Psalms 56

The instrumentation or melody of this psalm - I wonder if we could hear a melody for a muted trumpet in the distance. Saying, sing and trust, but don't imagine the violent warfare in your own hands.

Only in this psalm do we see the sequence of words dbr (word) preceded by hll (praise). Tate chose exactly the same glosses I did. What does it signify - to praise a word (Verses 5 and 11)?

For reasons of concordance, I cannot agree with his rendering of konni as mercy. I have confined mercy to ksd. knn is grace. (Once only in Psalm 9, an acrostic, I allowed a long phrase with knn to include 'have mercy' so I could have the h in the English as the first letter in a verse.)

This is how strict my glosses are. I need rules to break the rules, either wordplay, as in an acrostic,  or a real Hebrew synonym to allow multiple glosses for a root, or to make the English read reasonably given our current usage and a best guess as to the intent of the Hebrew.

What is the phrase in verse 3? Only here is lkm followed by a preposition 'l'. It would imply that it does not normally require a preposition. I did a check of a few verses and I see other prepositions used (b, ym) or none. This is a language usage problem. I wonder how I could extend my system to answer such a question: what prepositions or not are used with a verb? This is an extension of the idea I proposed a couple of weeks ago - to have searchable pages of consecutively used words. (All I would need to do is replace the CJB with the Hebrew, or a SimHebrew Bible in the concordance pages - and bingo, you could scan every use in its original context.)

But the real problem word here according to Tate is the last word, mrom. I didn't notice there was a problem. I don't see the need for another m. I have rendered mrom and mmrom identically. I see that other translations vary significantly in their renderings though, some interpreting mrom as a divine name. JB moves the word into the next verse as Raise me up. Verse 4, colon 1 is very short. They have a footnote corr. (I.e. we corrected the text. Of course this is not an explanation of why.) 

Enough meandering - how does reading the psalm mature us? It is the usual questions: who is speaking to whom about what and how do we identify with the speaker or not. It is quite an emotional exploration. Here we have the expression, in God I will trust, in the midst of what might be violent party strife in the nation. But let us not be presumptuous.

	thlim		Psalms
	nv		56
a	lmnxk yl-iont alm rkoqim ldvid mctm, bakoz aoto plwtim bgt.	1	For the leader. On the dove dumbed by distances. Of David. A miktam, when the Philistines in Gath grasped him.
b	konni alohim ci-wapni anow. cl-hiom lokm ilkxni.	2	Be gracious to me O God, for a mortal bears down on me. All the day long fighting grips me.
g	wapu worrii cl-hiom, ci-rbim lokmim li mrom.	3	My watchers bear down all the day long, for many are fighting me from on high.
d	iom aira. ani aliç ab'tk.	4	Day I fear. I in you will trust.
h	balohim ahll dbro. balohim b'tkti la aira. mh-iywh bwr li?	5	In God I will praise his word. In God I will trust. I will not fear, What will flesh do to me?
v	cl-hiom dbrii iyxbu. ylii cl-mkwbotm lry.	6	All the day long they torture my words. Over me are all their devices for evil.
z	iguru ixponu hmh yqbii iwmoru, cawr qivu npwi.	7	They amass, they treasure, they themselves my footsteps watch, as they wait for me.
k	yl-avvn pl't-lmo? baf ymim hord alohim.	8	Is their security over mischief? In anger bring peoples down, O God.
't	nodi sprt-ath. wimh dmyti bnadç. hloa bsprtç?	9	My waverings you yourself book. You lay up my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?
i	az iwubu aoibii akor biom aqra. zh-idyti ci-alohim li.	10	Then my enemies will turn back in the day I call. This I know for God is mine.
ia	balohim ahll dbr. bihvh ahll dbr.	11	In God I will praise a word. In Yahweh I will praise a word.
ib	balohim b'tkti la aira. mh-iywh adm li?	12	In God I will trust. I will not fear. What will an earthling do to me?
ig	ylii alohim ndriç. awlm todot lç.	13	Over me, O God, are your vows. I will make whole thanksgivings to you.
id	ci hxlt npwi mmvvt hloa rglii mdki? lhthlç lpni alohim, baor hkiim.	14	For you deliver me from death. Will you not my feet from tripping? So I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

New form of the concordance

I have moved the concordance to a new blog. It was developed on this site, and now has its own site. It is essentially a search tool and not a blog, but I have implemented it as a set of 401 blog posts and supporting pages and links. 

