Day 31

Psalm 15: Read here – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2015&version=NASB

—The Spiritual man.

 (c.f. Psalm14 The Natural Man.) We have no precise occasion for this Psalm, but possibly the bringing of the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem (2Samuel 6). This was a time when David was very much concerned with the questions asked and answered in this Psalm. 

The word translated abide (V1) means sojourn; describing a visitor receiving the hospitality of a tent-dwelling host. In the gracious hospitality of the antique world, a guest was sheltered from all harm; his person was sacred, his wants all met. So, the guest of Yahweh is safe, can claim asylum from every foe, and share in all the bountiful provision of His abode.  

The Tabernacle here referred to was the tent built during the Exodus. It was the place where God met with men through the administration of priests. David is expressing his desire to abide in the presence of God. The ‘Holy Hill’ is the Hebrew technique of repetition. Dwell is a more permanent word than abide. He is saying you can be received as a guest and live as a citizen.  

Those who can live in God’s presence (V2-3) walk uprightly and work righteousness. This is from an Old Covenant perspective. The disobedient could not expect blessing, including the blessing of God’s presence. 

The New Covenant gives us a different ground for blessing and relationship with God; the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Under the New Covenant, faith and not performance is the basis for blessing. Under both covenants, the conduct of one’s life is a reflection of their fellowship with God. In v2 David here understood that an upright and righteous life is known by the way someone speaks. As Jesus said in Matthew12:34.  

David knew that we cannot love good unless we also oppose evil (v4-5).  

The idea behind ‘shall never be moved’ is that this righteous one will be a guest in the ‘tent’ of God forever. In NT words we could express it like this: ‘And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever ‘(1John2:17).