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Senior Sunday School 4 : Psalms Book 3 : Psalm 82 : 30th July 2023

Text: Psalm 82
30 July 2023

SSS 4 30 July 2023
Book 3
Psalms 73-89

Text: Psalm 82

1God stands in the congregation of the mighty;
He judges among the gods.

2 How long will you judge unjustly,
And show partiality to the wicked?

3 Defend the poor and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

4 Deliver the poor and needy;
Free them from the hand of the wicked.

5 They do not know, nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are unstable.

6 I said, “You are gods,
And all of you are children of the Most High.

7 But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes.”

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
For You shall inherit all nations.

Psalm 82:1-8

THE WORD “GOD”

1. There were many names/ titles given to God

2. Examples:

a) The LORD
The Eternal One

b) The LORD of hosts
A military term to describe God as the Commander in Chief of the heavenly hosts

3. The word “God”

a) It is generic

b) It simply means “The Mighty One”

4. The Hebrew term

a) Elohim

b) It is a Plural form

c) It is used to describe great Might and Majesty

d) It often refers to God

5. Two Applications

a) A reference to God

b) A reference to mighty judges

c) They were also called “Elohim”

i) Because of the authority they wielded

ii) They can spare a person

iii) They can also impose a heavy penalty on a person convicted

GOD IN THE COMPANY OF THE MIGHTY ONES

1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty;
He judges among the gods.

2 How long will you judge unjustly,
And show partiality to the wicked?

Psalm 82:1-2

1. God addressed the Judges

a) The king

b) Princes

c) Appointed Judges

d) He is the Chief Justice

2. He addressed the problem at hand directly

How long will you judge unjustly,
And show partiality to the wicked?

Psalm 82:2

a) The judges were judging unjustly

b) They were showing partiality to the wicked

i) They were perhaps bribed

ii) They could be favouring a relative involved in a court case

iii) They were not upholding justice at all

iv) How long would they continue in this vein of thought/ practice?

3. The Duties of the Judges

3 Defend the poor and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

4 Deliver the poor and needy;
Free them from the hand of the wicked.

Psalm 82:3-4

a) They were supposed to defend

i) The poor

ii) The fatherless

b) They were meant to uphold justice

i) For the afflicted

ii) For the needy

c) He was supposed to deliver thee poor and the needy

d) He was to free them from the hand of the wicked

THE PROBLEM OF A CORRUPT JUDICIAL SYSTEM

They do not know, nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are unstable.

Psalm 82:5

1. The Judges were rebuked

a) For not knowing

b) For nor understanding

c) For walking about in darkness

2. If Judges did not fully comprehend

a) They cannot uphold justice

b) They will cause instability in the land

c) They can cause the foundations of the earth to be unstable

A STRONG WORD OF ADMONITION

6 I said, “You are gods,
And all of you are children of the Most High.

7 But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes.”

Psalm 82:6-7

1. A reminder

“You are gods”

Psalm 82:6a

a) It does not mean they are deity

b) It is a reminder that they wield significant powers

2. The Correct View

And all of you are children of the Most High.

Psalm 82:6b

a) All are children of the Most High

i) Judges

ii) Plaintiff

iii) Defendant

b) God is called The Most High in this text

i) The LORD is the Chief Justice

ii) He is the King of kings

iii) He is truly “The Most High”

c) Implications for “the gods”

i) They must uphold justice

ii) They must defend and deliver the poor and needy

3. The Judges would be judged by the Most High

But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes.”

Psalm 82:7

a) The Judges are not divine beings

b) They will die as all human beings must go the way of the earth

c) They can tumble and fall like the princes

ASAPH’S PLEA TO GOD

Arise, O God, judge the earth;
For You shall inherit all nations.

Psalm 82:8

1. He pleads with God

a) To arise

b) To judge the earth

2, Why did Asaph make this plea?

a) He did not think that the Judges would heed this word

b) He has seen too much injustice in the land

c) He believes that the LORD, the Most High alone can uphold justice

3. Asaph’s Faith

a) It is in the Most High

b) It is in the LORD whose inheritance is the whole earth