Psalm 15 expresses the desire for fellowship with God. In elegant Hebrew poetry the psalmist asks “who?” . . . and “who?” Who may approach God and who may live in his presence? Anyone who cares enough to ask this, will be concerned with what God expects of us if we are to be in a right relation to him.
For the ancient Hebrews, the answer lay in the covenant God established with his people, He provided a way for them to live righteously. Israel was accepted as righteous when they repented of their sins and put their hope and trust in the Lord. Through faith they could receive God’s gracious forgiveness and the gift of righteousness.
This would be lived out in their behavior toward their neighbors. The psalm lists different kinds of conduct that should describe the people of God as they relate to one another in the context of God’s covenant favor.
“He whose walk is blameless, and who does what is righteous, and who speaks the truth from his heart, and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent” (Psalm 15:2-5).
Reading this description of a life of integrity reminds us of the Ten Commandments, of Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, and of the lists of ethical duties in Paul’s letters. In fact, this is not so much a list of requirements for a relationship with God, as it is an explanation of how he wants his people to live after they have become his people (Exodus 20:1-2). Frankly, I find that reassuring.
But I also find it disturbing. Can I say that my life has always been above reproach, that I have always lived a life of moral integrity? I cannot. I am a sinful man in great need of God’s grace and forgiveness. Indeed, “There is not a righteous man on earth, who does what is right and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20).
The New Testament puts it this way: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10).
If Psalm 15 is a list of requirements for a righteous life, I am doomed. If it is a description of who I am because of God’s grace, there is hope for me. The writer of this psalm was David. We know quite a bit about how he strayed from the life he describes here. We read his desperate cry for forgiveness in Psalm 51. He knew he had not lived up to this standard. Has anyone?
There is One. The only human who ever lived whose walk was blameless and perfectly righteous, whose every word was truth, whose example was perfect love for others, was Jesus. He practiced what he preached in the Sermon on the Mount. He transfers his righteousness as a gift of grace (Romans 3:22) to every one who believes in him as savior. This is the message of the gospel. In Christ, believers are accepted into fellowship with a holy God.
“Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?” The answer is Jesus and all who by faith are in him.
Pastor Randy Faulkner