Psalm 15 - Is It You???
Despite what the world says…there are boundaries to life, to how we should think, act and even feel. And when it comes to all things holy, like being in the presence of God, there are also boundaries that must be in place in our lives.
In Psalm 15, King David briefly illuminates our need to live lives worthy of coming into the presence of God each and every day we are alive.
King David starts off the psalm by asking a question…“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?” - you need to ask yourself…Is It You???
Psalm 5 says…
Verse 1: “Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?”
David asks the only one who can answer these questions…God. Only God knows who he would let into HIS presence.
It is a valid question. And it is a question that is really a measure of self, a question that should lead into some self reflection - to which King David turns to next in the following verses.
Verse 2: “The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart;”
This verse is quite to the point. It highlights character traits, behaviours and mindsets. Blameless, righteous and a truth full people reflect the heart of God, rather than the world around them.
Now we all know we are sinners who have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) - however, that should not be a crutch that we constantly lean on. We should be aiming to live lives full of victory and ones that reflect the character of ‘God in Us’.
So we should be living lives that people look at and go “Wow, they aren’t perfect, but by golly they are trying their best to be a really good person, to love those around them, and to stand up against evil”…
We should reflect God more than we reflect the world in which we live.
Verse 3: “whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbour, and casts no slur on others;”
We know that Satan is the ‘Father of Lies’ (John 8:44), that lies are his native tongue and he is the ‘God of this World’ (2 Corinthians 4:4)…so it should be no surprise that the world around us is absolutely saturated in lies and deception.
However, if we have the Spirit of God living within us we should not reflect the world we are in, but rather the holiness of God. Truth is ate very heart of who God/Jesus are (John 14:6). Our lives are to be filled with truth-telling and of loving speech and actions.
Verse 4: “who despises a vile person but honours those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind;”
Again keeping one’s word is a form of truthfulness, it is the actions of an honest person, one who lives righteously.
We should hate evil, and stand up against those who bring it into our schools, communities, and nations.
On the flip-side of that we should be lifting up those who fear God and are living righteously and upholding lives worthy of emulating.
Verse 5: “who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.”
This last version will hit some people pretty hard. Especially those who believe that they should be able to make as much money as they can, even if it means that others suffer, or that taking advantage of people ‘who are too stupid to know it’…these are the vile people that the previous verse describes.
Giving…even in our own lack…is part of living a righteous life. Especially giving to those who need it the most, and who are innocent in their lack. As Christians we cannot copy the ways of the world…this includes how we do business, and how we treat employees, and those who we come in contact with.
The whole psalm ends in a promise…”Whoever does these things will never be shaken”….and by default it answers the questions Kind David asked in verse 1 - ““Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?” - it is those who live righteous lives, full of honesty, truth-telling and standing against evil…they shall be able to stand in the presence of God in that glorious day.
I hope that as the day of the Lord’s return draws ever closer that you and I aim to live as closely to God’s character as we can. Our forgiveness, our salvation and our redemption is found in Jesus, we should live lives worthy of that sacrifice and not squander it by reflecting the world and its god, rather than the Almighty ‘I AM’ that we serve.