Have a look here. Enjoy - what else is there to do at home except read (and sing) a concordance. I have named it after the Hebrew Latin Concordance that I was given by my first Hebrew teacher, Giddy Nashon, whom I remember for good every time I see this gift, and every time I walk up the street where he lived, and every time I think of the Synagogue where he taught.

Psalms 55

Is this how you pray for your enemies? Short answer, Yes. You don't take these actions into your own hands, because vengeance does not belong to you. This is how to learn both self-control and when you have a self, then self-giving. If you are looking for the prophecy of Trump, try verse 21-22.

Hey - just read it!

	thlim		Psalms
	nh		55
a	lmnxk bnginot mwcil ldvid.	1	For the leader. On strings. An insight of David.
b	hazinh alohim tpilti, val-ttylm mtkinti.	2	Give ear O God to my prayer, and do not obscure yourself from my supplication.
g	hqwibh li vynni. arid bwiki vahimh.	3	Attend to me and answer me. I am restless in my pondering and discomfited.
d	mqol aoib mpni yqt rwy, ci-imi'tu ylii avvn ubaf iw'tmuni.	4	From the voice of an enemy, from the presence of the pressure of a wicked one, for they slip mischief upon me and in anger they oppose me.
h	libi ikil bqrbi, vaimot mvvt nplu ylii.	5	My heart is in turmoil within me, and the horrors of death fall upon me.
v	irah vryd iboa bi, vtcsni plxut.	6	Fear and trembling come upon me, and tremors cover me.
z	vaomr mi-iitn-li abr cionh ayuph vawconh.	7	And I said, Who will give me a pinion like a dove, that I may fly away and find a roost.
k	hnh arkiq ndod, alin bmdbr slh.	8	Then far off would I flee, and bide my time in the wilderness. Selah.
't	akiwh mpl't li, mruk soyh msyr.	9	I would hurry to my security, from a storming wind and tempest.
i	bly adonii plg lwonm, ci-raiti kms vrib byir.	10	Swallow up, my Lord, entangle their tongue, for I have seen violence and contention in the city.
ia	iomm vlilh isobbuh yl-komotih, vavvn vyml bqrbh.	11	Day and night they surround her upon her ramparts, and mischief and toil are within her.
ib	huot bqrbh, vla-imiw mrkobh toç umrmh.	12	Calamities are within her, and unfeeling from her plazas are fraud and deceit.
ig	ci la-aoib ikrpni vawa, la-mwnai ylii hgdil, vaistr mmnu,	13	For no enemy is reproaching me or I would bear it, nor someone hating me over me magnifying himself, or I would hide from him,
id	vath anow cyrci, alupi umiudyi.	14	but you, mortal, as one arranged for me, my captain, and known to me.
'tv	awr ikdiv nmtiq sod. bbit alohim nhlç brgw.	15	Together we had sweet intimacy. In the house of God we walked in the throng.
'tz	iwia mvvt ylimo iirdu waol kiim, ci-ryot bmgurm bqrbm.	16	Let death lure them. Let them descend alive to the grave, for the evils in their hospitality within them.
iz	ani al-alohim aqra, vihvh iowiyni.	17	As for me, upon God I will call, and Yahweh will save me.
ik	yrb vboqr vxohriim awikh vahmh, viwmy qoli.	18	Evening and morning and middays I will ponder and murmur, and he will hear my voice.
i't	pdh bwlom npwi mqrb-li, ci-brbim hiu yimdi.	19	He has ransomed my being in peace from my close combat, because of the many that are with me.
c	iwmy al viynm viowb qdm slh awr ain klipot lmo, vla irau alohim.	20	God will hear and will answer them and the one sitting of old, Selah, that there is no renewal for them, and they do not fear God.
ca	wlk idiv bwlomiv kill brito.	21	He extended his hands against those at peace with him. He has profaned his covenant.
cb	klqu mkmaot piv uqrb-libo, rcu dbriv mwmn vhmh ptikot.	22	Smoother than clotted cream his mouth but close combat in his heart, his mollifying words oily, but they were swords unsheathed.
cg	hwlç yl-ihvh ihbç vhua iclclç. la-iitn lyolm mo't lxdiq.	23	Cast your care on Yahweh and he himself will nourish you. He will never let a righteous one be moved.
cd	vath alohim toridm lbar wkt anwi dmim umrmh la-ikxu imihm. vani ab'tk-bç.	24	But you, O God, will make them descend to the well of destruction. Persons of blood and deceit will not reach half their days. But as for me, I will trust in you.

