A Portrait of the Godly – Psalm 15

At one point in the Old Testament Book of Micah we see Israel complaining to the prophet that GOD is asking too much of them and ask with exasperation, it seems, “What does He want from us?” And the prophet tells them:

Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your GOD. Micah 6:8 

To paraphrase, GOD wants them to love and respect Him as the Supreme authority in their lives and treating others fairly as they would expect for themselves.

Christians today still ask that same question: What does GOD want from me? What can I do to please Him?

GOD’s requirements of us today remain unchanged, as spoken by JESUS in this New Testament account where JESUS responds to a Pharisee’s question about which is the greatest commandment of the law:

(JESUS) said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:27-39

Some of us still has some uncertainty about what this commandment would look like in our daily lives.

A look at Psalm 15* provides some answers.

This short Psalm was written by King David and opens with two questions, verses 1&2:
Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?

Biblical scholars agree that the “who” in both questions refer not to names of particular persons but to personality type – what qualities, lifestyle must an individual have to give him/her intimate access to GOD and eventually to heaven? Biblical scholars also state that the words “sanctuary” and “Holy Hill” are used figuratively for GOD’s presence.

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says: “The question is equivalent to asking, who is qualified to dwell with God? who may properly be regarded as his friend? who has a title to his favor? who is truly pious? By us the same question would be put in another form, though implying the same thing: Who is qualified to become a member of the church; who has evidence of true conversion and real piety? who is he who is prepared for heaven?”

The answer to these two questions appear to come directly from the person of whom it is asked, GOD Himself, and says the following (verses 2-5a):  

Those who—

1. lead blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts;
2. refuse to gossip or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends;
3. despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord;
4. keep their promises even when it hurts;
5. lend money without charging interest;
6. cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.

Since these are presented as spoken by GOD, we can safely accept them as GOD’s answer to how we can live to please Him. What we have in Psalm 15 are some essentials for godly living which we can even group into categories: 

• Integrity: doing what is right, speaking the truth, keeping one's word;
• Love of others: no slander, no evil deeds to friends, no discrediting neighbors;
• Holiness/fearing GOD: rejecting the wicked but honoring those who fear God; and
• Use Money Wisely/Stewardship: no risky investments and no loving money and allowing it to cloud our judgment.

 Scripture has plenty to say and teach about these essentials for godly living making them real and believable, doable and certainly relevant to daily living for all confessing believers. 

Integrity —

• The integrity of the upright guides them, Proverbs 11:3
• Lying lips are detestable to the Lord, but faithful people are His delight. Proverbs 12:22
• Doing what is righteous and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Proverbs 21:3
• By this I know that You delight in me: my enemy does not shout in triumph over me. You supported me because of my integrity and set me in Your presence forever. Psalm 41:11-12

Love of others —

• (JESUS) “Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.” Luke 6:31
• Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4
• Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
• Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good.  Search for peace, and work to maintain it. Psalm 34:12-14
• All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you[q] in Christ. Ephesians 4:32

Holiness/fearing GOD —

• The path of the righteous is level; You clear a straight path for the righteous. Isaiah 26:7
• Although a sinner commits crime a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people, for they are reverent before Him. However, it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, for they are not reverent before God. Ecclesiastics 8:12-13
• Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Psalm 34:9
• Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people….Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. Ephesians 5:3,6

Use Money Wisely/Stewardship —

• Wealth obtained by fraud will dwindle, but whoever earns it through labor will multiply it. Proverbs 13:11
• (JESUS) then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15
• (GOD) “You must not oppress your neighbor or rob him.” Leviticus 19:13
• Wisdom is as good as an inheritance…., because wisdom is protection as money is protection. Ecclesiastes 7:11-12
• You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward if you listen to the Lord your God’s commands…Deuteronomy 28:12-13

Psalm 15 ends with a promise for those who own the characteristics and qualities of the blameless, true believers in CHRIST who are also the children of GOD: “Such people will stand firm forever.” Verse 5b

Renowned Victorian Preacher/Teacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) has this to say about what the promise given to “such people” implies: “No storm shall tear him from his foundations, drag him from his anchorage, or uproot him from his place. Like the Lord Jesus, whose dominion is everlasting, the true Christian shall never lose his crown….He shall dwell in the tabernacle of the Most High, and neither death nor judgment shall remove him from his place of privilege and blessedness.”

The expected end and eternal reward of the godly – those who live to please GOD, is a place of privilege and blessedness from which neither death nor judgment can remove you.

‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Matthew 25:34-36

….please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire. Hebrews 12:28-29

*New Living Translation (NLT)

Prayer and Thanksgiving: Holy Father, YOU are our Creator and our GOD, deserving of all our love and reverence. Father we worship and adore YOU! Thank you for giving us your WORD which is alive and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, to penetrate as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of our hearts – thank YOU for every WORD YOU have breathed out to teach, rebuke, correct and train us in righteousness. Thank YOU for giving us everything we need for life in the now and the hereafter. Thank YOU for loving us perfectly through YOUR SON, and for YOUR grace and mercy that follows us all the days of our lives. To you Father belong all dominion, all power and all glory, for ever and ever. We pray all things in the precious Name of YOUR SON, JESUS CHRIST, whom YOU have made LORD over all, the NAME above all names. Amen!

Always by God’s Word and prayer,

Cecile