A nation's justice system provides insight into its moral and spiritual condition. A nation's health determines how long it will survive; therefore, a nation is doomed when its leadership and judges turn away from the standards of justice on which that culture was established. It cannot survive without laws that maintain order among the people. This psalm issues a stern warning to those responsible for maintaining order by administering just judgments.
Judges are to defend the helpless who are unable to protect themselves. They are to deliver those who cannot meet their own needs due to the circumstances of life in which they find themselves. Judges are also not to allow those who are helpless and hopeless to be taken advantage of by those who are unscrupulous in business and willing to do anything to further their own interests. God said, “Ye are gods (judges),” and they were put in that position by God's sovereign will. The very act of passing judgment on other people puts them in the place of God.
In this psalm, God is the Judge of the judges of Israel. He saw how they were making unjust decisions. They favored the influential people of society in the courts. So, God admonished them and instructed them to stop being partial, to do justice, and to defend those who are oppressed. Judges are responsible to God as those who pass judgment based on God’s moral standards that do not change. Sadly, for our nation, the laws judges are supposed to uphold are being altered or rejected by the pressure put on judges by ungodly, immoral citizens. Leaders who are determined to maintain their positions of leadership and authority are unwilling to jeopardize their lucrative roles to do what is right for the nation's people. That is one of the reasons God’s people are told to “pray for the powers that be.” When we make “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all people; for kings and for all who are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty…”, we are doing the best thing we possibly can for our nation.
Judges are to be defenders of the helpless people oppressed by those who get rich from their labor and, sometimes, their losses. The judges referred to in this psalm were accused of graft and corruption and were found guilty by the Supreme Judge. They favored the rich and oppressed the poor. They were letting criminals go unpunished, and innocent people were suffering loss. In all these areas, God found them guilty. Instead of justice, there was oppression. Instead of relying on wisdom and understanding in decision-making and passing verdicts, they acted in their own best interests. Law and order had vanished under their leadership. Judges get their authority initially and ultimately from God, as they will give account to Him for the verdicts they pass. That is one of the reasons we believers need to pray “for kings and those in authority” so we can live “quiet and peaceable lives, in all godliness and honesty.” Judges are expected to be persons of integrity.
Divine justice and the judgment that follows are unavoidable for judges who have perverted justice in the same way they have allowed it to fall on others. “God is no respecter of persons.” His righteous judgment will judge everyone who sins. The Lord God “will stand in the congregation of the mighty” during the tribulation and will administer true justice. At present, He is not standing in the congregation of Israel, nor in the judge’s seat of other nations, but is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Pilate thought he was the one who had control of the situation when the Lord Jesus was brought before him, but soon heard, “Thou couldest have no power at all against Me, except it were given thee from above…” Those words made him more anxious to release Jesus, but his friendship with Caesar was in jeopardy. Pilate and the Jewish leaders held the office of judges, which was important because they acted under the divine authority of God's law. When the Lord Jesus comes to reign, He will be the Righteous Judge of all the earth and will do right.
Decision-making on the part of anyone with authority and responsibility that affects others needs to be taken in the fear of God and under the authority of God's word. When we pass judgment, it should be done wisely and righteously. Even the way we say words will be considered to determine whether they are “idle words” or just words that have lasting repercussions on people in the days to come. When preaching the Gospel or ministering the Word of God to believers, the words spoken must be accurate and wise. In families, parents need to remember that what they say will affect their children throughout their whole lifetime.