Psalms 54

Another betrayal. Who are the Ziphites here in support of the failed leader Saul. Do we yet regret that we made someone our leader, or are we part of those who will lead mobsters to capture the opponent's flag?

Annihilate them, writes the poet, but not with any weapon except 'your truth'. Not 'my truth' but 'your truth'. In the case of a democracy, this is the truth that is embodied in the people. Where is it? To get to truth requires giving up untruth. I am not delivered by violence but by truth. How will we seek it?

It comes down ultimately to this question: who do you trust to clarify the conflicts we experience in our opinions every day? And are you really reading the images and information that you post with truth or do you just want random images and sound bites to shore up your fears so you don't have to face truth?

Can I look into my enemies? Do I even know who they are? Today as in the past, a person's enemies may be those of their own information bubble. If I see clearly, will my enemies also begin to have their eyes unclouded? 

Or am I just supposing that I can win. What! Have I not discovered how to turn away from such a motivation? Winning is not annihilation by truth, it is suppression by violence. Whoever learned that sort of lesson from the character of God? Only those who have learned nothing. You do not know 'what manner of spirit you are'.

	thlim		Psalms
	nd		54
a	lmnxk bnginot mwcil ldvid.	1	For the leader. On strings. An insight of David.
b	bboa hzipim viamru lwaul, hloa dvid msttr yimnu?	2	Enter the Ziphites and they say to Saul, Does not David hide himself with us?
g	alohim bwmç howiyni, ubgburtç tdinni.	3	O God in your name save me, and in your prevailing make my case.
d	alohim wmy tpilti, hazinh lamri-pi.	4	O God hear my prayer, give ear to the sayings of my mouth.
h	ci zrim qmu ylii vyrixim biqwu npwi. la wmu alohim lngdm slh.	5	For strangers have arisen over me and the ruthless seek my being. They have not set God up before them. Selah.
v	hnh alohim yozr li. adonii bsomci npwi.	6	Behold God is my help. My Lord is with the supporters of my being.
z	iwib hry lworrii. bamitç hxmitm.	7	He will return the evil to my watchers. In your truth annihilate them.
k	bndbh azbkh-lç. aodh wmç ihvh ci-'tob.	8	A freewill offering I will offer to you. I will give thanks to your name, Yahweh, for it is good.
't	ci mcl-xrh hxilni, ubaoibii rath yini.	9	For from all trouble he has delivered me, and into my enemies my eye has seen.

Tate points out possible wordplay between the Ziphites and 1 Sam 23. It's a one-letter stretch (p=f) connecting npw (throat / being / soul, if you like) to zif. But npw is a recurring word in the Psalm and can be seen as its focus. So the sounds-like aspect of the connection fits.

