For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good. – Psalm 52:9

Today's Scripture Reading (April 17, 2022): Psalm 52

Maybe one of the most embarrassing moments in American politics was the questioning of President Barak Obama's heritage. Despite the evidence and documents that proved that Obama had been born in the United States (Honolulu, Hawaii), his opposition, including future President Donald Trump, continued to disparage the Democratic President. They falsely claimed that Obama had been born in Africa and therefore was ineligible to serve as the President of the United States instead of picking on the policy differences between the two political parties. It is embarrassing because it shows a recent trend to oppose the other side on superficial facts,  willing to create false facts (fake news) when the real facts are not on our side. What would serve us better would be to let our disagreements center on policy ideas and how we would govern differently. Politics always works best when we can stand and echo the words of men like John McCain and say that our opponents are good people who believe differently. I am tired of politicians who seem to react with jealousy, opposing every idea that their opponents might put forth, reasoning that everything that comes from the other side of the aisle, sometimes including the place of their birth, must be wrong. (Yes, I am talking to you if you are on either the far right or the far left.) We need more debate over substantial policies that explain the differences between our politicians, and less of the jealous grandstanding that only reveals how immature our politicians really are.

According to Rabbinical literature, the conflict between Doeg the Edomite and David was a longstanding one. Doeg was jealous of David, and he took every opportunity to oppose David. He sang David's praises in the presence of King Saul because he knew that the recognition would stoke Saul's jealousy. He questioned David's ancestry, arguing that he was ineligible to be part of the congregation of Israel because he was the descendant of Ruth the Moabite, something that was actually true. Moses had said that "No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation" (Deuteronomy 23:3). Samuel had defended David at that time, which only increased Doeg's anger.

But David's reaction is not based on Doeg's anger. As David wrote this Psalm, he was still being attacked by Doeg. As David closes his Psalm, he reveals the source of his optimism. David's optimism is not based on what God will do in the future but on what he has already done. There was nothing that Doeg could say that would change what David knew that God had done. And based on what he had done, David trusted what God would do. And so, the psalmist proclaims that he has confidence in God, a confidence that was greater than anything that Doeg might do. David would place his hope in the name of God, for his name is good.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 34