Psalm 15: God is a Good, but Picky, Host

(15:1) A psalm of/for David. Yahweh, who shall live as a guest in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy mountain? The psalmist begins by asking God two related questions. Yahweh, what kind of person is it, that you welcome into your tent as a guest? What kind of person is it, that you want to live permanently on your holy mountain? When we read these questions, we should understand what the psalmist is, and isn't, asking. We need to read these with some context in mind. What these questions aren't doing, is asking how one can become a member of God's people. This is a psalm written by someone on the inside-- someone who is already a member of God's people, who lives within the community of God's people. All of Israel lived in covenant relationship with Yahweh. They had the same shared salvation history-- they were led out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and into the Promised Land. They all were given the Mosaic covenant, with its blessings and curses. And now they all lived, in theory, in faithfulness to Yahweh-- and Yahweh lives in faithfulness to Israel. But in many ways, this is just theory. For most of Israel's history, the people didn't try particularly hard to be faithful toward God. And God, in turn, wasn't particularly pleased with most of them. Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 10:1-5 (NKJV): 10 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Technically speaking, God was in a covenant relationship with all of Israel. But for most of Israel's history, God wasn't pleased with most of them. God has expectations for his people. He insists that they live in a particular way toward Him, and toward each other. And it's people who meet those covenant expectations that God is happy to welcome as a guest into his tent. God is a good host (Psalm 23:5-6), but He is picky about who gets to sit at his table, and sleep in his tent, and live with him on his holy mountain. So the psalmist begins by asking these questions. And when he does this, he forces us to ask these questions as well. What is it, really, that God wants from his people? What kind of people is God looking to dwell with? The psalmist continues by answering his own question, first stating positively what God wants. Verse 2: (2) The one walking wholly committed, and the one doing righteousness, and the one speaking truth in his heart. God wants people, first of all, who walk wholly committed. Let's turn to Genesis 6:9: "These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man. Wholly committed, he was in his generations. With God, Noah walked. Noah was a model of a man who was committed to walking with God (until he hit the wine too hard). He lived rightly toward God. He lived a life wholly dedicated to God. People who live this way know that God is trustworthy (Ps. 26:1), and that you can commit to God and not get burned. You don't find yourself struggling with a lack of faith ("I don't stagger/waver"; Ps. 26:1); you know God has your back. Maybe the easiest way to talk about what it means to be "wholly committed" is to use an example from marriage. When a man and woman get married, one of the things they have to make a decision about is whether or not they will have a joint checking account. You maybe trust your new spouse to be faithful to you, and not commit adultery. But can you trust them to spend "your" money wisely? Can you trust them not to blow "your" savings on stupid things? And so, in some marriages, the husband and wife have separate checking accounts. And, sometimes, they have a secret stash of cash they hide from their spouse, in case their marriage goes sour. Married couples that live this way are not "wholly committed" to each other. They have reservations about each other. They are not really sure they can trust their partner, and so they don't give themselves to each other the way they should. God wants us to be entirely devoted to himself. We don't set aside any part of ourselves, or our lives, and not give it to God. We don't trust in God+ something/someone else. Returning to Psalm 15, the psalmist then changes perspectives/language slightly, and answers his question about who gets to dwell with God in a second way. Still in verse 2: It's the one who does righteousness. Some of us are so used to think of "righteousness" in legal (forensic) terms, that we struggle to understand the way the Bible usually talks. "Doing righteousness" means acting rightly toward God and people. And this is true in both the OT and NT. Let's turn to Matt. 5:17-20 (NRSV): 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter,[c] not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks[d] one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. God still expects people to "do righteousness." And righteousness has to do with keeping the commands. Jesus didn't change that, or abolish that. What Jesus changed, was that he called people to a higher standard of obedience/righteousness. And he called people to obey his commands (or, the commands as interpreted/given by Jesus; Matt. 7:24). The psalmist then talks about what God expects in a third way, still in verse 2: "and the one speaking truth in his mind/heart." What does it mean to "speak the truth in your heart?" The closest parallel I can find is in Deuteronomy 29:16-20 (RSV). This is a warning Moses gives the people. His fear is that the people won't speak the truth in their hearts. They will tell themselves the lie that God doesn't care how they live: 16 "You know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed; 17 and you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. 18 Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from the LORD our God to go and serve the gods of those nations; lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, 19 one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, 'I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.' This would lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. 