"Rise up, O God!"

^Scripture

^{Psalm 82}

¹   God has taken his place in the divine council;
          in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
²   “How long will you judge unjustly
          and show partiality to the wicked?

³   Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
          maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
⁴   Rescue the weak and the needy;
          deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

⁵   They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
          they walk around in darkness;
          all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

⁶   I say, “You are gods,
          children of the Most High, all of you;
⁷   nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,
          and fall like any prince.”

⁸   Rise up, O God, judge the earth;
          for all the nations belong to you!

Devotion

Psalm 82 gives us a powerful image of the God at work.   The psalmist pictures God seated as the Judge in a holy courtroom full of divine beings.  The Holy One condemns the other gods for being unjust to the weak, the lowly, and the vulnerable  before casting them down from their positions of authority.  The psalm ends with the singer asking God to rise up and judge the nations of Earth as he has already judged the other gods. 

This image of a courtroom full of gods is jarring for Christians who have spent our lives in a monotheistic society.  We forget that the ancient Israelites lived in a world where most people believed in many gods.  Those gods were understood to have various levels of power and to live in complex relationships with one another.  They would sometimes assemble into divine councils, the outcomes of which affected the entire world. 

In the psalmist's depiction of the divine assembly, the Holy One of Israel is so powerful that he can cast the other gods from the heavens and force them to live and die like humans.  When the Holy One realizes that the other divine beings are not providing justice for the vulnerable, that it is exactly what happens. Soon, only the God of Israel--the God of Justice and Mercy--remains.  As all the other gods fall at the decree of the Almighty, a new and better reality is born.  

This image sent a powerful message to people of the Ancient Near East.  People throughout the region believed that only those who provided justice for the weak had the true authority to rule. Despite this belief, the ugly truth was that most monarchs (including many of Israel's and Judah's kings) tended to ignore their obligation to care for the vulnerable.  If the God of Israel could strip the other "gods" of their power for siding with the wicked over the needs of the weak, the orphan, the lowly, and the destitute, then a similar fate was bound to await  unjust human rulers.  One day, the Holy One would rescue the needy and the vulnerable from their oppressors.  The psalmist prepares the way by praying for God to rise up and judge the nations of Earth.

We may live in a monotheistic society, but we still worship at the feet of lesser gods.  Our gods come in the form of money, fame, power, etc.  We find their promises so seductive that we assume they have a lot of power, but they do not care about justice or mercy.  In our devotion to them, we ignore our duty to protect the vulnerable.  We look the other way when practices or institutions harm others yet benefit us.  And with each injustice we allow to go unchecked, we become more and more like those long-dead rulers that the psalmist asked God to come judge.

Life doesn't have to be this way.  As James L. Mays writes,

 [Psalm 82] provides a revelation of what is happening in history; the false gods are uncovered and condemned....As long as nations and their peoples do not see the reign of God as the reality that determines their way and destiny, there will be other gods who play that role.  Faith must always see the LORD standing in the midst of the gods of the nations and know that to say 'thy kingdom come' is to pray for the death of our gods.  (271)

Beloved, God is still seated in the divine council, and he is ready to cast down the lesser "gods" that rule our lives.  Each one of us must ask what allow to get in the way of seeking justice for the oppressed and vulnerable?  What do we need the Holy One to come remove from the councils of our hearts?  The Good News is that whatever we have allowed to take up room us, they have no true authority over us.  When we pray for God to rise up and cast his judgement upon those forces, we will discover that the Holy Spirit will ensure their demise. 

The gods of this world may seem strong, but the power they wield is nothing when compared to the power of the Holy One who lives within each of us.  They are bound to be defeated; indeed, they are already dying.  When we come together in prayer and in service, we can fulfill the Lord's decrees.  For it is together that we prepare the way, for God's coming reign by seeking justice for the vulnerable and the oppressed.  Together, we can show everyone what it means to proclaim our allegiance not to the already deposed powers of hate, greed, or injustice but to the true God Heaven and Earth.  And day is surely coming when we shall come to know the glory of God's reign on earth.

"Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!"

Prayer

We praise you, oh God, for the grace and mercy we find in  you.  Strike down the false gods that have set up residence in our hearts and minds so that we may come to know the true power of your love.  May your Spirit rise up within us, for we belong to you.  And may your reign on Earth come soon.  Amen.

Bibliography

Mays, James L.  Psalms.  Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching.  Louisville, KY:  John Knox Press, 1994.