There is an old legend about the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes. In the legend, he spent many years of his life wandering around, looking for an honest man. According to the legend, he never found one. Our psalm for today is looking for the same thing, a good, upright, righteous man who may enter into God’s tabernacle, into His presence. Is there such a person? Let’s look into Psalm 15
King David is the author of Psalm 15. For many years the Ark of the Covenant had been held captive by the Philistines, and it was David’s great desire to bring it back to Jerusalem. Yet God is all-holy, and who, with their own sinfulness, can come into His presence? The Bible clearly teaches that everyone, you, me, we all are sinful, and no one on their own is good, upright, or righteous (Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23). Yet as we read through our psalm and the requirements of the people God will welcome into His presence, we wonder who could possibly fulfill these requirements.
On our own, we will consistently fall short. There is only one who is sinless, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Whoever accepts Him as their Savior will have His righteousness bestowed upon them (II Corinthians 5:21; Romans 10:13). We exchange our sinfulness for His righteousness, and are thus able to abide in God’s tabernacle, and dwell in His tents.
A saved person should exhibit indications of ethical integrity and moral responsibility. God calls His people to be morally upright, and He gives us several standards to determine how we are doing. We read these in this psalm that David wrote. A follower of the Lord Jesus should show in his lifestyle evidence of integrity. His deeds should be just, and his words be true (vs. 2). He doesn’t speak hurtful words to others, doesn’t harm others, nor bring a reproach to his family or friends (vs. 3). A believer will try his best to not do any evil to his neighbor. He won’t do anything to bring disappointment to his family, to make them a reproach in the neighborhood, or hang their head in shame.
As we continue on in our psalm, we read that one that God will welcome into His tabernacle and holy hill will be careful with whom they associate (vs. 4). He rejects wicked, degenerate sinners as his companions and good friends, and instead fellowships with other believers. We know that our behavior and thinking is frequently affected and changed by those we associate with, so if we wish to continue living in a godly manner, we should be associating with other godly Christians, not with the worldly, sinful crowd.
Another characteristic of a righteous and upright person is that they will hold themselves accountable (vs. 4). He performs what he promises. His word is his bond. God keeps every promise He makes to us, and His Word is true. He expects His children to also be honest in their word, keeping their promises, vows, and oaths. As we see in several of these characteristics, words are powerful. How we use them reflects our relationship with God. We need to speak the truth, refuse to slander others, and keep our word and our promises.
David concludes his list with a final characteristic of a godly believer, and that is that he is not fickle or greedy. He can’t be bought with a bribe, nor does he charge high interest in order to become rich at the expense of the poor (vs. 5). Some people are so obsessed with money that they will change their lifestyle and standards to get it. That is not to be the case with a follower of Jesus.
So, who may abide in God’s tabernacle, and dwell on His holy hill? The answer is those who have the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, which we receive when we accept Him as our Savior. Those who come to Him through the shed Blood of Jesus. Only when we have the righteousness of Jesus, will we be able to faithfully show these characteristics in our life.
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