We shall now turn to the Book of Psalms and Psalm 82. Psalm 82 in the Book of Psalms. And we notice that here again we have a Psalm of Esau and it would seem that this is the Esau who was a leading musician in the time of David. The theme of the psalm is that God is judge. And God, as the judge, has appointed men to judge. And those men who are judging, it is their duty to remember God, to fear God, and to be aware that they too will one day be judged. We read together in Ecclesiastes chapter 12. And you remember the last two verses of that book, Ecclesiastes. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing. whether it be good or evil. Here we have the duty of man. And what is the duty of man? Obedience. And where does it start? With fearing God. Remember, there is a God. So many people in this world forget there's a God and they live in ignorance of God. And they live despising God and ignoring God, but God is still there. And God is judging them every day. And that's true of the kings and the princes and the presidents and the prime ministers and the judges and the leaders of society. God will judge. God gives to people a position of influence and authority. The judges are God's ministers appointed by Him to punish evildoers and to reward them that do well. Now if those people who are appointed by God to these high positions, if they're doing the opposite, if they're praising evildoers and punishing those that do what is right, there will be a day of reckoning. a day of judgment ahead. Fear God. What a difference it makes to a person's life when he fears God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Did you ever see a wise person who didn't fear God? And the wiser we are, the more we fear God. And the more we fear God, the wiser we'll be. Because if you fear God, you keep his commandments. And if you keep his commandments, then you please God. But every secret thing, whether it be good or evil, God shall find it out. There's no hiding from God. God is the judge of all. There's much injustice in the world, but remember this, God will sort it all out. Maybe the law courts in this world will condemn you and me, or condemn good and godly people, and they often have, and godly people have been persecuted, and they have been punished in different ways, but At the end of the day, righteousness will prevail. God is judge and God will make sure that justice is done. God is the ruler of this world. He's not in a hurry to pass a sentence. Sometimes he leaves people for years, maybe a hundred years without punishing them. But the punishment will come. There's no escaping the justice of God. Now, verse one tells us, God stands in the congregation of the mighty. He judgeth among gods. God stands in the congregation. The word that's used here in the Hebrew is word sometimes translated church, the assembly of God's people, the gathering of the people of God. When God's people gather, God is there. Now we often quote that, don't we? Maybe we're in a prayer meeting and there's just a handful of us and we'll use these words, where the two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst. And that's true. That's very true. God is here tonight. We might not be a great multitude, but There's the two or three here gathered in his name and God is here. But that promise of Christ is particularly to do with church discipline and judges. You remember the context, Matthew chapter 18. The context there is, if your brother trespasses against you, if somebody sins against you, what are you to do? You're to go and see him privately, talk it over, sort it out, tell him what he's done wrong. and hopefully he will ask forgiveness, and that's it, you move on from there. But if he won't listen to you, then you're to take two or three with you, others, witnesses with you, and speak to him and plead with him, and if he won't listen to these, then tell it to the church. Tell it to the church. and whom the church binds on earth is bound in heaven, and whom the church looses on earth is loosed in heaven. The church has authority to judge, to suspend, to excommunicate, And it's in that context that it says, where the two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst. Now it's certainly true about the prayer meeting and the church services, God is there, yes. But especially it's true when God's church gathers, when the elders and ministers gather in order to discipline. God is there. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, he judgeth among the gods. Now, the mighty here is the word El, the word for mighty God. El and Elohim, the plural, is normally used for God. Elohim stands in the congregation of the El, the mighty God. And this word God here is used for the judges. He judges among the gods and the word used there is Elohim. Now, that seems strange, doesn't it? That human judges should be called gods. but actually that's something that happens several times in the scriptures. We're told, for example, in the book of Exodus, In Exodus chapter 21, we're told, bring it to the judges. If there's a matter of dispute, bring it to the judges. And the word that's used for judges there is the word Elohim, bring it to the gods. So why are judges called gods? They're called gods because they're God's representatives. God is the one who appoints them. They are the ministers of God appointed to judge, to reward the good and punish the evil. But they're also called gods in the sense that they are made in the image of God. And that's true about every one of us, isn't it? You too are in the image of God. And that's why murder is such a terrible crime. Because a man is God. A God. An image of God. And if you attack a fellow man and kill them, you are attacking and killing the image of God. Now Jesus makes reference to this psalm and he says in John chapter 10, if those who are judges, if those to whom the word of God comes are called gods, Surely it is no blasphemy for the Son of God, he whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, to call himself the Son of God. So Jesus is pointing out the inconsistency of the Jews. Their own Bible calls magistrates, gods, And yet here is the one whom God has sanctified and sent into the world. And when he calls himself God and the son of God, they say he blasphemes and they're ready to stone him. Those to whom the word of God comes. called gods. Those to whom the laws of God comes are called gods. Those who have