	wmual a		1 Samuel
	cg		23
a	vigidu ldvid lamor, hnh plwtim nlkmim bqyilh vhmh wosim at-hgvrnot.	1	And they told David, saying, Behold, Philistines are fighting in Qilah, and they are plundering threshing-floors.
b	viwal dvid bihvh lamor halç vhciti bplwtim halh? viamr ihvh al-dvid lç vhcit bplwtim vhowyt at-qyilh.	2	And David asked in Yahweh, saying, Do I go and strike against these Philistines? And Yahweh said to David, Go. And strike against the Philistines, and save Qilah.
g	viamru anwi dvid aliv hnh anknu ph bihudh iraim, vaf ci-nlç qyilh al-myrcot plwtim?	3	And the men of David said to him, Behold, we here in Judah fear, and how much more if we go to Qilah to the ranks of the Philistines? S
d	viosf yod dvid lwaol bihvh viynhu ihvh, viamr qum rd qyilh ci-ani notn at-plwtim bidç.	4	And David added further to ask in Yahweh, and Yahweh answered him, and he said, Arise. Go down to Qilah, for I will give Philistines into your hand.
h	vilç dvid vanwiv qyilh viilkm bplwtim vinhg at-mqnihm viç bhm mch gdolh, viowy dvid at iowbi qyilh.	5	So David and his men went to Qilah and fought against the Philistines, and he drove their livestock, and struck them a great strike, and David saved the inhabitants of Qilah. S
v	vihi bbrok abitr bn-akimlç al-dvid qyilh, aipod ird bido.	6	And it happened when Abiatar child of Ahimelech ran to David to Qilah, he came down with an ephod in his hand.
z	viugd lwaul ci-ba dvid qyilh. viamr waul nicr aoto alohim bidi ci nsgr lboa byir dltiim ubrik.	7	And it was told Saul that David went to Qilah. And Saul said, God has alienated him in my hand, for he is imprisoned, coming into a city of gateways and bars.
k	viwmy waul at-cl-hym lmlkmh, lrdt qyilh lxur al-dvid val-anwiv.	8	And Saul broadcast with all the people to battle, to descend to Qilah, to lay siege to David and to his men.
't	viidy dvid ci yliv waul mkriw hryh, viamr al-abitr hcohn hgiwh haipod.	9	And David knew that Saul was against him, keeping silent about the evil, and he said to Abiatar the priest, Come close with the ephod. S
i	viamr dvid ihvh alohi iwral wmoy wmy ybdç ci-mbqw waul lboa al-qyilh, lwkt lyir byburi.	10	And David said, Yahweh the God of Israel hear. Hear your servant. For Saul seeks for entry to Qilah, to destroy the city on my behalf.
ia	hisgiruni byli qyilh bido hiird waul cawr wmy ybdç ihvh alohi iwral hgd-na lybdç. viamr ihvh iird. {s}	11	Will the owners of Qilah imprison me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? Yahweh the God of Israel, tell, if you will, your servant. And Yahweh said, He will come down. S
ib	viamr dvid hisgiru byli qyilh aoti vat-anwii bid-waul? viamr ihvh isgiru.	12	And David said, Will the owners of Qilah imprison me and my men into the hand of Saul? And Yahweh said, They will imprison. S
ig	viqm dvid vanwiv cww-maot aiw viixau mqyilh vithlcu bawr ithlcu. ulwaul hugd ci-nml't dvid mqyilh vikdl lxat.	13	And David and his men arose, about six hundred such, and went forth from Qilah, and meandered wherever they could go. And Saul was told that David had escaped from Qilah, so he refrained from going forth.
id	viiwb dvid bmdbr bmxdot viiwb bhr bmdbr-zif. vibqwhu waul cl-himim vla-ntno alohim bido.	14	And David settled in the wilderness, in the fortresses, and settled on a hill in the wilderness of Zif. And Saul sought him every day, and God did not give him into his hand.
'tv	vira dvid ci-ixa waul lbqw at-npwo, vdvid bmdbr-zif bkorwh.	15	And David saw that Saul came out to seek his throat, and David was in the wilderness of Zif in the wooded heights. S
'tz	viqm ihontn bn-waul vilç al-dvid korwh, vikzq at-ido balohim.	16	And Jonathan child of Saul arose, and came to David in the wooded heights, and he encouraged his hand in God.
iz	viamr aliv al-tira ci la tmxaç id waul abi vath tmloç yl-iwral vanoci ahih-lç lmwnh. vgm-waul abi iody cn.	17	And he said to him, Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father will not find you, but you will be king over Israel, and myself, I will be to you as a second. And even Saul my father knows thus.
ik	vicrtu wnihm brit lpni ihvh. viiwb dvid bkorwh vihontn hlç lbito.	18	And the two of them cut a covenant in the presence of Yahweh. And David settled in the wooded heights, and Jonathan went to his own house. S
i't	viylu zipim al-waul hgbyth lamor, hloa dvid msttr yimnu bmxdot bkorwh bgbyt hkcilh awr mimin hiwimon.	19	And Ziffites came up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, Did not David hide himself with us in the fortresses, in the wooded heights on the hillock of Haxiliah, that is to the south of Yeshimon.
c	vyth lcl-avvt npwç hmlç lrdt rd, vlnu hsgiro bid hmlç.	20	So now, for all intense desire of your being, O king, to descend, go down, and it will be for us to imprison him in the hand of the king.
ca	viamr waul brucim atm lihvh, ci kmltm ylii.	21	And Saul said, Blessed are you Yahweh, for you have pity on me.
cb	lcu-na hcinu yod udyu urau at-mqomo awr thih rglo mi rahu wm, ci amr alii yrom iyrim hua.	22	Come now. Prepare further, and know, and see his place where his feet have been, who has seen him there, for he said to me, Crafty, crafty he is.
cg	urau udyu mcol hmkboaim awr itkba wm vwbtm alii al-ncon vhlcti aitcm. vhih am-iwno barx vkipwti aoto bcol alpi ihudh.	23	So see, and know, of all the camouflaged places that are his camouflage, then you will return to me to prepare, and I will go with you. And it will be, if he is in the land, then I will investigate him with all the captains of Judah.
cd	viqumu vilcu ziph lpni waul. vdvid vanwiv bmdbr myon byrbh al imin hiwimon.	24	And they arose and they went toward Zif in the presence of Saul. And David and his men were in the wilderness of Maon, in the steppe to the south of Yeshimon.
ch	vilç waul vanwiv lbqw vigidu ldvid viird hsly viiwb bmdbr myon. viwmy waul virdof akri-dvid mdbr myon.	25	And Saul and his men went to seek. And they told David, and he came down the cliff and settled in the wilderness of Maon. And Saul heard and he pursued after David to the wilderness of Maon.
cv	vilç waul mxd hhr mzh vdvid vanwiv mxd hhr mzh. vihi dvid nkpz llct mpni waul vwaul vanwiv yo'trim al-dvid val-anwiv ltopwm.	26	And Saul went from this side of the hill, but David and his men from that side of the hill. And David hastened to go from the face of Saul, for Saul and his men had crowned David and his men to arrest them.
cz	umlaç ba al-waul lamor, mhrh vlch ci-pw'tu plwtim yl-harx.	27	And a messenger came to Saul, saying, Swiftly, and come now, for Philistines pillage over the land.
ck	viwb waul mrdof akri dvid vilç lqrat plwtim. yl-cn qrau lmqom hhua sly hmklqot.	28	And Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went at the call of the Philistines. Therefore they call that place the cliff of the divisions.

