Psalm 82

God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?
 
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
 
They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
 
I say "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless you shall die like men, and fall like any prince."
 
Arise, O God, judge the earth; for to thee belong all the nations!

Comment:

This unusual and powerful psalm is an example of how Jesus, in his teachings, is able to redefine traditional scripture. On a superficial reading, it seems that God is addressing a multitude of lesser gods, chastising them for not doing an adequate job of aiding "the weak and the needy." This is, indeed, a traditional understanding of the psalm—that the Hebrew God is preeminent and the lesser pagan gods of other tribes are weak and ineffective.   But in the Gospel of John (10:34) Jesus quotes this psalm to his own disciples, and the meaning thereby shifts dramatically. "I say, 'You are gods" is metaphysically directed, not at pagan gods, but at us! We are the ones who are allowing evil to flourish, who are neglecting our duty to the weak and needy. We must claim our divinity—our Oneness with the Allness of God—and do the creative, healing, loving work that is ours to do. If we don't—if we fail to claim our divinity—we will "die like men and fall like any prince." So long as we believe in duality and limitation, we will be subject to those beliefs, and our creative power will be blocked.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed