Many years ago I could leave the keys in the ignition when I parked at the store or at church. We could leave our houses unlocked. And we could trust that theft was rare. Why? Because people had a fear of the Lord. They lived knowing that they would have to face God. It wasn’t a fear of lawsuits, it was the knowledge that we are all morally accountable to God.
Much has changed.
God is a God of justice and he judges justly. That’s a lot to say other than he judges righteously. I think the more we see unrighteous judgment in the world, the more we appreciate that which is done with justice.
In this psalm, God asks how long will the rulers of this world judge unjustly? How long will they show partiality to the wicked? Their problem is that they are not judging justly but giving way to the influential, the money, etc… in order to take advantage of those who are not well off. Those without the wealth are not getting the justice they deserve.
But Asaph knows that the judges who do not rule rightly will have to face God. They will day like any other leader and have to face God on judgment day. And here is the prayer:
“Rise up, God, judge the earth, for all nations belong to you” (Ps 82:8).
