Psalm 15:1-5 - LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your
holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, 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. He who does these things will never be shaken.
David had many times of joy and celebration
before the Lord. One of these times was the reclaiming of the Ark of the covenant
that had been stored until the Tabernacle of God had been prepared for it. David
may have well written this psalm as a reflection after being rebuked by his
wife Michal for his public dancing …so overwhelmed by the goodness of God …he
couldn’t help but show the whole city how much his God meant to him.
His reflection of his worship practice and
the tent that he would use to speak to his creator prompted him to record for
all of us these 5 short verses that give us a powerful do and don’t list to
help keep our passion for God at its highest level. They contain 10 standards for living that are
key to keeping our love for God from eroding away with the passing of time. They
put the emphasis on loving the people that God created …and treating them with
the same respect we would treat God.
It will take some work to follow all 10….but
we are told to strive to be blameless…refuse to slander others….close our ears
to any gossip….not to harm others in any way…speak out against the sin we see around
us…to rebuke the sin that crosses our path….commend and encourage the ones we
see doing good….keep our promises no matter what…to avoid taking advantage of
others in charging interest…and to never falsely testify against the innocent.
I have some work to do if am I am to follow
all 10 in a complete way. I will admit that my greatest weakness in this list
is closing my ears to gossip. I join in
too often with the discussions around me that suppose theories that may or may
not be true about the people they are said.
But I need some work on the other 9 too. I make excuses to many times
for my inability to be blameless...instead of just trying to be more holy. I allow my mouth to shrink…thinking of a way
to be more politically correct….instead of just speaking the truth of the Bible
as it is clearly written. …when I am given an opportunity to speak out against sin. And I know I need some real conviction to do
a better job keeping my promises to others.
I give up way to easy when things get tough.
At least now I have a list of some things I
need to add to my prayer requests to God. For only he can give me the strength
to change my current habits and find the strength to do a better job with all
of these standards that I committed to when I accepted Christ into my life. David
knew that he needed to work on these things too...and I just bet he was in that
Tabernacle…praying and asking God to help him be more committed too.
Father…thank you for reminding me that I
must constantly strive to be a stronger Christian. Help me to internalize this list of the
things that will help me keep my passion to follow you stronger than the
influences around me that trick me into staying lukewarm. Show me how to be
more holy and walk away from any discussions that tear down the people around
me. Give me clear direction when sin
around me needs to be exposed or rebuked.
Give me the courage and kind loving words that will cause the sinner to
search for the truth…instead turn farther away from it. Help me seethe Zacheus’s
in the trees around me that need me to sit down and talk with them…even
visiting their homes to share the truth of your word. Amen.
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