God's word, those who are to judge are called gods. It speaks of the great honour that God places upon some. Now God standeth in the congregation of the mighty. Now that's in the church and when the church is involved in church discipline, God is there with them. And we have to remember that. He will bring every work into judgment. We must beware of being oppressive in our church discipline. We must beware of not protecting evil and encouraging those who are sinning. And we must be careful not to condemn the righteous. God standeth in the congregation, in the church, but also in the congregation of the land. God stands in the state, and human judges are answerable to God. Remember your creator in the days of your youth, and remember your creator if you're a judge. And if you're in a position of authority or leadership, remember you've got a creator who is watching you. And you are living out your life on the stage, as it were, and God is in the audience watching and judging. He judgeth among the gods. He judges amongst you and me, the lesser folk, but he also judges amongst the judges and the magistrates and the princes and the presidents and kings. So we're to fear God. How long will ye judge unjustly and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. In my youth, I used to think that sheriffs and judges were men of integrity and very careful to do what is right, and I had a great respect for them as such. But then, as the years passed, I discovered that, sadly, in the human law courts, there's considerable amount of corruption. Sometimes there's the protection of friends. Sometimes judges are influenced by political allegiances. Sometimes they're influenced by wanting to be popular. And sometimes they accept bribes and are corrupt in that way. Sadly, There's an injustice in the law courts. How long will you judge unjustly and accept the persons of the wicked? Here's God's testimony about human law courts and human parliaments and human thrones. How long will you judge unjustly? and accept the persons of the wicked. Remember, God stands, God stands watching, God is looking on, God is seeing. And God will one day punish. Verse three, defend the poor and fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and wicked. and do justice to the afflicted and needy. Now, the judges were particularly to have a care for the poor and the needy. And you remember how Jesus speaks about this in one of his parables, the unjust judge, who feared not God nor man. His concern was himself, his own interests, his own prosperity and bribery. But then, you remember, there was the woman who came to him, the widow. She had no money to pay bribes, but she did what she could. She was an unfortunate widow. That meant that she kept coming and coming and coming and wouldn't give up and kept pleading with the judge. And the judge said, I better, though I fear not God nor man, yet I better give this woman justice because she won't give up and she'll tire me out. And if the unjust judge gives justice to the woman, how much more will your heavenly father avenge his own elect who cry unto him day and night? If even a wicked judge can be persuaded by a poor widow who keeps pestering him? How much more will God in heaven hear your prayers when you come to him day and night pleading for his help? In Sephaniah 3, verse 12, God says, I will leave in the midst of her a poor and an afflicted people and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. Well, that describes God's people, isn't it? A poor and afflicted people. So often God's people are not to be found amongst the wealthy and the powerful, the great, people of this world, rather, so often they're to be found amongst the poor and afflicted, the troubled and the sickly and the weak, and God's people are to be found amongst them. And that's why God's speaking here through the psalmist says, defend the poor and the needy. Blessed are ye poor. Woe unto you that are rich. Woe unto you rich, your garments are corrupted and moth-eaten, your riches are rusted. You have kept back the wages of the poor, you have oppressed the needy. God here says, defend the poor and the fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and the needy. Deliver the poor and the needy, rid them out of the hand of the wicked. The great role of the judge is to care for the weak who cannot defend themselves, to look after those who are poor and needy. And remember, remember you judges, that you have a judge and God is judging you and judging your behaviour. and God will call you to account. You might be powerful in this world, you might despise the poor and the needy, but the poor and the needy have their champion and one who will vindicate them. And so deliver the poor and the needy, rid them from out of the hand of the wicked. The real Christian is unlike the scribes and the Pharisees, self-righteous, proud and arrogant. The real Christian is like the psalmist in Psalm 70, I poor and needy am, come Lord and make no stay. My help thou and deliverer art. My God, make no delay. We have no merit in ourselves. We have no righteousness that we can plead. Our hope is in the merit of Christ and we claim his righteousness. This week, I was reading some sermons in a new book that's come out by sermons of the Reverend John McSween, who had been ministering in Point when I was a young lad. And in one of these sermons, the first sermon, actually, it speaks about Abraham interceding for Lot. You remember in... Genesis chapter 18, how Abraham pleads for Sodom, that Sodom would not be destroyed with fire and brimstone. And he says, if there are 50 righteous men in Sodom, will you destroy Sodom? And if there be even 10 righteous men in Sodom, shall not the judge of all the earth do right? The interesting thing there to notice is that Abraham is not pleading the mercy of God. He's pleading the justice of God. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Surely, Lord, you won't burn up the righteous along with the wicked. That would be unjust. And indeed, we can too. We also can plead the justice of God, because you and I, true we're sinners, but at the same time we're righteous, because we've got the imputed righteousness of Christ. