Psalm 82
Introduction
Verses 1–5
The Duty of Magistrates. A psalm of Asaph. 1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. 2 How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. 3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Verses 6–8
We have here, I. Earthly gods abased and brought down, Ps. 82:6–7. The dignity of their character is acknowledged : I have said, You are gods. They have been honoured with the name and title of gods. God himself called them so in the statute against treasonable words Ex.
This psalm is calculated for the meridian of princes’ courts and courts of justice, not in Israel only, but in other nations; yet it was probably penned primarily for the use of the magistrates of Israel, the great Sanhedrim, and their other elders who were in places of power, and perhaps by…