Psalm 4: We Are Like What We Do

READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART IV

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Psalm 4

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Psalm 4 is direct; its major theme is confidence in hesed, the faithfulness of God.  In typical Jewish theological fashion, God is like what God has done.  The psalmist recalls that God has vindicated him.  Therefore, the psalmist expresses confidence that God will do so again.

The people, likewise, should cease to offer insincere sacrifices.  They ought to offer righteous sacrifices and trust in God.  A subtext comes from the prophetic literature, which condemns those who act impiously–often exploitatively–and use sacred rituals as talismans.  This mocks God, who objects strenuously.  There is no fault in sacred rituals per se; God ordains them in the Law of Moses.  Yet their efficacy comes bound up with keeping the moral mandates in the Law of Moses.

For the sake of truth in advertising, I divulge that I am a ritualistic Episcopalian.  Proper liturgy sets the table, so to speak, for worship.  Most of what passes for liturgy in many Protestant congregations leaves me cold, uninspired, and unimpressed.  It is stale white-bread worship at best and an undignified noise fest at worst.  Most Protestant worship services feel like so-so social gatherings to me.  So, I gravitate to Prayer Books, smells, and bells.  I stand in contrast to my Pietistic and puritanical Low Church Protestant forebears.  Proper ritual is not an “external.”  No, it is essential.

Dr. Charles Smith was a Canadian pathologist.  He was also the favorite expert of many a crown prosecutor who suspected that a baby’s death was not due to natural causes.  Dr. Smith’s expert testimony in court guaranteed a conviction.  The threat of his testimony in court prompted innocent parents to plead guilty to a reduced charge.  The problem with Smith’s testimony was that he lied under oath.  This fact came to light as pathologist after pathologist contradicted his findings.  Smith lost his professional license and gained a disgraced reputation.  He, unrepentant and confronted with the truth, cited his Evangelical Christian faith and his desire to save young lives as defenses.  Meanwhile, prosecutors reviewed cases and judges started freeing parents and clearing their names.  Yet the prosecutors and judges could not reverse the damage Smith had inflicted on the parents.

Words are insufficient; works must not belie them.  We mere mortals are like what we do and have done.  Protestations of our piety ring hollow when evidence contradicts them.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 11, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A

THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF EL MOZOTE, EL SALVADOR, DECEMBER 11-12, 1981

THE FEAST OF HOWARD CHANDLER ROBBINS, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMN TUNE COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT KAZIMIERZ TOMAS SYKULSKI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1942

THE FEAST OF LARS OLSEN SKREFSRUD, HANS PETER BOERRSEN, AND PAUL OLAF BODDING, LUTHERAN MISSIONARIES IN INDIA

THE FEAST OF LUKE OF PRAGUE AND JOHN AUGUSTA, MORAVIAN BISHOPS AND HYMN WRITERS

THE FEAST OF SEVERIN OTT, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

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