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Yes, we can plead God's justice. God's justice, because we are righteous, because we have the merit of Christ, because we are clothed in his beautiful white garment, because God beholdeth no iniquity in Jacob nor perverseness in Israel, therefore he must bless us. And then verse five, they know not, neither will they understand. They walk on in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are out of their course. The judges walk in darkness. Well, that's the sad reality, isn't it? Because there's really only one source of light. Our light in the daytime comes from the sun, the only source of light. And the only source of light is God and God's word. And if people despise God and his word, if they don't read the scriptures, they're in darkness. God's law is the basis for every good law. And sadly, people today are ignoring and forgetting God's law. And they're moving further and further from God's law, which used to be the basis of the law of our land. But as they move away from God's law, they're moving to darkness, to barbarity and savagery. They know not, neither will they understand. Because they don't take God seriously, because they don't listen to what God is saying in his word, they know not, neither will understand. They walk in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are out of their course. If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do? What are the foundations? What was the great foundation for the house of which Christ spoke in the Sermon on the Mount? Those who hear my sayings and do them, they're like a man who digs down and builds his house upon the rock. But those who don't listen to my word are like a man who builds his house upon the sand. And the floods come, the rain falls, the floods come, the wind blows, and the house falls, and great is the fall of it, because it's built upon man's ideas, man's reasoning, man's philosophy. They know not, neither will understand. They walk on in darkness, all the foundations of the earth, are out of their course. Verse 6, I have said ye are gods and all of you are the children of the Most High. Judges are called gods. Exodus 21 verse 6, in the original the judges there are called Elohim. Exodus 22.8, bring it to the judges, bring it to the gods, those who are standing in God's place, those who are God's representatives, those who are God's ministers to carry out his word, those to whom the word of God came. Whatever they do with it, the word of God comes to judges and demands action from them. They are called gods. But, verse 7, but ye shall die like men and fall like one of the princes. So many people forget this, don't they? They live here as if their life was going to go on forever. They forget that man is like the grass that grows in the morning, cut down it even it fades. What is your life? Deceiving as a vapour that appears for a little time and vanishes away. For over it the wind doth pass and it away is gone, and of the place where once it was it shall no more be known. God is judge, the great judge. and he will call every one of us to stand before his judgment seat. Those who have lived for years ignoring him and rebelling against him and despising his laws, they too will be called to judgment. The Hitlers of this world and the Stalins and the Chairman Mao, they will be called and were called and have been judged by God. And those who are alive today, just the same. President Xi of China, President Kim Jong-un of North Korea. They live as if there were no God. They live as if they themselves were God. But God will bring them into judgment. Their day is coming. Nicola and Boris will have to stand before his judgment seat as well. He shall die like men and fall like one of the princes. No matter how high a person gets, no matter how powerful they are, no matter how rich, death comes. Man whose breath is in his nostrils, he bites the dust. and he goes to meet his maker. Naked came I into this world and naked shall I return out of this world. Are you ready? Am I ready? Are we numbering our days and applying our hearts to wisdom, remembering how close to death we are? We cannot claim more than the breath that we have in our noses, in our lungs. We breathe it out and we do not know will we be able to breathe it in again. But ye shall die like men and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O God, judge the earth, for thou shalt inherit the nations. So here's the psalmist calling on God to arise, and God certainly will arise, and God's judgment will be just. The nations will be judged in this life, and individuals judged in the life to come. Every work will be brought into judgment, whether it be good or evil. and God shall inherit the nations. We are to pray for that, aren't we? Thy kingdom come, God's kingdom, God inheriting the nations, God ruling the world, the future belongs to God, and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. Arise, O God, and judge the earth, Put down the wicked. Put down the false prophets. Put down the wicked rulers and kings. Put down those who are setting themselves up as judges and as priests and standing for things that are wrong and that are evil, that are accepting bribes and that are promoting wicked laws. Arise, O Lord, and judge the earth. for thou shalt inherit the nations. The judges will be judged, but every one of those who believes in Jesus, every one of those who takes God's word seriously, well done, good and faithful servant, enter in to the joy of your Lord. Let's pray. O Lord, our God, we thank Thee that Thou dost challenge us out of Thy Word and Thou dost bring before us these great truths and help us to remember that Thou art the Supreme Judge, the Judge who will judge every earthly judge. Thou art the Supreme King who will call every man and woman to account before Thee. So help us, Lord, to give thee the place that thou shouldst have, to remember our Creator in the days of our youth, to fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. We pray then for thy blessing upon us, Bless, Lord, our rulers. Thou hast encouraged us to pray for them, and we pray for them. Our first minister in Scotland, that thou wouldst give to her great wisdom, and that thou wouldst give to her great grace, so that she would do that which is right, and rule in a God-glorifying way, that we might live quiet and peaceable lives in all godliness and honesty. and that she herself would be approved of God. And we pray this for Boris Johnson also, that thou would give to him the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom. Pardon us then, Lord, all our sins, for Jesus' sake. Amen.