Psalm 82:4
1 A psalm of Asaph. God stands in the assembly of El; in the midst of the gods he renders judgment. 2 He says, “How long will you make unjust legal decisions and show favoritism to the wicked? (Selah) 3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless. Vindicate the oppressed and suffering. 4 Rescue the poor and needy. Deliver them from the power of the wicked. 5 They neither know nor understand. They stumble around in the dark, while all the foundations of the earth crumble. 6 I thought, ‘You are gods; all of you are sons of the Most High.’ 7 Yet you will die like mortals; you will fall like all the other rulers.” 8 Rise up, O God, and execute judgment on the earth! For you own all the nations.
Ambrose On the Duty of the Clergy 1.63
63 Perhaps all this happens that the question may be asked of the robber: You were rich, so why did you seize on the goods of others? Need did not force you, poverty did not drive you to it. Did I not make you rich, that you might have no excuse? So, too, it may be said to a person of power: Why did you not aid the widow, the orphans also, when enduring wrong? Were you powerless? Could you not help? I made you for this purpose, not that you might do wrong, but that you might check it. Is it not written for you Save him that endures wrong? Is it not written for you: Deliver the poor and needy out of the hand of the sinner? It may be said also to the man who has abundance of good things: I have blessed you with children and honours; I have granted you health of body; why did you not follow my commands? My servant, what have I done to you, or how have I grieved you? Was it not I that gave you children, bestowed honours, granted health to you? Why did you deny me? Why did you suppose that your actions would not come to my knowledge? Why did you accept my gifts, yet despise my commands?
Notes and References
"... However, in Jerome’s Homilies on Psalms, we also find passages suggesting that the title “children” of God in Psalm 81:6 [Psalm 82 in Hebrew] was originally bestowed by God on humanity as a whole. Jerome conveys that because of sin, human beings have collectively lost their previous status as children of God (A similar view on the Psalm is expressed by Ambrose ...) so they should all pray to God to guide them in the right direction until they return to be children of God again. Furthermore, in his Homily on Psalm 81 [82], Jerome interprets also the title “gods” in Psalm 81:1, 6 as referring to humanity in general: of all the extant texts by Jerome or others dealing with Psalm 81, this homily is the only one that features dignitas ..."
Contini, Sarah 'You Are Gods' (Ps 81:6): Jerome and the Legacy of Origen’s Anthropology (pp. 224-237) Open Theology, Vol. 7, 2021