Dwell in the Word: Psalm 15
Contemplate these questions as you dwell in Psalm 15:
1. According to Psalm 15, what characteristics must a person exhibit to dwell in the presence of the LORD, and how do these characteristics highlight our need for Jesus?
2. How does Psalm 15's list of offenses we must avoid (such as slandering, doing evil to a neighbor, and taking a bribe) reflect the challenges of living a blameless life?
3. In light of the human condition described in Psalm 14 and Psalm 15, how does Jesus’ perfect life and sacrifice provide us with the assurance of dwelling in God's presence?
Transcript:
In light of what we looked at last time in Psalm 14, we see an interesting question here at the beginning of Psalm 15. O Yahweh, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? Well, considering that we just saw in the previous Psalm that there is none who is righteous, not even one, This is an important question. Is anyone worthy? Is anyone able to dwell with God? Who can approach him on his holy hill? We could stop at these few words in verse 1 and get the point as we examine the world around us and our own hearts, but this almost doesn't leave us to speculate the point that he's making here. In verse 2, we read, who is able to dwell with God? It's the 1 who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart. Notice, it isn't just the 1 who does what is right. The psalmist ratchets the expectations down real hard on what is expected if you are able to dwell in the presence of God. And the list of offenses against God that a righteous 1 needs to avoid builds here in this psalm as the psalmist continues down through these verses. A blameless one will have control of his tongue and will do no evil to his neighbor. He also honors those who fear the Lord and doesn't put out money at interest. The 1 who dwells with God also does not take a bribe against the innocent. As I mentioned, the implications of this echo the theme we saw in the 14th chapter of the Psalter. Some of the offenses on this list are things we likely wouldn't commit. But is there anyone who can say that they have always avoided slandering anyone and have never done anything evil to their neighbor?
No, there is no 1 who can claim that they have achieved this. If they claim that they have, then they are compounding their offenses on this list because they have not spoken truth in their heart. This is the human condition, and the Bible gives words to what we know to be true by what we see in the world and what we see once again in our own hearts. As we come to the end of this psalm, it tells us that the 1 who does these things will never be shaken.
This most assuredly is true, but as I've drawn out repeatedly, that isn't me and it isn't you. Therefore, we need to see how Jesus unlocks this psalm for us, because in His perfect life, in our very own flesh, Jesus kept the law, and He did it for you and I. You and I cannot sojourn in the tent of the Lord or dwell on His holy hill by what we have done. And so what do we do? We rest in the work of another. We rest in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and the victory that was won in his life, death, resurrection and ascension. And so once again, as we see the evidence of the brokenness of our world around us and within us, may we look to the forgiveness and salvation that we have in Jesus, knowing that when we trust in him, we have the assurance that we will dwell in the presence of the Lord forever.
Let's close up with prayer. Oh Lord, we come before you in humility, recognizing our unworthiness to dwell in your holy presence. Psalm 15 reminds us of the blameless walk, righteous deeds, and truthful hearts required to sojourn in your tent. Yet we confess our failures and our shortcomings. Thank you for Jesus, who perfectly fulfilled the law and lived a sinless life for us. Through his life, death, resurrection, ascension, he made a way for us to approach you. So we ask that you would strengthen our faith, that we might rest in his finished work, and that you would grant us the assurance that we will dwell with you forever. It is in the name of Jesus we pray, amen. All right, that is Psalm 15. We'll see you next time, and we will look at Psalm 16.
