Explore Psalm 15 with us as we delve into what it truly means to dwell in the presence of a holy God. Discover the criteria for entering God’s presence, the character of integrity required, and the constancy needed to live a life of righteousness.

Think about these questions as you listen to this week’s message on Psalm 15:

1. What practical ways can we demonstrate the 'Character of Integrity' in our daily lives?

2. How does understanding Jesus as our ultimate sacrifice influence our view of Old Testament worship?

3. How can we cultivate 'Constancy of the Righteous' amid cultural and personal pressures?

Transcript:

As you can imagine, I often receive a wide range of questions as a pastor. From practical concerns about ethics or the Christian life to deep theological inquiries. I get these types of questions on a somewhat regular basis. Among these, the most pivotal questions I receive often revolve around salvation. And more importantly, probably the better way to describe it would be assurance. How can I know that I'm saved? And, such questions echo a profound biblical inquiry, such as we find in Psalm 15 this morning, where David asks, who can sojourn in the Lord's tent, and who shall dwell on his holy hill? Now, this question is not just theological. It's deeply practical. It compels us to consider what characteristics define those who can go into the presence of a holy and righteous God, who can go before him. And understanding the answers to these questions transforms not just our view of the world, but it also helps us know how to live day in and day out as the people of God. So our goal as we look at this psalm today is to not only find the answers to David's questions, but to come away with a deep understanding of how the Lord Jesus Christ unlocks this psalm for us. Because in Him we have more than just answers to important questions. He gives us hope. He gives us joy. And He blesses us with peace. So that is our destination, that is what we hope to understand. And so we are going to have 3 main points today that will be our map that will help us get to that destination and today they all start with the letter C. So our first point is the criteria for dwelling in the presence of God. As I noted at the beginning this is a profound question that David poses. And we will not only contemplate these questions, but we're also going to revisit Psalm 14 from last week to ponder the dilemma that we saw in that psalm as well. Next, we consider the character of integrity. This psalm paints a picture of what individuals who enter God's presence embody, and it focuses not only on physical appearance, it doesn't focus on physical appearances or physical strength, but instead it's on ethics, it's on virtue. So how does this character manifest in everyday actions? We'll consider this idea together. And finally, we will examine the constancy of the righteous. The figures depicted here do not waver with the shifting winds of culture nor compromise their convictions for personal convenience. We see that they are steadfast. And what makes such steadfastness possible? How can we emulate this in our lives? Those are the questions we hope to answer today in addition to the questions that David asks. So with these guideposts set, let's dive into the opening verse of Psalm 15 and look at David's question in greater depth today. So Once again, we come to these questions posed by the psalmist at the opening of this psalm. Now, in order to fully understand what is expressed here, we need to consider the purpose that this psalm would have served in the ritual life of the people of God. So this chapter of the Psalter is likely what is known as an entrance liturgy. As the priests came to the tabernacle, they would have been asked these questions or considered them as they were to think about what they were supposed to be thinking and how they were supposed to live their lives as people who were going into the holy place of the tabernacle of the temple. As we imagine this in our minds it's important that I help you to remember something that I brought up in the past about worship in the temple. You know we hear worship, we hear the idea of there being a temple, and what do we imagine? We imagine people coming before church, talking with each other, coming in, gathering, sitting together, and then praising God back and forth. But That's not what Old Testament worship was. Old Testament worship was the ritual sacrifices that the priests did. There were not a whole bunch of people coming into a sanctuary and praising God together. There wasn't a pastor at the front telling people to stand up, sit down, say this, sing this, or anything like that. The priest was someone who did the sacrifices. They didn't deliver a message based upon scripture. They were the ones who went into the holy place and sacrificed the animals for the forgiveness of sins. To help us remember the focus of worship in the Old Testament, we have then need to remember what a priest is. A priest is someone who oversees a sacrifice. So worship once again in the tabernacle and in the temple was not about singing together. It was about atoning for the sins of the people of God. And in order for sin to be forgiven, there had to be the shedding of blood. The ones hearing and reciting this psalm, they're going to be going into the presence of a holy God to shed the blood of animals on the behalf of the people. That's the expectation as this psalm begins. Well, normally we want to work through a passage verse by verse, that's the best way to handle Scripture, that's how you do it in context. Normally I work through verse by verse. I want us to jump ahead before we get to our points about those verses today, because I think it helps us to understand the questions here in this part of the psalm in a much better way. Because the answers to the questions in this entrance liturgy are not answered by questions of whether they've processed through some tasks or making sure that they're wearing the right clothes to go into the