Unruly wills and affections

 More big words. The collect for the 4th Sunday in Lent.

O Almighty God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men: Grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and desire that which thou dost promise; that so, among the sundry and manifold changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old words above. That's what I grew up with, when we as children could understand that order meant set in order, and not the abusive dictatorial sense of order as in I order you.

Newer words below

Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly
wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to
love what you command and desire what you promise; that,
among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts
may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Same ideas just less terse. Why do we need so much explanation? No amount of explanation will bring about faith. What does bring about faith? 

I am not sure. I assume it is more than intelligence and yet requires little intelligence. I expect dogs have more faith than humans. In a human, maturing in faith requires discipline (=discipleship, willingness to take both instruction and correction, but nothing to do with external violent control.) I have associated in my thinking and my glosses the idea of set in order with command.

Yes there is commandment, but that is not barked on a parade square, but rather part of a mandate to be executed with the authority that instructs. The form 'thou shalt' is the embedding of a promise for hearing and following (obey, from the old French to hear).

Yes, there is a place for giving orders. It's not the best or the ultimate place, but it has its analogy. Do automatons have faith? Consider the light-seeking behaviour of a silverfish. Their bootstrap is in us as well. Are we of much more value than a silverfish which is wiped up with a little TP after a scurried flight from a shadow? 

So what starts faith and gets it to test itself and mature and become something beautiful? The beginning is a small turning, but that's not its end. The continuing is an opening of the ear and a willingness to participate, fixing the heart (like a compass needle in a magnetic field) even in the face of the sundry and manifold changes of the world. The end is true joy. Not the deeply repressed anger that we see also in our unruly natures. And beauty, the opening of the film Room with a View, yes - it should become beautiful. 

If your freedom is not beautiful, what is it worth?

Psalms 53

Psalms 53 is a different version of Psalms 14 (Tate). Both are listed below. Compare the verses numbered 6. Note that 53 uses God in a few places where 14 uses Yahweh. Buttenwieser, page 476, treats them together in the post-exilic section. Tate rejects Buttenweiser's idea that Psalm 53 is merely the product of editorial changes or textual corruption. The Jerusalem Bible claims textual corruption also. Perhaps that was the dominant theory when it was produced in the '50s.

