"A Psalm of Asaph.
God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgement:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted 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 about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!"
Psalm 82
Therefore, sentence must be passed (7): judgment will come. This is the assurance the Psalm gives: God will deal with the situation. He will intervene. And that intervention means a final divesting them of all their authority; from being 'gods', they become but 'men'. They are deprived of their power and their office. The prayer to God in 8, 'Arise, O God, judge the earth' is a clear indication that this is something best left to God to do. We are to appeal to Him, rather than take matters into our own hands. And for this reason: resistance and revolt generally bring in their train as many evils as they destroy. Totalitarianism of the left tends to develop when totalitarianism of the right is put down, and vice versa. God's way is often very different, as for example in the history of Israel in 1 Samuel. The house of Eli was appointed by God to rule, but Eli's sons signally failed in their solemn stewardship; and the Divine sentence mentioned here in the Psalm was passed on Eli and his sons (1 Samuel 2:27ff). God arose and brought about the fulfilment of it, and redressed the situation - but how quietly, unobtrusively and almost imperceptibly, in the birth of Samuel and his call to service, and his being raised up to be a prophet of the Lord. Is there not a lesson for us in this? Precipitate action so often brings more harm than good. He that hath ears to hear let him hear.