Words: Paraphrase of Psalm 82; author unknown.
Music: Aurelia, , in a Selection of Psalms and Hymns, by C. Kemble, 1864.
There where the judges gather
A Greater takes His seat;
“How long,” He asks the judges,
“Will ye pronounce deceit?
How long respect the persons
Of them of ill repute?
How long neglect the orphaned,
The poor and destitute?
“Deal justly with the needy,
Protect the fatherless,
Deliver the afflicted
From those who would distress.
But you are wholly blinded,
You do not understand;
Therefore foundations totter,
Injustice rocks the land.”
He speaks, “I named you rulers,
Sons of the Most High God,
But you shall die as mortals,
And perish by My rod.”
Arise, Thou God of judgment,
Thy sovereignty make known;
For Thine shall be the nations,
The peoples Thou shalt own.