Presented, March 27, 2005 pm
Dwelling with the Lord
Psalm 15
Tonight, we continue our study of the psalms. We have noted in times past that the psalms were a group of writings of praise used by Israel in their worship services to God. David was the primary psalmist that we have recorded though we have many other authors in this collection. In studying the psalms of David thus far we have seen his trusting faith in God and desire to see His Lord’s will prevail. He has called for the defeat of his enemies (not for spiteful reasons but for the Lord’s glory) and the deliverance of the righteous. In the psalm we will notice this evening, we find in verse 1 a simple question and the answer in verses 2-5. We find clear application to the message of this psalm throughout the New Testament in the lives of Christians.
I. The Questions
a.
Who may abide in Your tabernacle?
The idea of abiding indicates a sojourning or one who dwell in a foreign land.
In other words the word is often used of a temporary situation.
The tabernacle was a tent. To the children of Israel it was a tent where they
gathered together to meet with the Lord. Exodus records the building and
raising of the tabernacle as well as its purpose. As David penned this Psalm,
the tabernacle was still in use, but he had plans to build God a permanent
dwelling place – which would be erected in Jerusalem – the temple which was
originally built by Solomon.
b.
Who may dwell in Your Holy hill?
The word for dwell is more permanent. Word Study Dictionary says it means “to
settle down, to abide,… to reside” Indicating a place of more permanent
residence .
David mentions His holy hill. Physically David is looking forward to the temple
being built by his son in Jerusalem so that it would have a permanent dwelling
place. In 2 Samuel 7:1-3 records David going to Nathan the prophet and
requesting to build God this permanent dwelling place. I suspect as this psalm
is penned David is anticipating this.
A SECOND meaning – is heaven itself. David desires to be in God’s presence
forever and proceeds to pen the character of one who can do that.
c. TODAY – this psalm could very easily be applied to the dwelling place of God’s people.
i.
The tabernacle of the Old Law was a shadow of the
church that Jesus came to build.
Hebrews 8:1-2 speaks of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected and not man.
What did Jesus build? Matthew 16:18 – His church
Revelation 21:3 speaks of “the tabernacle of God is with man…” – a reference to
the church.
Acts 15:16-17 quotes from Amos 9:11-12 where the promise is made of the
tabernacle being rebuilt and all mankind being able to seek the Lord in it –
THAT IS THE CHURCH
WE are sojourners upon this earth - 1 Peter 2:11; Hebrews 11:13
The church is our temporary home until such time that we can dwell in the
presence of the Lord.
ii.
The Holy Hill is where God is – to us that is
heaven itself. We look forward to the day when we will spend the rest of
eternity with God in heaven – Hebrews 9:24 – speaks of the fact that Christ has
not entered into holy places made with hands, “but into heaven itself, now to
appear before the presence of God.”
Heaven is a permanent place – 2 Peter 1:11; Romans 6:22
WHO will go to heaven when this life is over?
John 3:3, 5 says we must be born again. The saved!
iii. Considering this, WHO is a part of His church? It OUGHT to be the saved. What is the difference between the church and heaven? The only difference ought to be which side of this life we are on!
II. The Answer
a. He who walks uprightly –
i. The idea of one’s walk is his manner of life. The book of Ephesians bears this out in 4:1, 5:1, 5:8, 5:15, etc.
ii. The word upright means, “blameless or complete” (WS Dictionary). BDB says, “Completeness, fullness…according to their full measure; 2. Innocence, simplicity; 3. Integrity.”
iii.
This is such an important characteristic in our
lives.
I see it as virtue in 2 Peter 1:5 (moral excellence)
Job 1:1 describes him as a man that “was blameless and upright, one who
feared God and shunned evil”
Prov 10:9 – “He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts
his ways will become known.”
Prov 28:18, “Whoever walks blamelessly will be saved,
But he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.”
iv.
This describes one whose life is without
compromise.
He is the complete example of what serving God involves. He is a man of
excellence who strives to do his best at all times. Whatever he does,
he does with all his might – Eccl. 9:10
He does it, “as to the Lord” – Colossians 3:23,24
He lives a neat and orderly life and is not an embarrassment to his neighbors
and brethren.
v. He goes the second mile willingly – Matthew 5:41, etc.
