Psalm 82: Come Quickly, Righteous Judge

 Please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 82. Psalm 82.

You don't mind everybody sit down. This psalm ain't gonna preach itself.

Actually, it kind of does, but, uh, Psalm 82, a Psalm of asf. Him, uh, and his sons or his clan responsible for several of the Psalms that we find. Uh, people think that he was probably, maybe a little after David, but, uh, it's possible that he was, uh, around when Jehosaphat, uh, appointed certain Levites and priests.

We read about it in two Chronicles 19. It says, Jehosaphat. Appointed certain Levites priests, heads of families of Israel to give judgment for the Lord to decide disputed cases. They had their seated Jerusalem and he charged them. Thus, you shall do in fear of the Lord in faithfulness and with your whole heart.

Whenever a case comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities concerning bloodshed law or commandment, statutes or rules, then you shall warn them. That they may not incur guilt before the Lord and wrath may not have come upon you and your brothers. Thus you shall do and you will not incur.

Guilt and behold, Amiah, the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord. And Zeba, the son of Ishmael, the governor of the House of Judah in all the king's matters and all the Levites will serve you as officers deal courageously and may the Lord be with the upright. This Psalm, a psalm of judgment, has a an amazing opening scene where God comes into the council, it says The Council of the Lord.

But even before we read it, I want you to think about your expectations of those who judge or those who rule. When we use the word judge, you can think of it more like the judges in the Old Testament, they had rule authority. Standing similar to Moses over the people, or Samuel over the people, what are your expectations of those who have authority over you or expectations of police officers, judges, legislators, bosses, parents, guardians?

How do you feel when you hear stories of judges being bribed? The rails being greased? Who gets a warning instead of a ticket? And how does that happen? I've tried crying doesn't work. Right? We see someone let go and we wonder, why wasn't that given to me? Well, maybe the judge was his father. Right? But, but internally, even if you're not a Christian, you have a sense of right and wrong.

I believe it's part of God's image that he put in in us. I like to call it the internal justice ome. We make judgements all the time, right? Francis Schaeffer, the the evangelist apologist, would say, uh, that even without the word of God, every human being standing before God would be found guilty by their own words.

Every time we have said they shouldn't do that, or I can't believe you did that to me, or This is wrong. If you just took those laws that you yourself adhere to and put on others the whole before a righteous judge, we could not stand. But this psalm is a call for God to act, a call for a righteous God to act.

And it has happened throughout all of scripture and all of church history. Prayers, concerns. Even warnings for those in charge. In Genesis 18, God tells Abraham what he's going to do to the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. He tells him the sin has, I've, I've heard it. There's been this outcry to me. And when you hear about what has done or attempted to be done to his messengers, you, you get a picture of all that's going on and he says, I'm gonna wipe away this city.

And it's interesting in Genesis 18, and Abraham pleads and he pleads on the behalf of a few righteous. Will you save a city? Because there's a few righteous. You probably remember that story. He, he, he, he's like a car salesman with God. Will you do it for 50? Yeah, I'll do it. 50. How about 40? He gets 'em all the way down to 10 righteous souls.

Will you spare a city for 10 righteous souls? And then this is what Abraham says, verse 25. Um, far be it from you to do such a thing. To put the righteous to death with the wicked so that the righteous fa as the wicked far bead that from you shall not the judge of all the earth do what is just, and if there is one thing, oh Christian, we can count on it, is this, that the judge of all the earth will do what is just the judge of all the earth will do what is right.

There are times in my pastoral counseling when people come to me and I and I, I come back to that verse and I'm always like, here's one thing we know and one thing we have to hold onto. No matter what it looks like right now, the righteous judge will do what's right and we look forward to, there will be a day when all of us understand in a way we never understood in this life.

And we're able to see things. Sometimes he gives us insight in this life to those things. And we look back and we think, oh, I thought this was the worst thing that ever happened. And lo and behold, uh, a year, five years, 10 years later, you think, oh, if that had not happened, then this wouldn't have happened.

