Critical honesty

There has been a light dialogue between Iyov and John over 'critical honesty'. One of my employees used to say to me - "To be honest, ..." but I am not in the way of doubting his honesty - so why put this preliminary in the conversation. (He, the writer of the diagram software, doesn't do it with me any more - out of shared joy more than fear I hope!)

Well, I just happened to be doing the Doeg Psalm 52 (yes it's that other bloke who does psalms, I know) - and here is what dear David says about the sneaky sensationalist or politically careless Doeg - someone please explain that story to me other than as a preliminary to all the diatribe about tongues in the Bible.

ז גַּם אֵל יִתָּצְךָ לָנֶצַח But God will overcome you with permenance [qal imperfect]
יַחְתְּךָ וְיִסָּחֲךָ מֵאֹהֶל he will take hold of you and pluck you from your tent [qal imperfect ignoring the vav as reversing if indeed it is]
וְשֵׁרֶשְׁךָ מֵאֶרֶץ חַיִּים and will have rooted you out of the land of the living [piel imperfect read as future perfect - accomplished - balancing the adverb]
סֶלָה so there!

There are some strangely placed Selah's in this psalm. This being one little tri-colon - maybe some-one will show me a real understanding of the significance of the piel imperfect of the last colon. I have interpreted its aspect as from before the foundation of the world. The simplification of aspect into tense as if time were linear, is a loss to our understanding.

We need to be honest - qualifications to some things are in my opinion dodgy. But poor old Doeg - he probably was caught between being honest to one or the other. Maybe it was that he needed to absorb the cost instead of shoving it off onto someone else. The carelessness of his words were carried to us over a tri-millennium by a full tradition. (How can we be careful for nothing! - piano, piano) I could go read the story but right now I will leave my guess to stand and be opened (let it be from before the foundation of the world) to correction.

A prayer - following from 'softness'; encircle me, my Love, but not for my protection without the salvation of others, whether I am attacked, or am unable to express what you have called me to say and so offend. So when the costs are known, and the differences delighted, we will all worship One as One. For so you have said to me - do not correct, just worship.