Eliot Spitzer’s incineration brought to mind a Bible verse, Psalm 90:8. I have not turned parson in my middle age; I sang a Charles Ives setting of the 90th Psalm in college, which has stayed with me.

Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

The completeness of the debacle–the omniscience of the media, and the omnipresence of what it has learned–calls to mind God’s wrathful scrutiny. But let’s not forget that the psalm is talking about God: Thou…thee…thy. He is not saying that our secret sins have been set in the light of the AOL start-up menu.

I have no brief for Eliot Spitzer, or for structuring, or for prostitution. I know the damage he did to the public, to his family, to the prostitute, and to himself (by which I do not mean, ruining his political career). The state and society must punish certain malefactors, and they punish plenty of them, whether they should or not.

Remember that the horselaugh too many is also set in the light of His countenance.