... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
A Psalm of Asaph.
God stands in the congregation of the
mighty. He judges among the gods.
How long will you judge unjustly, and
accept the persons of the wicked? Consider. Defend the poor and fatherless. Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy. Rid [them]
from the hand of the wicked.
They know not. Nor will they understand. They walk on in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are out of
course.
I have said, “You [are] gods. All of you [are] children of the most High: but you
shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”
Arise, O God, judge the earth: for You shall
inherit all nations.
________
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[1] Asaph
writes at the time of the Babylonian captivity, but his perspective seems to be
more Judean than Babylonian. This Psalm
is about God’s judgment. Asaph uses the
term, gods, twice with respect to men: the term indicates anyone who grants
wishes, human leaders. So, Asaph most
likely has in mind the Israelite leaders who thought highly of themselves, who
took the honors bestowed by God for granted, who failed miserably, and who were
the direct cause of the deportation to Babylon.
Judgment follows immediately.
These little gods are unjust, approve of wicked people, fail to protect
the poor and orphans, do injustice to the afflicted and needy, fail to deliver
the poor and needy. These several injustices
that they committed in violation of the Law are the immediate reasons for the
deportation. What they have failed to do
in obedience to the covenant is made a demand to perform: do it or else. Defend, do justice, deliver, rid: get rid of
the wicked.
After judgment comes an analysis of the condition of these
petty gods: they are ignorant, lack understanding, and walk in darkness. These are leaders of sorts; they are supposed
to have knowledge and understanding: but, in reality, they are not very
bright. There is little excuse for this
behavior, since knowledge and understanding come as a gift through meditating
on the Law day and night (Psalm 1).
Because their leadership is so sorry, they have put the earth off
course. What are these foundations and
what does it mean to be off course?
Israel was called to be the moral standard of the world in preparation for
the fullness of the coming of Christ. In
order to accomplish this task they were given the Law at Sinai. Their leaders (very possibly these gods) were
blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost so that they could understand and apply
this Law: but over generations they squandered everything. They learned to walk in darkness by
choice. As a result, the common
Israelites, and the pagan world were left without any moral compass. Everything that could have gone wrong, has
gone wrong.
Next, the verdict is delivered. In spite of the great privilege they had as
gods and the children of God, they will now go to execution and death.
Asaph comes to rejoice in this: for he realizes that as God
cleans house by judgment, the moral course of the earth will be restored, and
all nations will be invited to come to Christ (Psalm 2). The judgment of God is a good thing, because
it works salvation among men, and it reduces temptation for believers.
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