What else can be said about one who walks uprightly? Actually, the rest of this psalm describes this upright life.
b. He Works righteousness – One who is righteous is one who is “right, just, normal” (BDB). He uses proper weights in his dealings (meaning honesty).
i. Romans 5:7 speaks of one scarcely dying for the righteous man because he just does enough to get by – BUT this one WORKS righteousness. He works at it and is willing to ensure that he is right.
ii. Zacchaeus was a good example when he said, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." – Luke 19:8-9
iii. Eternal life, glory, honor and other things are promised to “everyone who works good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 2:10)
iv. The Hebrew writer speaks of infinite examples of those who “through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, …” (Heb. 11:33)
v. 1 John 3:7 sums it up- he who practices righteousness is righteous.
c. He speaks the truth in his heart –
i. If we desire heaven when this life is over, we have to be truthful – not only to others, but TO ourselves as well. Here is one who has conviction – unlike the Pharisees Jesus rebuked in Matthew 15:8
ii. Ephesians 4:25 – Paul challenges these brethren – speak the truth always with his neighbors, never lying, because you are members of one another.
iii. He is not playing the hypocrite in his defense of the gospel.
d. He does not backbite with his tongue.
i. Continually we are admonished in God’s word to be careful about what we say. Ephesians 4:29-32 gives much admonition along this line.
ii. The idea of one who backbites is a continual complainer or one who looks for faults. He talks about others behind their backs, often without all the facts. In time, he may be guilty of gossip, dissentions and even slander.
iii. The upright will NEVER act that way.
e. He does no evil to his neighbor –
i. Over and over we are called upon to “love our neighbors as ourselves”
ii. Galatians 5:14 says all the law is fulfilled in that command
iii. James 2:8 refers to it as the royal law.
iv. Romans 13:9 says it is the summary of all the commands
v. Not to mention the answer of Jesus to the greatest commandment – Matthew 22:37-39
vi. One flaw that many Jews had was thinking they could cheat another as long as he was not a fellow Jew. Jesus addressed many of those fallacies in answering their charges.
f. He does not take up a reproach against his friend
i. The upright doesn’t assume the worst and desire that – 1 Corinthians 13:5 – he “thinks no evil”
ii. We ought to always cherish the words of Paul to Timothy saying, “Do not lay hands on anyone hastily” (5:22)
iii. James realized the same thing when he said, “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.” James 4:11
iv. Instead, he who is upright will do his best to build him up – as a brother going to him when he sees a fault (Gal. 6:1), trying to reach and teach the lost, give words of encouragement when needed, etc.
g. In whose eyes, a vile person is despised
i. It is NOT enough to know what is right. True uprightness comes when we despise that which is the opposite of good.
ii. We need to despise the devil and his angels.
iii.
We DO NOT rejoice in iniquity – 1 Corinthians 13:6.
How often do we mourn at the prevalence of sin and those who seem to promote and
encourage it.
I am reminded of the occasions when Jesus wept – it was usually because of
unbelief and in the case of Jerusalem – their vile rejection of God.
iv. What type of impression do we leave with the ungodly? See 2 John 10
h. He swears to his own hurt
i. Jesus said, “let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ – Matthew 5:37
ii. James 5:12 says the same thing
iii. The Christian understands the importance of a good name and honesty. He works to achieve it at all times.
i. He does not put out money to usury.
i. I do not believe this means we cannot loan to another or that we cannot collect interest. But it DOES refer to extortion and taking advantage of the vulnerable.
ii. Christians are to be considerate of the poor and less fortunate – Ephesians 4:28 is an example of this.
iii. Our first question should never be, “what can I get out of this?”
j. Finally, he doesn’t accept bribes either.
i. Realize – it was a bribe that betrayed Jesus (Matt. 27:3-5); It was a bribe that caused Naboth to be murdered; It was bribery that prompted Balaam to give King Balak what he needed to cause Israel to fall; and bribery cause Samson’s lover to betray him. It was bribery that often corrupted the priesthood.
ii. There is NOTHING honest or honorable or UPRIGHT in accepting a bribe.
iii. Ecclesiastes 7:7 says, “Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason; and a bribe debases the heart.”
David’s conclusion in this study is, “He who does these things shall never be moved”. James 1:25 says, “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” What is your inheritance?