Midrash su Salmi 82:1

Befitting is (the ascription of) "greatness" to the Lord. And thus did David say (I Chronicles 29:11) "To you, O Lord, is [befitting the ascription of] greatness, might, splendor, triumph, and majesty." A king of flesh and blood enters a province, and all praise him as "strong" — when he is weak; as "rich" — when he is poor; as "wise" — when he is foolish; as "merciful" — when he is cruel; as "trusty" — when he is not. He is lacking in all of these (fine) attributes — All men are flattering him. But it is not so with Him who spoke and brought the world into being. He is more than He is praised for being. I shall sing to the Lord, who is might, as it is written — (Devarim 10:17) "the God who is great and mighty and awesome," (Psalms 24:8) "the Lord, mighty and strong, the Lord, strong in war," (Isaiah 42;13) "The Lord as a mighty one shall go forth. As a man of war, He will stir up wrath. He will shout; He will scream. He will overpower His foes," (Jeremiah 10:14) "There is none like You, O Lord. Great are You and great is Your name in strength." I shall sing to the Lord, who is rich, as it is written — (Devarim 10:19) "To the Lord your God belong the heavens, etc.", (Psalms 24:1) "To the Lord belongs the earth and its fullness, etc.", (Ibid. 95:5) "His is the sea and He has made it," (Chaggai 2:8) "Mine is the silver and Mine is the gold," (Ezekiel 18:4) "All of the souls are Mine. The soul of the father and the soul of the son alike are Mine." I shall sing to the Lord, who is wise, as it is written — (Mishlei 2:6) "For the Lord shall give wisdom. From His mouth are knowledge and understanding", (Daniel 2:21) "He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to the knowers of understanding". (Jeremiah 10:7) "Who will not fear You, King of the nations? For among all the sages of the nations and in all of their kingdoms, there is none like You." I shall sing to the Lord, for He is merciful, as it is written — (Exodus 34:6) "Hashem, Hashem, the G d who is merciful and gracious", (Devarim 4:31) "For a merciful G d is the L rd your G d", (Psalms 25:6) "Remember Your mercies, Hashem, etc.", (Ibid. 145:8) "Good is the Lord to all, and His mercies are on all his works", (Daniel 9:9) "To the Lord our God is mercy and forgiveness." I shall sing to the Lord, who is a Judge, as it is written — (Devarim 1:17) "… for the judgment is God's", (Psalms 82:1) "G d stands in the assembly of the almighty. In the midst of the judges shall He judge," (Devarim 32:4) "The Rock, perfect is His work, for all of His ways are just." I shall sing to the Lord, who is trusty, as it is written — (Ibid. 7:9) "the trusty G d, etc." (Ibid. 32:4) "… a G d of trust, without wrong, etc." I shall sing to the Lord, who is comely, who is glorious, who is exalted, whose like does not exist — (Psalms 89:7) "For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord, can be likened to the Lord among the sons of the mighty"? (Ibid. 8) "God greatly dreaded in the great council of the holy, held in awe by all around Him"

R. Joshua b. Karcha said: "Whence do we infer that if a disciple were present when a case came before his master, and saw a point of defense for the poor and a point of accusation for the rich, that he must not keep silent? It is said (Ib) Ye shall not be afraid of any man." R. Chanina said: "One must not withhold his words out of respect for any one; and witnesses also must be aware against whom they testify, and before whom their testimony is given, and who will punish them [for bearing false witness], as it is said (Deut. 19, 17) Then shall both the men who have the controversy stand before the Lord. And the judge must also be aware whom they judge, and before whom their judgment is rendered, and who will punish them [for rendering wrong judgments], as it is said (Ps. 82, 1) God standeth in the congregation of God; in the midst of judges doth He judge. And so also it reads (II Chron. 19, 6) Look [well] at what ye are doing; because not for man are ye to judge, but for the Lord. And should the judge say: 'Why should I take the trouble and responsibility upon myself?'— therefore it is said (Ib.) Who is with you in pronouncing judgment. Hence the judge has to decide according to wbat he sees with his eyes."

R. Samuel h. Nachmeni in the name of R. Jonathan said: "A judge that decides the law in accordance with the equity of truth causes the Shechina to dwell in Israel, as it is said (Ps. 82, 1) God standeth in the congregation of God; in the midst of judges doth He judge. And the judge who decides the law not in accordance with the equity of truth causes the Shechinah to depart from Israel, as it is said (Ib. 12, 6) Because of the oppression of the poor, because of the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord." R. Samuel b. Nachmeni said also in the name of R. Jonathan: "A judge who causes [through his decisions] the transfer of money from one hand to another, contrary to the law, the Holy One, praised be He! will collect from his own soul, as it is said (Prov. 22, 23) Rob not the poor because he is poor, neither crush the afflicted in the gate; for the Lord will plead their cause, and despoil the life of those who despoil them." R. Samuel b. Nachmeni said also in the name of R. Jonathan: "A judge should always imagine that a sword lies between his thighs, that Gehenna is open under him: (Ib. b) as it is said (Songs 3, 7, 8) Behold it is the bed tchich is Solomon's; sixty valiant men are around about it, of the valiant ones of Israel. All of them are girded with the sword, are expert in war; every one hath his word upon his thigh, because of the terror in the night — i.e., because of the terror of Gehenna, which is equal to the night." R. Yashiya (according to others, R. Nachman b. Isaac) lectured: "What is the meaning of the passage (Jer. 21, 12) O house of David, thus hath said the Lord: Exercise justice on [every] morning, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor. Is it then customary to judge only in the morning, and not during the entire day? It means, if the thing which you decide is clear to you as the morning, then do decide, but if not, do not." R. Chiya b. Abba in the name of R. Jonathan said: "We infer it from the following (Prov. 7, 4) Say unto wisdom. Thou art my sister, which means, if the thing is as certain to you as it is the law that prohibits you from marrying your sister, then you may say it, but not otherwise." R. Joshua b. Levi said: "If ten judges sit in court discussing one case, the responsibility rests upon every one of them." But is that not self-evident? It means even a disciple who is sitting before his teacher [although he merely discusses without any result].