Psalm 15 Complete Jewish Bible
15 (0) A psalm of David:
(1) Adonai, who can rest in your tent?
Who can live on your holy mountain?
2 Those who live a blameless life,
who behave uprightly,
who speak truth from their hearts
3 and keep their tongues from slander;
who never do harm to others
or seek to discredit neighbors;
4 who look with scorn on the vile,
but honor those who fear Adonai;
who hold to an oath, no matter the cost;
5 who refuse usury when they lend money
and refuse a bribe to damage the innocent.
Those who do these things
never will be moved.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
“Who shall dwell on your holy hill?”
Though these questions were inspired by God, running deep through the very heart and soul of David, asked, spoken and recorded 3000 years ago, were not edited out of the canon centuries later by scholars and scribes, the questions which David poses in the first verse of this psalm are of utmost importance.
They may strike us as questions that are tied only to times of worship in ancient Israel, but as they have survived and inspired for thousands of years, in His own truth they take us to the very doorstep of heaven asking, Who will enter these gates? Who will enter the Tabernacle of the Lord, Who will rest upon His mountain?
While the answer is explained in the rest of Psalm 15, the general point is one we find throughout New Testament Scripture.
Matthew 5:1-12 Complete Jewish Bible
5 Seeing the crowds, Yeshua walked up the hill. After he sat down, his talmidim came to him, 2 and he began to speak. This is what he taught them:
3 “How blessed are the poor in spirit!
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 “How blessed are those who mourn!
for they will be comforted.
5 “How blessed are the meek!
for they will inherit the Land![a]
6 “How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness!
for they will be filled.
7 “How blessed are those who show mercy!
for they will be shown mercy.
8 “How blessed are the pure in heart!
for they will see God.
9 “How blessed are those who make peace!
for they will be called sons of God.
10 “How blessed are those who are persecuted
because they pursue righteousness!
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of vicious lies about you because you follow me! 12 Rejoice, be glad, because your reward in heaven is great — they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.
Matthew 11:27-30 Complete Jewish Bible
27 “My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
28 “Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.[a] 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Mark 2:13-17 English Standard Version
Jesus Calls Levi
13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.
15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of[a] the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat[b] with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
John 17:22-26 Complete Jewish Bible
22 The glory which you have given to me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, just as we are one — 23 I united with them and you with me, so that they may be completely one, and the world thus realize that you sent me, and that you have loved them just as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am; so that they may see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these people have known that you sent me. 26 I made your name known to them, and I will continue to make it known; so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I myself may be united with them.”
In addition, The anonymous writer of Hebrews advised his readers to “strive for … the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
The Lord Jesus similarly instructed that “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14).
Those who stand on the holy hill of the Lord, enjoy His presence for eternity, then, are those who arrive there by the narrow way, striving after holiness.
Philippians 3:12-21 New American Standard Bible
12 Not that I have already [a]grasped it all or have already become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that [b]for which I was even taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore, all who are [c]mature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well; 16 however, let’s keep [d]living by that same standard to which we have attained.
17 Brothers and sisters, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. 18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I weep, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their [e]appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who have their minds on earthly things. 20 For our [f]citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with [g]His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
The sad truth is that too many assume they will dwell on God’s holy hill because they once said a prayer, tithed, walked down an aisle, are a member of a church.
It is a grave mistake to think that those acts on their own will merit eternal life if they are accompanied with living a way of life which gives no evidence of our knowing Christ as Lord.
Matthew 6:1-4 Amplified Bible
Giving to the Poor and Prayer
6 “Be [very] careful not to do your [a]good deeds publicly, to be seen by men; otherwise you will have no reward [prepared and awaiting you] with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “So whenever you give to the poor and do acts of kindness, do not blow a trumpet before you [to advertise it], as the hypocrites do [like actors acting out a role] in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored and recognized and praised by men. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, they [already] have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor and do acts of kindness, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing [give in complete secrecy], 4 so that your charitable acts will be done in secret; and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.
Reverend Charles Haddon Spurgeon once preached,
“If the man does not live differently from what he did before … his repentance needs to be repented of, and his conversion is a fiction.”[1]
1 “What Is It to Win a Soul?,” The Sword and the Trowel (December 1879), p 561.
So, who will ascend the hill of the Lord?
It is the one who “walks blamelessly,” in a way which cannot be confused with that of an unbeliever, whose life manifests the reality God has saved him or her.
It is the one whose talk is not marked by slander but who “speaks truth in his heart.”
This is someone who doesn’t merely say what is correct but says what is true, with no gap between what is said and what is lived.
The combination of reading Psalm 15 and looking honestly at ourselves will very likely be discouraging.
Only the Lord Jesus embodies the psalm’s portrayal of holiness to perfection; only He deserves to dwell on His Father’s holy hill, and only because He chose to die for His people’s sins and clothe them with His perfection are we invited, here and now, in this precise moment, in these seasons to live with Him there.
But it is good and right to let the light of God’s Word shine on our hearts and expose what is there, for it’ll move us to repentance, to gratitude to our Savior.
And those who know they will stand there because of Him will seek to be like Him. Consider your walk and your words, and pray that you would be ever more conformed to the image of Christ until you dwell with Him on God’s Holy Hill.
Dwelling in God’s Sanctuary
What is God’s sanctuary?
Probably too many of us think of it only as a church building.
In its widest, richest sense, God’s sanctuary is wherever we experience God.
It is the place where our heart is.
On Sunday, on whatever day meets to read, study, pray over God’s Word, a church building becomes a sanctuary as God’s people gather and make up the building blocks of God’s spiritual temple (2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Peter 2:5).
There we are inspired, empowered, refreshed, strengthened for another week of work, another week of serving God—out in the sanctuary of God’s vast world.
Psalm 15 reminds us that what pleases God is not rituals but a life that seeks to live God’s way.
When we walk with God on a daily basis, we will do what is right, speak the truth, refuse to slander others, and not harm our neighbors in any way.
What’s more, we won’t be impressed by people who delight in doing wrong or act immorally, mocking God, and we will honor those who faithfully serve God.
We will keep our promises, even when it hurts. And we will help the poor and protect the innocent, taking no part in bribery, fraud, or other corruption.
When we live as the psalmist describes, we experience God’s presence.
This happens not only in church gatherings but also in our everyday activities.
Those who live God’s way are building a life that cannot be shaken—regardless of the way uninvited trials can try to shake up, shift the ground under our feet!
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 Complete Jewish Bible
16 (0) Mikhtam. By David:
(1) Protect me, God,
for you are my refuge.
2 I said to Adonai, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good outside of you.”
3 The holy people in the land are the ones
who are worthy of honor; all my pleasure is in them.
4 Those who run after another god
multiply their sorrows;
To such gods I will not offer
drink offerings of blood
or take their names on my lips.
5 Adonai, my assigned portion, my cup:
you safeguard my share.
6 Pleasant places were measured out for me;
I am content with my heritage.
7 I bless Adonai, my counselor;
at night my inmost being instructs me.
8 I always set Adonai before me;
with him at my right hand, I can never be moved;
9 so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices,
and my body too rests in safety;
10 for you will not abandon me to Sh’ol,
you will not let your faithful one see the Abyss.
11 You make me know the path of life;
in your presence is unbounded joy,
in your right hand eternal delight.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 