The writer of Psalm 82, named as Asaph at the beginning of the psalm, opens with a picture of God presiding over the council of judgment. Asaph brings his complaint to God in the heavenly council room: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?” How long, God of justice, will you let the wicked prosper? How long do we have to wait until you rescue the weak and needy from the hand of the wicked? How long can we bear seeing orphans, the lowly, and the destitute suffering?

Asaph is drawing on the concerns and values of the God he worships. Throughout the Hebrew scriptures, in the words of the law and in the prophets, God has revealed the fruit God wants to see in the lives of the people of Israel. The prophet Amos describes that fruit vividly: “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). Asaph is appealing to God’s own values and character. “When,” he asks God, “are you going to take care of the evil around us, so that justice and righteousness—care for the weak, orphan, lowly, destitute, and needy—can flourish in the land?” (82:3-4, AP).

Through the words of this psalm, God invites us to sit for a few moments with our anger at the fact that vulnerable people always bear the cost of selfishness. Some of that selfishness comes from the strong and powerful, but some of it comes from ordinary people like us. We are such a mix of generosity and stinginess, kindness and self-focus. Only God can sort it all out and help us bear good fruit.