20 The LORD would not pardon him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy would smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book would settle upon him, and the LORD would blot out his name from under heaven. I think this is the opposite of Psalm 15. To "speak the truth in your heart" means that you understand who God is, and what He wants, and you are truthful about all of that. There are no lies, no compromises, no papering over what God wants. In your heart/mind, there is only the truth. In verse 3, the psalmist continues to answer his question, only from the flip side. What are the things that people can't do, if they want to be guests in God's tent? (3) He hasn't done evil/harm/disaster to his fellow countryman, while a taunt he hasn't raised against his neighbor. Who can dwell on Yahweh's holy mountain? The one who hasn't brought disaster on his fellow countryman. There are people in your life that you really struggle with. They bother you. But when you had the opportunity to do harm to that person, you didn't take advantage of it. You didn't act out of spite, or anger, or nastiness. You didn't open the gate to his sheep pen. You didn't destroy his reputation. You didn't defraud him, or take advantage of him somehow. And the other thing you didn't do, is taunt your neighbor. When disaster did hit your difficult neighbor, you didn't take delight in that. You didn't take that opportunity to rub their nose in it, to lift yourself up over them. You didn't kick your neighbor when he was down. Verse 4: (4) Despised/contemptible in his eyes, the one rejected [by God] is, while the one fearing Yahweh, he honors. These are the kinds of verses we read, and we kind of pause. We aren't sure what to do with them. The easiest way into this verse, maybe, is going to be by remembering the context in which the psalmist writes/sings. The psalmist sings this as a member of God's people, who lives among God's people. Israel, collectively, has made a covenant promise to be faithful toward God. And if/when God's people stopped living faithfully, they were rejected by God. So if you, as an Israelite, became an idolater, God rejected you. If you practiced witchcraft or divination, God rejected you. Murderers, thieves, homosexuals, cheats-- God rejects you (cf. Rev. 21:6-8). The concern here isn't so much with people outside of the covenant. It's with people who have entered into a covenant with God, and then broken that covenant. Now, what about people who live outside of the covenant? Does God reject them? Are we supposed to despise non-Christians? I think the answer to that, is very obviously "no." God has not rejected the world. God loves the world (John 3:16). God sent Jesus to die on the cross for their sins, so that they could become part of his people. So if God has not rejected these people, we cannot despise them. Who does God reject? Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 (RSV): 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral men; 10 not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But rather I wrote[b] to you not to associate with any one who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber-not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. "Drive out the wicked person from among you." Who does God reject? God rejects the one who calls himself a brother, but rebels against God (1 Sam. 15:23) and lives an openly, deliberately immoral life. God rejects the one who will not repent when you confront them. God rejects the one who then teaches others to live like them (Matt. 5:19). Those are the people who you can't associate with. Those are the people that do terrible harm to Jesus' name, and to God's reputation. When we look at those people, and understand the damage that they do to God's people, we understand that they are contemptible (2 Kings 17:7-20, with verse 20 describing God rejecting Judah). So who does God welcome to stay as a guest in his tent? People who view the unrepentant brother with contempt. Let's reread verse 4, and tackle the second line: (4) Despised/contemptible in his eyes, the one rejected [by God] is, while the one fearing/revering Yahweh, he honors. Now that we've talked about who we view with contempt, we can talk about who we honor. We honor the ones who fear, or revere, Yahweh. All of us, in theory, walk through life understanding that Yahweh is God. He is enthroned above. He is ruler over all. And we are his obedient servants. But there are some people who take this more seriously than others. When they sit down to watch TV, they do so as people who revere God. When they find themselves frustrated with a family member, or coworker, or friend, and they open their mouths to respond, they speak as people who revere God. They live with a constant awareness of God's presence, and God's holiness. It's people who live like this that you honor. They are the ones you make a big deal out of. Now, people who live this way don't want your honor. They don't want any recognition. They usually don't handle praise very well, because they want the honor and praise to go up to God. But these are the people you look at, and think highly of. These are the people you honor-- not those who are rich, or powerful (James 2). Not those who live as sinners. People who fear/revere God. And it's people who know who should be honored, and who shouldn't, that get to stay as guests in God's tent. The psalmist continues, still in verse 4: He swears to bring disaster, and he doesn't change. Everyone who reads these two lines, instinctively changes them. Because what the psalmist actually says here, people find impossible to accept. The first line is three words in the Hebrew: "He-swears/promises to bring-disaster." Every English translation takes these words, and understands them in terms of keeping your promises regardless of the cost. If you make a promise, you keep that promise (Matt. 5:33). But the only way to reach that translation is by adding in a few extra words-- words that aren't in the Hebrew. What the Hebrew actually says, is that what God wants is for someone to swear to bring disaster, and not change. What does this mean? Let's read Job 29:1-17 (ESV): 29 Job again took up his discourse and said: 2 "O that I were as in the months of old, as in the days when God watched over me; 3 when his lamp shone over my head, and by his light I walked through darkness; 4 when I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent; 5 when the Almighty[a] was still with me, when my children were around me; 6 when my steps were washed with milk, and the rock poured out for me streams of oil! 7 When I went out to the gate of the city, when I took my seat in the square, 8 the young men saw me and withdrew, and the aged rose up and stood; 9 the nobles refrained from talking, and laid their hands on their mouths; 10 the voices of princes were hushed, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths. 11 When the ear heard, it commended me, and when the eye saw, it approved; 12 because I delivered the poor who cried, and the orphan who had no helper. 