temple. This isn't like us stopping our kids before we get into the vehicle to go to a softball or baseball tournament and say, now do you have your glove? Do you have that bat I paid too much money for? Do you have your cleats? Okay, now you can get in the SUV and we can go to the tournament. That's not what this is like. This isn't an entrance ritual that is a checklist for whether or not you can go into the temple. The description of what we're seeing here based upon the answers that are given later on in this psalm show us that the expectation of the answers to these questions are ethical, they are moral, they are not ritualistic. But honestly if you've read the descriptions of the priestly office in the book of Leviticus, you would maybe think that the answers to these questions should be more like my example of asking kids whether or not they have all their equipment before you go to a softball tournament. Because going into the temple is very ritualistic. The answers to these questions could easily have been a checklist. Do you have your linen undergarments on? Do you have your linen tunic? Do you have your colorful sash? Do you have your robe, your ephod, whatever that is? Do you have the breast piece? And have you properly washed your hands? If so, you have properly fulfilled the requirements of this entrance liturgy and you can now go into the Holy of Holies. If we were to think about the office of priest spelled out in the book Leviticus, you would think, yep, and then we anoint him with oil and they can go in. You would think those would be the answers. Now while surely a priest couldn't walk in without those things, they did have to have those things, that isn't what this entrance ritual was concerned with. This psalm is concerned with the matters of the heart. And if we were reading through the Psalter chapter by chapter, you would naturally stop for a second and be called back to the previous chapter. Because here we're asking moral and ethical questions. But in the previous chapter, remember what we saw in Psalm 14.3. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt. There is none who does good, not even 1. So we're asking these important ethical and moral questions in Psalm 15.1, but previously we've found out there's no 1 who can answer those questions perfectly. So while this was asking important questions of the priests and of their moral integrity, the natural thing to do here, if we stop for a second and consider these questions, is there anyone who's righteous? Is there someone who can truly say that they have perfectly kept the law of God? Is there anyone who has perfect moral integrity? Because I'm remembering what Psalm 14 says here, and this has helped us to understand human corruption and sinfulness. So with that in mind, it's important that we remember the sacrificial system here. Remember this sacrificial system that the priests are going in to do is an act of mercy from a holy God. Remember all the way back to the garden, when God first shed blood to create clothes to cover the nakedness of our first parents, sacrifice was what was done as an act of mercy. Humans deserved to die because of their sin. But all the way back in the garden, God put clothes of skin on Adam and Eve to cover their shame, to cover their nakedness, to cover their sin. Blood was shed. It was a substitution. It was a sacrifice to cover their sin. And so we need to remember that what they were doing here, while it was ritualistic in nature, it was an act of mercy. It was God allowing humans some access before Him to go into His presence to be before Him as a holy God. So as we consider the criteria for entering the temple area, This does more than just make us think about how this is good for priests. This is more than just about how they should live if they want to go in the temple. Again, it reminds us of the mercy of God. And so knowing that the Psalter points not only backwards to the old covenant system, but it also points forward to the Messiah and His coming and to the new covenant, We have to understand how this idea here is so beneficial for us. Because remember, Jesus is the 1 who unlocks the Psalms for us. He is the 1 who helps us to understand this. And so as we move forward to our second point, the character of integrity, we naturally are going to have our minds coming back to the truth of human sinfulness and corruption and realize that there is no 1 who does all these things perfectly. Not even 1. So we're drawn to ask these questions that David has asked here. Will there ever be 1 who can enter the presence of God perfectly? Will there ever be someone who can set things to right? So let's dig into the answers to these questions as we consider our second point, the character and integrity that the priests are expected to have here. So as we look at these statements we see a reinforcement of what I said before. These are not ritualistic formal requirements here. These are ethical statements and it states right away with the statement here in verse 2 that they are to walk blamelessly and not only do what is right but they are to speak truth in their hearts. Now I pointed out that This isn't just about the outward appearance of what they wear as they go into the tabernacle. But this also lets us know this isn't also just about the outward appearance of their behavior either, is it? This isn't just the way their behavior looks. The only 1 who can truly answer these questions is the actual individual being asked the questions. And there is that old statement that you know, integrity is who you are when know what is looking. And that's the idea expressed here in this passage by this stating that this person speaks truth in their heart. So this is the level of morality required if you're going to sojourn in the Lord's tent and dwell on his holy hill." So let's consider some of these statements and what was expected of these priests who would go into the presence of God in the temple. They are not to slander with their tongue. Do no evil to their