An ongoing plea for justice

Psalms  81 and 82: This weekend I'm writing a paper on the political theology of Jim Wallis, an American pastor, writer and social activist. He's fond of holding up a Bible with all the passages referring to peace and justice and helping the poor cut out, to show how much the call to care for others is integral to the Scriptures. I'm assuming much of Psalm 82 is cut out of that Bible that he holds up as a visual example of the divine call to care for the poor and needy. This psalm, what my study Bible calls a literary report of the action of the divine council, makes use of ancient near eastern psalm formats, calling on the gods above to help with problems on earth. Here the God of Israel admonishes the other gods of the council: "Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." (82: 3-4).