Psalm 82:1

Verse 1. God standeth. He is said to stand, because of his immutability, his power, his abiding presence, and also because of his promptness in act, to decide for the right, and to help the poor, as he did S. Stephen. But one commentator draws a yet deeper lesson from the word stand. He reminds us that it is for the judge to sit, and for the litigants or accused to stand; as it is written, Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning until the evening. Exodus 18:13 . It is then a solemn warning for judges to remember, that whatever cause is before them is God's cause, since right and wrong are at stake in it, and that by acquitting the guilty, or condemning the innocent, they pass sentence against God himself. Albertus Magnus, Le Blanc, and Agellius, quoted by Neale and Littledale.

Verse 1. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, or, of God. These words are exegetical, and help to illustrate what he had said before: God standeth in the congregation of God. What is that? Why he judgeth as supreme amongst the judges of the world. He stands not as a cipher, or a bare spectator, but he himself makes one amongst them.

Verse 1. In the congregation. Rulers must understand that they are not placed over stocks and stones, nor over swine and dogs, but over the congregation of God: they must therefore be afraid of acting against God himself when they act unjustly. Martin Luther.

HINTS FOR PASTORS AND LAYPERSONS

Verse 1. The sovereignty of God over the most powerful and exalted. How that sovereignty reveals itself, and what we may expect from it.

Verse 1. The Lord's presence in cabinets and senates.

WORK ON THE EIGHTY-SECOND PSALM

"The Beauty of Magistracy. An Exposition of Psalm 82." By THOMAS HALL, B.D. 1659-60. (In SWINNOCK'S WORKS. Vol. 4. Nichol's Edition.)