The psalm opens with an assumption that throws modern readers off balance. Do the mighty really speak righteousness? The answer is brutally honest: no. They speak injustice. They love violence. The psalmist sees the judges and leaders of his time and names what they are: corrupt.
I've watched this play out in our systems. People who are supposed to protect the vulnerable instead use their position to exploit. Children of powerful families get different treatment than children of poor families. The courts aren't blind, exactly, but they see things differently depending on your bank account.
What moves me is that the psalm doesn't pretend this isn't happening or counsel quiet acceptance. It cries out against it. It asks God to see what's happening. And in doing so, it gives permission to anyone who sees injustice to name it, to resist it, to call on God to act. Silence in the face of injustice isn't faithfulness. It's complicity.
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