Psalm 15
In many places in our culture,
the church is going to great lengths to make herself relevant to the lives of
the people. On first blush this may seem like a noble pursuit; however, the
underlying assumption is that the people themselves know what is truly relevant
in their lives. I remember a young man who worked for me for several months
before moving across the country to a new job. In leaving, he told me that when
he first started working with me he was fresh out of a PhD program that had
taught him the most important thing was to ask questions. He went on to say
that he had learned from me that the most important thing was to ask the right
questions.
This theme is repeated throughout
the Bible. (For examples see Psalm 24:3, Luke 10:25, 18:18, John 6:28, Acts
2:37 Acts 16:30, and Acts 22:10) It is vitally important to know what questions
to ask, and in Psalm 15 David asks the most important question, “O Lord, who
may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?” The psalmist wants to
abide, to dwell, which connotes a permanent relationship with God. The answer
is to worship God with the entirety of your life. Jesus calls us to love God
with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength. David, in Psalm 15, affirms this
by calling us to worship God through our walk, as in “love mercy, do justice
and walk humbly with God," through our words, and through our good works.
This psalm causes us to rejoice
because Christ has made it possible for us to abide, to dwell, in the presence
of God. This psalm is also a reminder that we are in the process of becoming
what we already are; that is, we are already the righteousness of God in Christ
Jesus and we are on a journey to make our right standing with God our way of
life. Therefore our ambition, our goal, is to honor God with our lives because “such
people will stand firm forever.”
What word or phrase
in these verses
Attracts your
attention?
Reflect on that word
or phrase.
What insights come to
you?
How does this passage
touch your life today?
Reading for May 16, 2012 Psalm 16
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