A Charge to Keep I Have

Meditations on Christ in the Psalms 

October 26, 2022

A Charge to Keep I Have

 

“Give justice to the poor and the orphan;

uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.

Rescue the poor and helpless;

deliver them from the grasp of evil people.”

Psalm 82:3-4

Humankind is created in the image of God. When we fully cooperate with the Holy Spirit, who is at work within us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases God (Philippians 2:13), we reflect the image of our Creator to the world. In 1 Peter 1:16, the Apostle Peter affirms God’s desire for His creation: “For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” (See Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7) God is very serious about this transformative work within us, and the fire of His holiness will consume all the ungodly dross within us. (See Hebrews 12:28-29)

Psalm 82 teaches us that our societies are called to be God-like in administering justice and in caring for the poor and the orphan. Jesus affirms this in John 10 when some people were picking up stones to kill him, accusing him of “. . . blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:33). Jesus quoted Psalm 82 in his reply, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’ And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (John 10:34-36)

The mission of every Christian is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. One of the most important ways we transform the world is by building societies that reflect the heart of God. What is the heart of God? Psalm 82 reveals God’s heart is for the poor and the orphan, the oppressed and the destitute, and the poor and helpless.

My Takeaway: Psalm 82 also affirms that God is the righteous Judge. On our final exam, God will review with each of us how well we cared for the poor and the orphan, the oppressed and the destitute, and the poor and helpless.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.