This Psalm really is a call for us to judge rightly in our spheres and to remember there's always a judge above all others. And as we call and pray that, that God would indeed come quickly to right the wrongs. It also encourages us that our God cares, he sees and is in control. Psalm 82, a Psalm of asap.

If you are able, please stand for the reading of God's word.

God has taken his place in the divine counsel. In the midst of the gods, he holds judgment. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the fatherless. Maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute rescue. The weak and the needy. Deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

They have neither knowledge nor understanding. They walk about in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, you are God's sons of the most high. All of you. Nevertheless, like men, you shall die and fall. Like any prince arise, oh God, judge the earth for you shall inherit all the nations.

The grass withers, the flower fades. The word of our God will stand forever. And this is the word of God. Thanks to be to God, you may be seated.

It seems to be, it's something we all want just right and fair laws and judges, and yet it seems to almost always be. Beyond our grasp, doesn't it? Is it that the judges are wrong? Is it the laws are wrong? Is it that the wicked flourish? Is it that the ones with the money and the influence get to bend the law their own way?

Whatever it is, there is a longing in humanity for just and righteous dealings. Sermon in the sentence this morning is that regardless of the apparent lack of justice, we may observe. Or experience, God, the righteous judge will prevail regardless of the apparent lack of justice we may observe or experience God, the righteous judge will prevail.

So the introduction here in verse one, um, we're gonna look at it this way. We're gonna look at the introduction and then we're gonna look at the charge that, that, uh, God gives to those judges in verses two and four, verse five. We'll look at the indictment. I. And verses six and seven. The sentence on those judges.

So first, this divine counsel, a beautiful picture, and the scriptures do this all the time. It's like it pulls away and allows us to see what's going on in the heavenly realms. In the heavenly realms. God takes his seat as the, as the text says, but, uh, but literally, it's, it's actually God takes a stand.

It's more literal. God takes his place in a sense. Now, um, you, I hope you get to meet my Uncle Hank, who comes to visit in November. I. Uh, he's quite a character. Uh, very kuper, very Dutch. Uh, he was a surgeon and he would walk in all the time if we're doing whatever we're doing, cards or whatever. He would walk in.

He was a, a power lifter, you know, and just, he'd walk in and he would always say, all rise as we walked in. And of course we'd all kind of chuckle, but one day I said, Hey, next time he does that, let's just all rise and just see. You know, it, it, it made his day all rise. But, so here in this divine counsel, God comes in and he stands to speak to them, to judge over them, and we'll see it, uh, the, the, the first verse and the last verse, kind of create this environment where God says, I'm the most high.

He says in verse eight, but I'm the judge. Over judges. Christopher Ash writes, human judges are gods, not simply because they're powerful, but because although they may not realize this, they're representatives on earth of spiritual forces in the heavenly places, and we can discern what sort of spiritual forces they represent by the ways in which they exercise their power.

John Calvin writes, however much the rulers of the world may exalt themselves. They cannot in the least impair the authority of God. That's how the Psalm starts. God takes an authoritative role over all earthly authorities, over their counsel. God takes AAU authoritative role, however much they may exalt themselves.

They cannot in the least impair the authority of God by divesting him, he says, of his sovereignty over them and of the government of all things which he will ever retain. As his inalienable prerogative. He speaks to them in this council, he speaks to them directly and forcefully. So that's the introduction there in verse one, we get to verses two to four.

There's this charge then that God speaks to these judges. There's a positive side and a negative side. And as we work through this, we're gonna paint this picture. I mean, we're not gonna do it. The, the scripture's gonna paint this picture of Jesus. And it's just beautiful this, this text, speaking of who God is and what he should do, and then giving us a picture.

What should we expect of the Messiah? If he would come and walk among us, what should we see? What would be his characteristics? And that's what he lays out here in verse two to four. First it's the negative. He asks this question, how long? When he asks that question. It's not like, I'm wondering how long.

