Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? Psalm 15:1
The Inhabitants of God’s Holy Hill
A Psalm of Fellowship
A brief outline of the character of the man who lives in close relationship with the Lord. David describes the lifestyle of the believer who lives in intimate fellowship with the Lord and so derives strength.
The psalm asks the question, Who is righteous enough to approach God? We who are in Christ learn to come boldly into the presence of the father because we come on the authority of His Son (Heb. 4:16). Jesus makes us feel at home in the presence of the Father.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrew 4:16
15:2-4 He who walks uprightly speaks of relative righteousness, not absolute righteousness, for no one is innocent before God. The Lord commands us to be holy, and He also gives us the power to become holy. Vile person is despised: The righteous hate what God hates. The point is not so much the emotion of hatred as the deliberate rejection of the wicked way. Swears to his own hurt: When a righteous person takes an oath, it must be honored even if it requires suffering.
He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart; 3 He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; 4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised, But he honors those who fear the Lord; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
15:5 never be moved: The promise of God for the righteous is for this life and for the life to come. The Lord is the righteous person’s sure foundation.
5 He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.
⇒ Who may enter and stay in God’s holy place? It is a place set aside by God that is separate from the outside world. It is a holy place that we can enter only when we are clean, or rather made clean. Being clean is a relative term – we can never be completely clean. It is Jesus Christ who makes up the gap. We will need to be covered by the blood of Christ – that would be the ticket to enter the holy place.