You might notice I did not use fool. I do use words related to fool for another root, avil. Here the root is nbl, a fascinating word, worth scanning the concordance (click the link and look for fool in your browser) to note the different usages it has from corpse to lute to skin-bottle. I have reclassified a few of these into my domain of Foolish, one that I had rarely used, but there are more glosses that apply to it.

It is quite possible to be senseless, to consider God to be of no account. But note the beginning and the ending of this psalm. We often forget the endings. Like the whole Psalter, the beginning is insight based on instruction and the end is rejoicing. Does this indicate that even the misdirected energy of injustice and corruption will work toward praise? In the middle of the poem, (did they not know), perhaps we can begin to mature and come to our senses.

	spr thlim		Book of Psalms
	ng		53
a	lmnxk yl-mklt mwcil ldvid.	1	For the leader. In illness. An insight of David.
b	amr nbl blibo ain alohim. hwkitu vhtyibu yvvl ain yowh-'tob.	2	Senseless said in its heart, God? Nothing. They destroy, they do abomination, injustice. There is none doing good.
g	alohim mwmiim hwqif yl-bni-adm, lraot hiw mwcil, dorw at-alohim.	3	God from the heavens leaned over to have a look at the human children, to see if there was any insight, searching out God.
d	culo sg ikdiv nalku. ain yowh-'tob, ain gm-akd.	4	Every one spineless, altogether corrupt. There is none doing good, not even a single one.
h	hloa idyu poyli-avvn, aocli ymi aclu lkm? alohim la qrau.	5	Did they not know, these workers of mischief, eating my people as they eat bread? God they do not call.
v	wm pkdu pkd la-hih-pkd, ci-alohim pizr yxmot konç. hbiwot ci-alohim masm.	6	There they dread dread where dread is not there, because God scattered the bones of those armed against you. You shamed them, because God refused them.
z	mi iitn mxion iwuyot iwral? bwub alohim wbut ymo, igl iyqob iwmk iwral.	7	When will the salvation of Israel be given from Zion? When God turns the captivity of his people, Jacob will rejoice. Israel will be glad.

	spr thlim		Book of Psalms
	id		14
a	lmnxk ldvid. amr nbl blibo ain alohim. hwkitu htyibu ylilh ain yowh-'tob.	1	For the leader. Of David. Senseless said in its heart, God? Nothing. They destroy, they do abomination, wantonness. There is none doing good.
b	ihvh mwmiim hwqif yl-bni-adm, lraot hiw mwcil, dorw at-alohim.	2	Yahweh, from the heavens, leaned over to have a look at the human children, to see if there was any insight, searching out God.
g	hcol sr ikdiv nalku. ain yowh-'tob, ain gm-akd.	3	The lot of them are stubborn, altogether corrupt. There is none doing good, not even a single one.
d	hloa idyu cl-poyli-avvn, aocli ymi aclu lkm? ihvh la qrau.	4	Did they not know, all these workers of mischief, eating my people as they eat bread? Yahweh they do not call.
h	wm pkdu pkd, ci-alohim bdor xdiq.	5	There they dread dread, because God is in the generation of one who is righteous.
v	yxt-yni tbiwu, ci ihvh mkshu.	6	You shame the advice of the poor, because Yahweh is their refuge.
z	mi iitn mxion iwuyt iwral? bwub ihvh wbut ymo, igl iyqob iwmk iwral.	7	When will the salvation of Israel be given from Zion? When Yahweh turns the captivity of his people, Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

In the context of this psalm, I have been thinking about sense, sensible, and senseless because of the senselessness happening in the southern parts of Turtle Island. (Christopher Page at In a spacious place has just commented on this and related subjects.)

Freedom and Faith are two of the big words making the rounds these days. There are many such words and many words have been written about them. If I believed in absolute freedom, and if I believed in the Messiahship of any old leader who happens to come along, I would be very upset if my idol lost an election. But I do not believe in either 'absolute freedom' or that any old leader who happens to come along is anointed. Nor did I ever believe such. I know at least one Canadian fellow, a zealous Christian boy about 30, 5 years ago, who told me that Trump would be the saviour of the US. Perhaps indeed, but only by his negative example.

Who knows, (I won't say), but zeal in a 30 year old is to be considered with care. I also have friends, much older I expect, who might believe that Trump never lied, but I won't say here either. How long does it take a human to mature? And how does one actually manage the decisions about truth and falsehood that we must make in our own minds every day? It is a very careful and very careless process. If you are a scholar, you are careful, but who can afford to footnote opinions in a conversation? Only the pedant.

