From Psalm 82 we read: 1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: 2"How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? (Selah) 3 Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." 5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I say, "You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you; 7 nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince." 8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!
There is nothing sweeter than to hear a child sing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." I may be dating myself in even knowing that song, but I remember hearing my Mom sing it, my learning it and singing it, and later my daughters learning it and singing it. Now I have the joy of hearing my grandchildren hear it. It is a simple song, yet it has the faith that says that in all things and in all places, God has the last word. The psalmist knew this and thus the writing of this psalm. Through the ages it has come to be known as a psalm for magistrates and judges, but its message is for all who will hear it and receive it. No matter your status or position in life, your authority and influence should be for good of all. Think of those who hold the power of life or death in their hands on a daily basis; would it not benefit them to know this psalm about the God of justice? These are the ones who are called "gods" in this psalm. The message from God was that their importance comes from giving "justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." The very ones the world think no one is on their side, find that God is on their side and God wants us by their side helping them in their needs.
A rabbi was killed some twenty-five years ago in the city of Brooklyn, New York. He was sitting in his car and a foiled jewelry heist made a gunman panic and thinking he might carjack this rabbi, shot him in cold blood. The police made an arrest rather quickly at that time and years later, someone in the Brooklyn DA's office decided to re-open the case and discover that this was a rush trip to justice, and the wrong man was put in jail. The man, who had just had baby daughter, was finally freed after serving 23 years in prison. Given his life and life's conditions, he qualified as one of those who are weak and lowly. Had not someone intervened on his behalf, he would still be in jail. The same DA's office is investigating the detective who is believed to have coached witnesses to pick "the man with the biggest nose" out of the police line-up, which happened to be this man. The detective was one with power of life and death and if found guilty, did abuse his power at the expense of the life of this man, who suffered a massive heart attack after being released from prison.
We are reminded that we are all mortals. In the ultimate scene of our lives, we will die just like everyone else regardless of whatever position we held. Our prayer should be that we live our life knowing and singing that God indeed has the whole world, us included, in God's hands and that we live a life that gives and shares with others.
PRAYER: Loving God of all, bless and protect us as we live our lives in ways that glorify You. May our actions match our prayers. May our thoughts be guided by our prayers and You; to indeed bless the lives of those who need blessing. This we pray in Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
