their minds made up already because of human traditions etc. 3. PASSION - how often we misjudge in anger. How easily we are gripped by passion. 4. SELF INTEREST - there is a constant refusal to deny ourselves. We should suspend all judgment if self interest enters the case. 5. PARTY SPIRIT - Our judgment must not be affected by any stance we have taken or any pressure by people we are joined with. JUSTICE is an important element in social and civic life. It is ALL IMPORTANT in our spiritual life. God hates injustice. We do not think or speak injustice - WE DO IT. God is the AVENGER. He will defend. He will always defend the act of JUSTICE - He will put right the wrongs. God provides for the poor and the fatherless. There is no real charity without justice. Until we bring to account the injustice which causes the need, we can give and give and give and there still will be suffering because of injustice. There is in most people the persistent refusal to understand the responsibility of power. "They know not, neither will they understand." They have no conscious duty towards others.. If you belong to a body, you have a responsibility towards it. The psalmist sings, "They walk on in darkness". Darkness is a figure both of ignorance and wickedness, We are living in a world which is full of this darkness - ignorant of God, and revelling in wickedness. Ignorance is no plea - The Word is with us to show us what we ought to do. I was stopped by a policeman because a rear light on my car had gone out. I apologised saying that I was unaware that the light had failed. The officer told me quite strictly, "Ignorance is no plea in law", and he was perfectly correct. The whole world may lie in ignorance, but that is no plea against the Law of God. The psalmist emphasises the fact that ALL the foundations are removed. When one considers it, Justice and Truth are the only true foundations of good society. But we are living in a corrupt world because justice and truth have been removed. We are in a peculiar stage in the history of man. Nearly half of the world is trying to revise the democratic principle so that all may accept it. When men turn to that ploy and they try to grasp it, it crumbles as dust in their hands. We can only declare on the strength of God's Word that the foundations of Good society anywhere in the world are Justice and Truth. If in every land the Truth was spoken, and justice was done for ALL, there would be a good society among men. But in this worn out world death intermingles sceptres with spades - some reign and some are buried. In the eighth verse of this psalm. the answer to the problem of power is given, "Lord! Take the sceptre and rule yourself!" If I pray that prayer, He MUST RULE in my heart. How can I ask Him to rule in others, if I do not allow Him to rule in me?.. THERE ARE TWO SCRIPTURES WHICH ANSWER THE PROBLEM OF POWER:- 1. "HALLELUJAH - ."The Lord God Omnipotent Reigneth." 2. "Surely, I come quickly!" Copyright (c) 1996, Hedley Palmer. All rights reserved. ---------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/hpalmer/psalms: ps-082.txt .