neighbor nor take up reproach against a friend." And what this is saying is don't just avoid saying bad things about someone else, but also don't join in with those who are already slandering someone. And the idea being emphasized here is the importance of speech, the importance of telling the truth. And it also points to generally how you and I fail to love our neighbor, right? When we sin against other people, it's rarely that anyone of us is going to roll up into somebody's garage, start up their lawnmower, and drive out with it. That's not how we sin against our neighbor. I'm guessing that none of you walked over to your neighbor's house this past week and took the TV off their wall or raided their pantry when you were out of groceries. The majority of the sins we commit in our lives are the stuff that's being talked about here, right? This is what we do. This is where we fail. You probably aren't going to ever be tempted to pilfer someone's small appliances, But I guarantee you, you're going to be tempted to slander someone this week. You're going to be tempted to join in talking about someone else in an unproductive way this week. That's guaranteed. That's going to happen to each and every 1 of us. Like I mentioned before, these are issues of serious integrity because they're not only easy to do, but they're kind of acceptable sins, right? We're usually pretty selective of our audience when we speak poorly of someone. We know who's going to rat us out and who will pile on with us. We usually pick to talk poorly about somebody with that person who's going to pile on with us. If you stole your neighbor's boat, the whole town is going to know and it's going to look down upon you. But speaking sinfully about people, it's what we do. You get by with it every day. And that's why I'm saying that this list is 1 of true integrity. This is what we should be striving for. To be a people that avoids more than just the big ticket sins, but also desires to have integrity that causes us to have proper thoughts and control over our tongues. And there is more to this than just what we've seen so far. The righteous 1 also stands against those who do evil and honors people who fear the Lord. And the psalm also says the righteous 1 sticks to their convictions even when there's the potential that they will personally struggle or personally be hurt. And this is particularly hard. And this is a true sign of integrity because when we're wronged, when people sin against us, what do we do? What do we almost immediately feel every time? That the response that we have to what is done to us is now justified. We can do what was done to us. But we know that a person of integrity doesn't change with how they're treated. As the description of a righteous 1 closes up here, we see more sinful actions that are discrete and easy to hide. Now, in scripture, we see that charging interest is something that you only do to foreigners. That's what's interesting about this 1 here. Maybe you balked a little bit, who does not put out his money at interest. Some of you maybe were going to take this psalm down to the bank, see if you get your interest rate lowered, right? But in Scripture, you will only charge interest to foreigners. And the reason this was is because if you were taking out a loan you were in a situation of hardship and so to take out a loan meant that you you were really struggling and so you would offer money to these people it was a loan They did have to pay it back You would offer money to these people to help them out of their hardship But if you were charging interest the idea was that you were exploiting these people who were already suffering and you didn't want to be a type of person who would do this exploitation. So, that is 1 of the things here, but that is, once again, something that's relatively secretive. You know, people don't need to know that. It's a matter of personal integrity. You're going to follow God's command regarding interest. And in addition, the final character trait here that we see is that the righteous do not take out bribes against the innocent. Once again, another sin that involves private activity and could easily be hidden. You don't do bribes out in the open, right? These are matters of personal integrity. So the big idea that I want us to come away with here as an application for us to consider in our lives is how am I doing? Am I a person of integrity in these things and all the other things that are private matters? Am I striving to follow God's commands, not just in the stuff that people can see, but in the privacy of my heart? Like I said before, we aren't going to let ourselves into our friend's house while we know they're on vacation and take their stuff. But you're going to be tempted day in and day out to speak poorly of other people and to scheme to build ourselves up above others in our hearts. That's the sin that we more struggle with than anything else, these private matters of the heart. So are we the type of righteous person who dwells in the presence of God? Do we have character and integrity, the kind that God desires us to have? So as we consider this and as the Holy Spirit convicts us of areas where we need to change, we see the result of a life like this with our final point that is the final sentence of this psalm. That there is a constancy in the righteous. They are able to stand strong and stand firm. So as tempted as we are by the sinful desires of what we have seen, There is also a desire in us to be the type of person who isn't moved. As tempted as we are by all that stuff, as easy it is to fall into it, as corrupt as humanity is, We also have this desire to be the 1 who doesn't change, to have a constancy. I don't know anyone who wakes up in the morning and says, You know what I'm looking forward to doing today? I'm going to slander my friend, and later on in the day, I'm going to change my convictions after someone wrongs me. I'm looking forward to that. That's not how we start our days. That's not how we think. That isn't