Psalm 82: Hassled By The Man

Read Psalm 82:1-8

Hassled By The Man

Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
(Psalm 82:4)

This entire psalm is a plea for God to rise up against the powerful who use their positions of power—either through aggression or neglect—to harass and abuse the powerless: the poor, the orphan, the destitute, the oppressed.  In fact, this psalm is more than a plea; it’s a challenge, really, to the Almighty to do what a righteous God ought to do:  Ensure liberty and justice for one and all.

That has been a common theme in every age—including ours.  Too often, the powerless have been hassled by “the man,” with impunity.  Throughout history, the rich have built their wealth on the backs of the poor, men have treated women as chattel, adults have neglected children, ruling parties have disenfranchised minorities, captains of industry have enslaved “lesser” human beings, and those who have the means to prevent and eradicate poverty, hunger and disease have stood by while the lives of untold millions have been needlessly ruined.  Perhaps at some level, even you have felt hassled by “the man.”

There is something in us that cries out for God to intervene, isn’t there?  And sometimes we feel as though the God of justice who rules from heaven above has turned a blind eye to the plight of the unfortunate. But there is a day coming when God will rise up and bring both the living and the dead to full account.  And on that day, justice and fairness will finally and fully reign throughout all of creation.  It may not seem like it today, but that day is coming.

Today is Easter Sunday—and today we are reminded!  Today we celebrate the Risen Savior, who rose from the tomb victorious over death, hell and the grave—and we are reminded!  Jesus broke the chains of sin, sickness and suffering on that day, and in so doing, sent notice throughout time and eternity that he will not rest until the rulers and principalities and world systems and spiritual dominions that have caused the ruination of God’s plan for the human race are brought under his fair and just dominion.

It may not seem like it today, but the empty tomb and the Risen Savior we celebrate remind us that God has not turned a blind eye to this planet, nor to you.  Let Easter remind you—“the man’s” days are numbered.  And then the innumerable and unending days of the rule and reign of the Son of Man will begin—and then there will truly be liberty and justice for all!

“God puts Christ’s enemies as a footstool beneath His feet,
for their salvation as well as their destruction.”
— Origen