It's kind of like. How long am I gonna tell you kids to clean up your room? Right? It's this not, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm asking if you're gonna gimme a week, two weeks? No, it's this. How long can you keep doing this? My patience is wearing thin. Oh, judges. How long will you take the position I have given you to serve, respect and honor and work justice and mercy?

How long will you take that and do the opposite? How long? Will you test my patience? How long will you keep doing evil? A forceful declaration and he basically says these two things. How long then will you judge unjustly? How long? Secondly, will you show partiality to the wicked? And you know, it is the wicked and the evil that need partiality.

The righteous long for a righteous judge. The wicked long for one that they can bribe, that they can get something over that person. Leviticus 19 says, you will do no injustice in court. You will not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. The call is not to defer in cases and just give the poor what they want or the needy what they want.

It is a call to treat them justly and fairly and God in their counsel asks them, how long will this go on? That's the negative side and then the positive side. He says, here is what you are to do. Here's what you're called to do. And again, as, as we go through this, you have a picture of Jesus, right? He, he speaks out against unjust abuse.

And as he walks through the streets, this is what he does. Now, if you look at verse two, there's a sayah there, and kids, sometimes you wonder, Hey, why don't they read that? I think Pastor Blake read that one time. Mark didn't read it this time. So don't get your phones out. They think it's some form of musical thing, but there's a lot of disagreement over what it is.

But what What it seems to be clear is it's a cause to stop and pause and think that's what the psalmist does. How long you think you're gonna live forever. You think you're gods, how long? And then he gets to verse three and four, and this is what it means to give justice. I. Give justice to the weak and the fatherless.

Those who will be abused by a system and by the strong and the powerful and the evil. Give justice to the afflicted, he says, and to the destitute, destitute, rescue the weak and the needy. In verse four, deliver them from the hand. The authority, the rule, the slavery of the wicked.

Uh, I wasn't too keen on wearing a robe when I got here. Um, I thought it kind of felt a bit standoffish. Um, and, uh, unlike me, Blake thinks through everything and, uh, has written a paper on it too, probably. Uh. I mean, we talked about it like, you know, what does it represent? What do people think it represents?

Does it come across that I'm above them? And it, it really shouldn't. A robe should come across the, this, the person who opens the word is under another authority much greater than himself. And when a man is ordained in the PCA, we do, we put a, we put a robe on him, we lay hands on him, and it's in a sense saying, you're set apart to do this, but you are under the authority of God and you hold a responsibility as the judges do here.

You hold a responsibility over the flock that's been entrusted to you. It's not to set us apart as any better. It's to remind us that we are under the authority. It's also that the man becomes small and the word becomes great to these judges under authority. God calls them and he is graciously giving them time and a moment to repent of their behavior, and they go back to their proper exercise of their job.

Jesus says in Matthew 18, whoever receives one such child in my name. Receives me, but whoever would cause one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Their job and their calling is divine and they will answer for it and make no excuse.

Those of you here this morning who have been given a role of authority. By the Lord God himself, you'll be held accountable, but often tell my kids, I, I, I've made this rule, not because I'm stronger or I've never sinned. I've made this rule 'cause I answer to God for your care. We need to take that role seriously.

O believer. If you're a boss, be the best boss. May you be marked by the justice and mercy of God for he cares over the little children and those who treat them poorly will be judged. And so this is the calling in verse five. You get this indictment. Verse five. They have neither knowledge nor understanding.

They walk about in darkness and all the foundations of the earth are shaken. The judges are indicted and he says these things about them. They lack knowledge. Remember, uh, knowledge yaah in Hebrew carries with it not just a sense of intellectual ascent. But true depth of understanding and even experience and intimacy.

They have no knowledge of me as their judge, as their God, and therefore they lack understanding and they walk in darkness. As one writer says, when the judges fail, the moral foundations of the earth are shaken. And so he says they're in darkness and the foundations of the earth are shaken. How does this foreshadow Jesus, the righteous judge of all the earth put on a cross for all of our failings?

Yes, our failings in leadership and our failings as judges, the righteous judge put on a cross. And what did we experience at the cross? Three hours of darkness. Matthew tells us an earthquake. Tombs were opened and righteous people went to the holy city. We don't talk about that much, but that's a crazy scene, isn't it?

