I know a song. I can't say it's among my favorites, but I read the words of the song from time to time.
It's a long song. When I have sung it from beginning to end in English it takes about 20 minutes. However, when I've sung it in the original language it's only 8 minutes. That's because typical English rendering requires about 2,300 words to translate the original 949.
The song was formatted for memorization by using an alphabetical acrostic. The text is divided into 22 stanzas, each of which begins with a word whose first letter is a successive character of the original alphabet -- ash-rei, bameh, g'mol, dav-kah, etc. The song was written at least 2,500 years ago, maybe even three millennia in the past.
Oh yes, at least 99.3 percent of those who read this column have their own copy of the song. It's the Psalm 119. Superior English translations will include the Hebrew acrostic every eight verses.
At 176 verses, Psalm 119 is the longest of the Psalms. The song has a primary and repetitive theme: it gives thanks that God establishes and sustains law and order.
Of course, the statutory system that was the object of gratitude was the Law of Moses. Besides the familiar big Ten Commandments, there's an additional 603 statutes in the Mosaic Law. That's a fairly compact body of law and much of it is entirely religious rubrics. Still, the Bible's statutes provided for restraint on routine human depravity so that business contracts were kept, property boundaries were honored, avarice condemned, crimes punished, charity lauded, and human rights defined and defended.
The Law generated two results worth singing about.
First, the Law of Moses created the most durable society in human history. As we look around in the 21st century, we see none of the cultures or societies from 2,000 or 3,500 years ago with a single exception: the Jews are still here. You're welcome to conclude that the Jews are just a luckier people than the ancient Egyptians, Ammonites, Canaanites, Philistines, Babylonians, Persians, etc. (that's the short list). Or you can acknowledge that God doesn't create a people that disappear into history. Second, the Law of Moses insisted that a system of laws was supreme, not the will of a monarch. In fact, the Law of Moses insisted that the king read the law daily and enforce its statutes, not royal whims. You're welcome to conclude that Israelite monarchs were a wiser bunch than the rulers of the cultures around them that have since evaporated. Or, you can acknowledge God guided them with the Law.
Today, we are still directed by the political theory of result number two.
In Utah all elected and appointed officers from the governor down to cops on the beat affirm this principle by swearing an oath to " ...support, obey and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this State." We believe we have order insofar as law is supported, obeyed, and defended. Our state legislators don't cry out "Hail Gary!" in the hope that the governor's personal charisma and power will maintain order. In the same vein Ogdenites don't shout "Hail Matty!" at the mayor. Neither do Weberonians rise before the County Commission and holler "Hail Craig-Jan-Kerry!"
It's good to have law.
Now, under the surface this political principle of the rule of law is the persistent notion that there's a self evident and divine providence responsible. In fact, the preamble to our nation's Declaration of Independence overtly declares that we have God-given rights that should be preserved by the rule of law.
But, pardon the expression, God help you if a public official suggests that there is divine approval for a government's rule of law.
There are exceptions of course. Our president can "God bless" this and that with impunity. But the usual suspects get their knickers in a bunch when less exalted targets for their godless criticisms slip up with a little God-talk.
So here's a little professional advice for public officials. Just say "Annuit CÅìptis." If you forget the phrase, pull out a one dollar bill and read it from the Great Seal of the United States of America. The official translation of Annuit CÅìptis from the U.S. Treasury, the U.S. Mint, and the State Department is: "He (God) has favored our undertakings."
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