the definition of a full rich day in our minds. We don't want to be those people. And if you and I sat down and talked about the kind of person we would want to be, most if not all of us would say that we desire to be the type of person who is reliable, the type of person who is known to be trustworthy, the type of person who's considered to have this integrity we're talking about. But we are aware of how most days go. We know the way that temptations come our way, right? Situations arise and we find ourselves struggling with the issues that this psalm calls us to stand firm in. In order to be 1 of those who is not to be moved, we need to be consistently mindful of God's call upon our lives. We need to have a deep and growing knowledge of the holiness and character of Jesus and we need a desire to shape ourselves more and more to be like Him and reject the temptations to succumb to the challenges that rise up in front of us every day. And this is such a big part of Christian sanctification. To understand that the battle for holiness occurs in the smallest moments, and not just in the face of the big moments. Pursuing righteousness in every moment prepares us to stand firm in every situation that we face in our lives. But as we look at this, we know we've been moved. As we often say in our prayer of confession, we know that we have not loved the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and we know that we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We have not stood firm in any and every situation. We shift with the tide around us. We are movable. As I mentioned, this psalm is an entrance liturgy for the priests. But there was more to the tabernacle and temple than just a place where sacrifices took place. They were going into the presence of a holy God. And the only way that they could go into the presence of God was through the blood of another shed for the forgiveness of their sins. As I said previously, the idea of the tabernacle and the sacrifices that took place there was 1 of mercy. It was about grace shown by God to His people. Because there is no human who is perfectly righteous. There are none of us who are never moved. And we not only excluded ourselves from the Garden by our sin and rebellion, but We've done nothing but make the situation worse by continuing in our rebellion. It wasn't just our first parents who sinned against God. We do as well. But, because Jesus unlocks this psalm for us, This bad news becomes good news. There is an immovable 1, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. As our representative, He came to earth in our flesh. He perfectly kept the law, even in the small things. And in His perfect righteousness, He took on the wrath of God for our sin. And He was able to ascend into the presence of God. And because we have been united to Him in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. We have a salvation that is immovable. He achieved victory for us, and we have the sure and certain promise of eternal life in the presence of God by our faith in His finished work for us. We have been moved in our sin. But because Jesus could truly answer the questions at the beginning of this psalm, and because we are united to Him, we are now immovable. We have, through faith, access to God. And as we draw our time together today to a close, Let's consider these profound truths that we've encountered today in Psalm 15. It challenges us not only to assess our outward actions, but to deeply consider the attitudes of our hearts. And this isn't just about avoiding major transgressions, It's about cultivating character that aligns with God's righteousness in our thoughts, in our words, in our deeds. But here's the essential truth that we can't overlook. On our own, we know that we fall short. Every single day we struggle against sin that seeks to derail us. And despite our best efforts, we cannot achieve the perfection required to dwell in the Lord's holy presence. And this is where the beauty of the Gospel shines brightest. In Jesus Christ, we have a Savior who has not only met these standards, but has also secured our place with God through His perfect sacrifice. Therefore, we do not leave here today disheartened by our imperfections. Instead, we are encouraged and we are empowered by the grace of God. May His grace move us to pursue righteousness with a renewed passion, knowing that our efforts are not in vain. Let us strive to be a people of integrity, not to earn God's favor, but as a response of His great love and mercy that He has shown to us in Christ. So this week, I challenge each of us to reflect on 1 area where we can demonstrate the type of integrity we see in this passage. Perhaps it's in our speech as we resolve not to slander or gossip. Maybe it's in our dealings ensuring that we're fair and just, even when no 1 is watching. Whatever it is, Let's commit to living as we're called to live, not out of fear, but out of joy and out of gratitude for the unshakable and immovable salvation that has been given to us in Jesus. And as we strive to live out this integrity, remember that you're not alone. We are in this together, supported by our sisters and brothers in Christ, and sustained by the Holy Spirit. Let us then depart from here, firm in the conviction that our lives grounded in Christ can indeed reflect the holiness of the God that we serve and adore. Amen. Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, we praise you for the gift of your Word. We thank you that because of Jesus and because we have union with him, we can answer David's questions in the affirmative that we are able to go into your presence. And we thank you for this gift of your perfect righteousness. We pray, O Lord, that it would be reflected in our lives. That we would desire to live our lives in such a way that when people look at us, They will know that we are striving to live by your standards and not our own. That we are people of integrity because we are your people. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.