God Judges Among the Gods

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1. Observe

   What charges does God bring against the "gods" in verse 2?

   • Worshipping idols
   • Judging unjustly and showing partiality to the wicked
   • Disobeying ritual law
   • Failing to attend worship

2. Observe

   Whom are the "gods" supposed to be protecting (vv. 3-4)?

   • The wealthy and powerful
   • The weak, the poor, the fatherless, the oppressed, the weak and needy
   • Only their own families
   • Only foreigners

3. Interpret

   What undoes the divine privilege granted in v. 6?

   • Lack of formal worship
   • Lack of devotion
   • The misuse of delegated authority — being entrusted with judgment and using it to favor the wicked and crush the weak forfeits the standing the office conferred; divine privilege is given for the protection of the vulnerable, and when it is bent against them, the holder of the privilege is exposed as no different from any mortal who must die; status without faithful exercise of the office's purpose collapses
   • Old age

4. Interpret

   What does divine concern for the vulnerable reveal about all authority?

   • That authority exists for the holder's benefit
   • That authority is morally neutral
   • That all authority is delegated and accountable; its purpose is protection of the weak; its measure is how it treats those who cannot defend themselves; its judge is the God who himself defends the fatherless; this exposes authority that serves the strong as a perversion of authority's nature and predicts judgment on those who hold authority and use it against the weak — whether in politics, courts, business, religion, or family
   • That authority has no purpose

5. Apply

   What authority is in one's hand, and how is it used to protect the vulnerable?

   • Most people have no authority
   • Everyone has some sphere of influence — over children, employees, students, peers, money, time, votes, voice — and that sphere is the arena in which this psalm applies; the question is whether that influence is used to defend those with less power or to maintain one's own comfort and position; the believer is called to deliberately spend authority for those who lack it, rather than passively assuming someone else will
   • Authority is irrelevant to faith
   • Authority should never be used

6. Apply

   How does coming divine judgment of authority change its exercise?

   • It doesn't matter
   • It makes power into self-glorification
   • It places every act of authority under future accounting — words spoken to children, votes cast, hiring decisions, treatment of subordinates, use of money, choices to speak up or stay silent will be evaluated by the God who specifically defends the weak; this should produce sober humility, deliberate care for those with less power, and a refusal to use authority as private privilege; the coming Judge is also the present Witness
   • Power should be hoarded

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