Psalm 82 - A Fair Judge

Psalm 82 🔊 1God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. 2How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. 3Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. 5They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. 6I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. 7But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. 8Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

Today's Scripture Meaning  An exhortation to judges. (1-5) The doom of evil rulers. (6-8) Verses 1-5: Magistrates are the mighty in authority for the public good. Magistrates are the ministers of God's providence, for keeping up order and peace, and particularly in punishing evil-doers, and protecting those that do well. Good princes and good judges, who mean well, are under Divine direction; and bad ones, who mean ill, are under Divine restraint. The authority of God is to be submitted to, in those governors whom his providence places over us. But when justice is turned from what is right, no good can be expected. The evil actions of public persons are public mischiefs. Verses 6-8: It is hard for men to have honour put upon them, and not to be proud of it. But all the rulers of the earth shall die, and all their honour shall be laid in the dust. God governs the world. There is a righteous God to whom we may go, and on whom we may depend. This also has respect to the kingdom of the Messiah. Considering the state of affairs in the world, we have need to pray that the Lord Jesus would speedily rule over all nations, in truth, righteousness, and peace.

Today's Scripture Application Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the Book of Psalm with Chapter 82. In our text today we see a theme of how our God is a fair judge. How He will judge the wicked who have treated others unfairly. In making application we see the reoccurring theme how God judges sin, sin separates us from God, and why we need to be saved. Today society mistakes the grace of God for God's acceptance of their sin. We see sinners flaunting their sin in society saying that it is okay not realizing that judgment is right around the corner. How about you? Do you mistake the grace of God as a license to sin? Let us learn from our Psalm and text today to remember that God is fair judge and that we must not mistake God's Grace for God's acceptance of our sin.

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Sincerely, Dr. Dave Burnette Director, The United States Bible Society, Inc.