Did he lose? Yes he did. 

Did he deserve to lose? Yes, and by a much wider margin than he actually did. 

I am free to hold the second statement as an opinion. I am responsible for whatever consequences it implies, like that I think a large proportion of citizens of the USA were deluded, and perhaps still are. I am free to say the first statement that he lost and free to seek information to determine the factuality of that statement. I am free to speak as long as my freedom does not harm others. Does it harm someone to think that I may consider them uninformed? I doubt it. I may do them good. It would harm them if I agreed with them or coddled them. Then they would not mature.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you will know that it is by the cross, not by holding the right opinions, not by believing the right things, that we mature. If you are faithful in this following, you will also know that such freedom to follow is a kind of bond-service, free at last, but bound to a real leader, so hardly free at all.

As I look at social behaviour, I see that people use words and particularly words from religious texts to take power over others. We should know when such an act is abuse of power. We should know when true statements are being used as lies. 

There are tensions of course between texts and tensions between policies. Should we wear a mask? I haven't heard anyone quote Paul on this yet, but they could (wrongly of course): from 2 Corinthians, "We all with open face, etc...")  But we wear a mask to protect others from our ghastly emanations from nose and mouth, visible and invisible. (So much for the glory of the open face.)

Jesus and Moses trump Paul in this case, for they say we should love our neighbours. And wearing a mask at this time, or keeping your distance and not shaking hands, are acts of love for your neighbour, not an infringement of your social or religious rights.

And as far as election is concerned, there is a public record of the problems with prejudice, politics and fairness to our south. Of course, people who need to will not see the record. Particularly on 'rigging the vote'. The vote was not 'rigged' but attempts at voter suppression were made because some people do not want to let other people vote. They would not admit this openly, but they would do and have done any and all of the following: declare mail-in voting as fraudulent, disrupt the mail, provide only one dropbox in a large county, make signature verification procedurally difficult, provide too few polling places, define the counties such that minority votes fail to be seen, and refuse to accept an outcome that they didn't want.

So again - Who is Yahweh that God should turn the captivity of his people. To what are we captive?

Psalms 67

Tate has a lot to say about verb tenses here. He writes: "This psalm presents major problems in determining the mood and tense of the verbs." I have read verse 2 as imperfect (future). Eerdmans reads it as present. God is gracious, etc. Gunkel goes to the past. God was gracious to us, etc. LXX goes to the jussive. May God have compassion, etc. (NETS).

My advice is remember it's poetry and do what you want. (I am not quite that random in my thoughts though you might think I was theocratic at times with my imperatives.) Don't forget you can look up all uses and forms of any word in the concordance. I left a link on gracious below (on the Hebrew side). Interesting that this form ikonnu is rare.

First read the Psalm. 

	spr thlim		Book of Psalms
	sz		67
a	lmnxk bnginot mzmor wir.	1	For the leader. On strings. A psalm. A song.
b	alohim ikonnu vibrcnu. iar pniv aitnu slh.	2	God will be gracious to us and will bless us. He will shine the light of his face on us. Selah.
g	ldyt barx drcç, bcl-goiim iwuytç,	3	To know your way on earth, in all nations your salvation,
d	ioduç ymim alohim. ioduç ymim culm.	4	make peoples thank you O God. Make peoples thank you, all of them.
h	iwmku virnnu laumim, ci-twpo't ymim miwor, ulaumim barx tnkm slh.	5	Make tribes glad and shout for joy, for you judge peoples with equity, and tribes on the earth, you guide them. Selah.
v	ioduç ymim alohim. ioduç ymim culm.	6	Make peoples thank you O God. Make peoples thank you, all of them.
z	arx ntnh ibulh. ibrcnu alohim alohinu.	7	Earth has given her produce. God our God will bless us.
k	ibrcnu alohim, viirau aoto cl-apsi-arx.	8	God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

This Psalm clearly has a centre, verse 5, the only tricolon, flanked and framed by verses 4 and 6. Then framed and flanked again by the word bless. Everyone is to be glad and shout for joy. Curious that this psalm in the middle of the Psalter, the third of three harvest-related psalms (65-67), anticipates the closing psalms of the Psalter. As many point out, the text reflects the priestly benediction of Numbers 6:24-26.