Today’s Scripture Reading (May 29,
2016): Psalm 81 & 82
Charles I of
England was executed on January 30, 1649,
at the age of 48. It is said that Charles asked for two shirts on the morning
of his execution because it was cold and the king did not want the weather to
cause a shiver that the people might mistake for fear. He calmly went to his
death, no accusations were uttered other than to himself. His final speech was
not heard by anyone except those standing on the platform with him. He believed
that his death was justified because almost eight years earlier he did not (or
could not) stop the unjust execution of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl
of Strafford. He was the king, and this is something he should have been able
to do. He may have been partially correct, although the situation was much more
complex than even Charles understood.
Charles believed
in the king's absolute right to rule. It
was a belief that during the seventeenth century was being questioned by the
people – especially those in lower power who surrounded the king. But it wasn’t
just Charles’ belief that he answered to no one but God that got him killed. He
also had a penchant for pursuing policies that the people did not support because
he felt that the policies were right. But then again, much of what Charles I
did seems to depend on his belief that he alone would be accountable before
God. So he must do what is right.
There is
much that I have to admit I admire about Charles I – although, in all honesty,
at least part of the attraction I have to Charles is because of the way Alexandre
Dumas portrayed him in the fictional “The Three Musketeers” series of books. But
I also share the same desire to do what is right rather than what is politically
popular, a tendency that tends to get me into trouble. In his defense at his trial,
Charles quoted principals he believed to be straight out of the Biblical texts
-
… the authority of obedience unto Kings is clearly warranted,
and strictly commanded in both the Old and New Testament ... for the law
of this land, I am no less confident, that no learned lawyer will affirm that
an impeachment can lie against the King, they all going in his name: and one of
their maxims is, that the King can do no wrong (Samuel Rawson Gardiner (1906), The
Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution 1625-1660).
Part of that
idea of the right and the responsibilities of kings is found in Psalm 82. The
opening phrase describes what the rest of the psalm is really about – God taking
to task the human leaders of the people (the ‘gods’) for their actions – or inactions.
These words of the Psalm serve as a reminder of what God has the right to do.
He stands in the midst of the great assembly (or the great congregation) and
judges those who judge on the earth. The notice is served – those who rule on
the earth may feel that they are beyond judgment, but God stands in their midst
and sees when they do what is good and when they commit wrong. In the mind of
Charles, the wrong was the execution of his faithful aide Stafford, and that
justified, by the order of God, the removal of his own head on the day of his
execution.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm
83
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