13 The blessing of the wretched came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. 14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. 15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. 16 I was a father to the needy, and I championed the cause of the stranger. 17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous, and made them drop their prey from their teeth. ------------------------------------------------------------ Goldingay, Psalms Vol. 1, 222: "The last colon then takes further the duty of a responsible member of the community to see that people do not get away with wrongdoing. It would be tempting (e.g.) to deal softly with one's friends, but the person Yhwh welcomes is the one who vows to bring trouble and does so. W.A. Irvin calls this 'astonishing nonsense,' but the psalm assumes that just as it is wrong to bring about calamity for someone who does not deserve it (v. 3), so it is wrong to act with unilateral leniency when someone does not deserve it" (1:222). ------------------------------------ Part of Job's responsibility, as a well-respected elder within the community, was to exercise authority in a way that protected the vulnerable. And what this means, concretely, is bringing disaster on people who have done wrong. If you were an elder, there were times when you would be tempted to act on behalf of the "nobles" or the wealthy or powerful. What can a widow, or resident alien, do for you? What can the blind, or lame, do for you? But everyone knew that Job was committed to righteousness. And if you were vulnerable, and needed a champion, Job was the man you went to. Job was the one who brought disaster on the wicked. This is the idea behind Psalm 15. What God wants is people like Job. When people do wrong, you need someone to rise up, and vow to bring disaster on them, and then not change their mind about it and back down. A society, or church, cannot function the way God wants, if people are afraid to take action (Gal. 2:14)-- if they don't exercise authority, when that's what's needed. And it's people like Job, who are welcome as guests in Yahweh's tent. Verse 5: (5) His money he hasn't given with interest, while a bribe against the innocent he hasn't taken. I've said before, that when your brother or sister is in need, a loan can be a perfectly acceptable form of help (Deut. 15:7-11; Luke 6:34-35). Their water heater goes out, or their car engine seized up, or they have to stay home because they are sick, and they don't get paid sick days. They don't need charity; they need a loan for a couple months until they can pay you back. But when you lend your brother or sister money, you can't lend with interest. You can't view your brother's need, as an opportunity to make money. You can't exploit people when they are vulnerable (=payday loans). You lend, knowing that there is an opportunity cost to that lending. You lend because your neighbor needs your help. Maybe a month ago, a couple drivers noticed how hard I was working to soak up as many hours at work as I could. I've been working almost every Saturday. Running misloads at night. Trying to find some extra work to make the paycheck a little bigger. And one of them told me that if I needed to borrow some money, he'd be happy to lend me some. [I'm fine. I'm just working hard because I have some big expenses coming.] But I was touched by their kindness. And I know that I'm not the only employee that those drivers have extended that offer to. There's at least one other driver who's had some financial hardships, and some of the drivers have lent him money, interest free, to help him through a rough patch. And they did this quietly-- it was a total accident I even became aware of this. They did this in a way that protected the driver's dignity. And most of the drivers I'm talking about aren't even Christians. But they saw the need, and they rose to meet that need-- understanding that what people usually need is not charity, but a loan. It's people who lend without interest when they are asked, and/or when there is need, that God invites to stay as a guest in his tent. Let's reread verse 5: (5) His money he hasn't given with interest, while a bribe against the innocent he hasn't taken. One of the things that most bothers God in the OT is when the courts are perverted-- when justice is twisted in favor of the wealthy and powerful. People who are poor and needy are always vulnerable in the courts. No one takes their rights and needs seriously. No one cares what happens to them. They are speed bumps, that get in the way of what powerful people plan. The easiest way to work over the innocent is to have someone give false testimony against them. If you can bribe a couple people to make false accusations against someone, you can destroy them. God has no tolerance for this. The psalmist then concludes by saying this: The one doing these things shall not be shaken/moved forever. If you resolve in your heart, that you will live according to Psalm 15, and then you actually live this way, you will never be moved. You will be a rock, forever. And, you will be the kind of person who gets to dwell on Yahweh's holy mountain. You will be the kind of person who sits at Yahweh's table as his guest. You will be the kind of person God is pleased with (1 Cor. 10:5). So when you read this psalm, hear this as God's invitation to you. God is a good Host. He wants to welcome people as guests into his tent. He wants them to dwell on his holy mountain. The question is, is this what you want? Is this the thing that's most important to you? My hope is that you will say yes. And if you say yes, then this means that what you should want, above all else, is to be the kind of person that is welcomed in God's tent-- that gets to dwell on God's holy mountain." (1) A psalm of/for David. Yahweh, who shall live as a guest in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy mountain? (2) The one walking with integrity, and the one doing righteousness, and the one speaking truth in his heart. (3) He hasn't done disaster to his fellow countryman, while a taunt he hasn't raised against his neighbor. (4) Despised/contemptible in his eyes, the one rejected [by God] is, while the one fearing Yahweh, he honors. He swears to bring disaster, and he doesn't change. (5) His money he hasn't given with interest, while a bribe against the innocent he hasn't taken. The one doing these things shall not be shaken/moved forever. 12