“O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbour, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honours those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”
15:1-5
Context:
This psalm describes the character and qualities of the ideal follower of God.
When crafting a story, authors often ask themselves questions. We ask questions like:
- What would make things worse for my hero?
- How can I raise the stakes?
- What friendship or love interest would complicate things?
- What poor decisions can the main character make that threaten the happily-ever-after?
We like to write and read characters with layers of personal issues and mountainous obstacles to overcome because a perfectly blameless protagonist (or antagonist) is relatively dull.
Enter Reality
When it comes to our real life, perfectly blameless is exactly what is required. Psalm 15 asks and answers the question: Who can dwell with God? The answer is sobering: the blameless and righteous.
Only people who meet God’s qualifications can enter His presence.
Only a few chapters after Psalm 15, in Psalm 24, the psalmist repeats the truth that God requires perfection from his followers. Only those with clean hands a pure hearts can ascend the hill of the Lord (Ps 24:3-4).
Who among us is blameless and righteous? Who among us has clean hands a pure heart? The Old Testament priests continually offered sacrifices to atone for the people’s sins. Hebrews 10:11-14, “every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins ….”
A Single Sacrifice
But we no longer need the intervention of a human priest. “… But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God … For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” Hebrews 10:19 confirms, “we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.”
As writers, we want to shake the foundations of our stories and characters, but as believers, we want stability. We want what Psalm 15:5 promises and what Hebrews 10:22-23 guarantees. We want an immovable faith and the confidence to draw near and hold fast to God because He is faithful.
Pray through Psalm 15 and Hebrews 10, acknowledging your need for and thankfulness to Christ for making it possible for you to enter into the presence of God.