Former Blackout Artist

Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken. – Psalm 15

As I read Psalm 15, I’m forced to ask an honest question:  Who could possibly live up to this standard?

The truth is not a single one of us has walked perfectly in the truth, integrity, and righteousness that David talks about here. But that’s kinda the point. The tension here is intentional. It reveals both God’s holiness and our utter inability to meet His righteous standard.

If we think about this further, we might see that David is actually presenting the Gospel to us in Psalm 15.

If our hope rested on our own flawless obedience, we’d be left with camping out at the foot of that holy mountain, apart from God. But thankfully our hope isn’t in ourselves. Jesus alone fulfilled Psalm 15 perfectly. He is the source of our hope. He did this perfectly on our behalf so that we can abide with the Most High God.

And through His grace, the Holy Spirit begins shaping our lives to reflect the character described in this psalm.

When we read it that way, it becomes a lot more beautiful to us, doesn’t it?