There was darkness over the earth. There was an earthquake. Right. I I, I can't help but think that the psalmist didn't know that that's exactly what would happen to the righteous judge who came, but we do. We get to sit back and say, that's what he did. For us. Now, the passage that we read earlier, John 10, Jesus quotes this psalm and he quotes the part about I said, you are Gods.

But then what does he say? Like the psalmist? He says, look at my works. Right? So Jesus in John 10 says, are you accusing me of good works? And they're like, no, no, no, no, no. We're not accusing you of good works. We're accusing you of saying your God. But he says, judge me by my. Works again. Psalm 82 lays out what are the works of God and Jesus completes all of those.

Jesus suffers at the hand of these unrighteous judges. He is betrayed. He has delivered over into the hands of wicked men. The same languages used there in Mark nine and Mark 14, and so he passes sentence on the judges. Verses six and seven. He says to them, I said that you are God's sons of the most high.

All of you, nevertheless like men, you shall die and fall Like any prince. God is saying, I gave you standing, I gave you title, but I am the most high. Though you had standing, you too will die. Just like any man, any royalty. You will die and you'll face the judge just like any other man. What's that call us to do?

I, I like the way, uh, Spurgeon puts it. He says, great. As the office made men, they were still but men and must die. Every judge must leave the bench to stand at the bar. And on the way, he must put off the ermine to put on the shroud. Don't worry. I looked up the word ermine. You see it in some of those old movies, Kings wearing like a dead fox or something, you know, it's draped around them with the mouths holding it.

You know what's, what's he saying? Every man, no matter what, what privilege and honor this world has given you before the bar of God, before the judge of all men must take off all of that and put on the shroud of death. So Jesus comes. He is a member of the Divine Council. In fact, he stands over the Divine Council.

In verses two to four, he executes all the jobs of a righteous judge. In verse five, he faces the darkness of a cross. He adjudicates and prop appreciates as a judge who just declares what is right and then takes the punishment, verses six and seven, he takes that death. And verse eight, he inherits the nations.

And so our cry along with the psalmist is verse eight. Come quickly, righteous, judge, come quickly. Arise. Oh God, judge the earth for you shall inherit all the nations. And our council, God reigns. He puts us in our place in whatever role he's placed us in. We must execute our calling With justice and mercy, we answer to God the righteous judge, and when we fail, we do not have to cover it up.

And when we fail, we don't have to blame others. When we fail, we go to that judge for he is meted out what our sins deserve. It's not for us to think about what our sins deserve. He's meted it out and he says, I place it on my son. The work for you now is to believe in the one I sent, and Jesus works mercy, grace, justice, healing the righteous judge in the flesh, entrust yourself to him and to his judgment.

Her brother and sister of the Holy Spirit this morning is saying to you, how long today can be your day of salvation. There is no one greater. To place yourself under the rule than Jesus Christ, the son of God. To those of you currently suffering under what you would say, unjust rule, God will repay and there is a day coming.

We're called to be patient and so we pray thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth. As it is in heaven. Let's pray. How wonderful Father for us to know that you, oh God, through the work of your son, have rescued us. From that bar, we would stand pleading that we're victims, pleading that we've tried hard, pleading that it wasn't our fault, and we lay all of that aside.

And plead Christ, or indeed, you have shown us through the incarnation what your rule will look like, how you will act to the poor, the needy, the humble and the contrite, and how you'll be at odds with those who justify themselves and find in themselves their own righteousness. Oh Lord Jesus, we pray that you would be patient, that you would forgive, that you would cleanse.

Father, we pray that even this morning as we take this sacrament, we would be reminded that your justice has been poured out upon your son. Therefore, we are free. Therefore, we are not just forgiven, we are declared right in your sight on his account. May that carry not just through the we, but Father through our lives.

We ask this in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. If you'll continue and worship by giving the Lord his tithes and your offerings. 

Sermon transcript is computer generated.