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Mid-century illustration of a shepherd's staff resting against a stone in still water

Psalms 11:4 · World English Bible

Psalms 11:4 Meaning Yahweh Is in His Holy Temple

Yahweh is in his holy temple. Yahweh is on his throne in heaven. His eyes observe. His eyes examine the children of men.

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What does Psalms 11:4 mean?

A window does not argue with the light; it simply shows how clean it is. Much of a life is spent performing for the crowd as though the sky were an empty ceiling, while the room no one sees goes dusty.

From the Sufism reading below.

Psalms 11:4 through 1 lens

The same verse, read by one tradition.

SUFISM

Sufism

A window does not argue with the light; it simply shows how clean it is. Much of a life is spent performing for the crowd as though the sky were an empty ceiling, while the room no one sees goes dusty. A short, honest look inward each night, naming one thing done for show, begins to clear the glass.

Those examining eyes are not a guard set to catch a thief. They are the nearness of the One closer than the watcher and the watched, present in the very seeing.

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Live Psalms 11:4 today

  1. Before bed, name one thing you did today mainly so someone would see it. Just name it, no verdict attached.
  2. Keep a small promise to one person today that they would never know you broke, the text you said you would send, the thing you said you would look up.
  3. When a group chat turns into everyone performing their opinion, write what you actually think or write nothing, and skip the version shaped for the audience.

Which version of me shows up when the room is empty?

The same truth in other traditions

Confucianism · the Doctrine of the Mean

The wise person is careful when alone, because what is hidden is exactly what shows. Private conduct is not the rehearsal, it is the performance.

Stoicism · Seneca

Live as though someone you respect could see everything you do, and most of what you would be ashamed of simply stops happening.

Zen · Dogen

Practice is not a thing to be judged or scored. Sit with what is actually here, and the clear seeing is itself the correction.

Mid-century illustration of Jesus teaching the crowd on a hillside above the sea

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