“No justice, no peace.” That cry has become increasingly common from marching protesters in our streets, if not from the violent looters who tend to follow in their wake. And as a result, the foundations of our society are being shaken in a way we haven’t seen for the last 50 years (verse 5). But that raises a legitimate question – who in our modern society is truly in need of justice?

Psalm 82 gives some of the obvious answers: “Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute, Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked” (verses 3-4). So much is clear, and very few people would doubt that many of the residents of our largest cities are in fact needy, and even destitute. And no honest student of history or sociology would doubt that fatherlessness is in fact a big part of the reason for the poverty that has plagued those areas for generations.

So, why weren’t the rulers of Asaph’s day doing justice? We find part of the reason in verse 5 – they were walking in darkness, blind to the problems their people faced, as well as to the expectations God had of them. In spite of their exalted status, in reality they were just men, doomed to die just as the people whose needs they were neglecting (verse 7).

So, what about us, American Christians? If we are trusting in Jesus, we really have been adopted into the family of God, and thus are children of the Most High (verse 6). And we know good and well that Jesus has commanded us to love each other just as He has loved us (John 13:34) – self-sacrificially and unconditionally.

So, if we would truly seek justice for all, maybe all of us Americans need first to take a look in the mirror. Maybe we need to jettison our proud insistence on our rights and instead embrace our responsibilities, not only for our own families but for our communities as well. Maybe instead of looking to government policies and programs to solve our problems, we need to get more personally involved in our neighbors’ lives, seeking ways we can truly be of help to them. Maybe the best weapon we have against the rising tide of ignorance and anger in our culture is simply truth and love – for without the love of Jesus, aren’t we all doomed to go on walking in the darkness?

Psalm 82 (NASB)

A Psalm of Asaph . God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers.
2 How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah.
3 Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and needy; Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
5 They do not know nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I said, “You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High.
7 “Nevertheless you will die like men, And fall like any one of the princes.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth! For it is Thou who dost possess all the nations.