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A psalm of David.
1LORD, who may dwell in Your sanctuary?
Who may live on Your holy hill?
2He whose walk is blameless and who does what
is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
3and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbour no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellow-man,
4who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath even when it hurts,
5who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.
In this psalm, an oft-asked question is posed, and then answered. The question is asked by David of the Lord. The question is answered by the Lord through David, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
1LORD, who may dwell in Your sanctuary?
Who may live on Your holy hill?
Here, the question at hand is posed: "LORD, who may dwell in Your sanctuary? Who may live on Your holy hill?" David is essentially inquiring as to the requirements on the man who can commune with God. Who of their own merits can be a child of God? Who will have the great privilege of dwelling forever in the presence of the Creator of the universe?
Now, David appropriately asks the "Lord" these questions. God is the only one who can correctly and sufficiently answer them. It is the Lord and the Lord alone who decides with whom He will dwell. Many men have tried to answer these questions themselves. Their answers make up the vast variety of world religions. They have come up with rites and rituals, rules and regulations, ways of enlightenment, as they have looked up and tried, by their own wisdom, to answer these questions. All such attempts are futile. The true answer comes only from God, the one who will choose those who may dwell with Him.
The questions David asks are posed often, and in various forms. The essence of all such questions is how can one please the Creator. We all have a sense of a Creator, of God, and so the question naturally enters all of our minds, springs from all of our lips. The questions are asked for varying motives. Some ask out of idle curiosity. They ask at dinner parties, in the midst of philosophical conversations. They have no intention of responding to the answer, no intention of changing their behavior to meet any requirements given in the response. Others ask earnestly, seeking God sincerely, truly looking for an answer. Still others ask in despair, crying out to God for help. And still others ask in godly fear, seeing the end of their lives near.
The questions are valuable, indeed most valuable, to ask. The answer, if obeyed, could lead to the greatest of rewards. Who could prosper more, be more at peace, be safer, than he who dwells with God? But it is also a presumptuous question to ask. How can we, in our sin, expect to be able to meet any requirements to dwell with God? The holiness of God, it would seem, is unreachable by man. And so, we will see in the answer given, that it is indeed unreachable by man through his own means.
2He whose walk is blameless and who
does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart
3and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellow-man,
4who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath even when it hurts,
5who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
David answers the questions in the words of God, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The first part of verse 2 sums up the requirements to dwell with God: "He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous." The answer is unambiguous and uncompromising. Only the "blameless" and the "righteous" can dwell with God. Some Christians may be taken aback by this answer. Isn't salvation by grace, not works? For us, it is, but only because we in our sin are unable to keep the requirements of God's law. We at times emphasize the grace of God at the expense of His holiness. Grace is great; righteousness is better. God, I'm sure, would rather that there be no need for grace, that we could "dwell in His holy hill" based on our righteousness, as outlined here. Unfortunately, we are not capable. We need the grace of God, and God, in His mercy, has showered us with His grace and has imputed the righteousness of the only man who was able to keep God's requirements. "In perfection this holiness is found only in the Man of Sorrows, but in a measure it is wrought in all His people by the Holy [Spirit]."[Footnote #9] Yes, we need the grace of God, but we must still make our best effort to obey God, we must make our best effort to be "blameless" and "righteous".
Indeed, the extent that our lives are "blameless" and "righteous" reflects the extent of our faith, by which we partake of God's grace. The traits that the Lord enumerates in verses 2 through 5 are fruits of our faith. In fact, if you do not have these traits, in great quantity, you need to reexamine your faith, and determine if God's gift of grace is working in your life. "When the heart of a man is sound in conversion, then the life will be fair in profession. When the conduit is walled in, how shall we judge of the spring but by the waters which run through the pipes?"[Footnote #10] Christ Himself said: "[E]very good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit" (Matt. 7:17). In other words, if you have truly been regenerated by faith in Jesus Christ, your life will reflect it.
In the rest of this passage, the Lord elaborates on traits of those "whose walk is blameless" and those who do "what is righteous". First, concerning the blameless one's speech: he "speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue". The Lord gives both a positive and negative requirement concerning speech. One must "speak the truth", and not "slander". Indeed, if one obeys the positive requirement, there will be no room for the negative. To fill one's mouth with "truth" all the time, leaves no room for "slander". Also, note that the "truth" that one is to speak is "from his heart". In other words, one is to not only speak the truth, but believe it.
Second, concerning the blameless one's behavior toward others, the Lord says: he "does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow-man". We must speak the truth, but we must also be kind to others, do them "no wrong". This pertains not only to actions, but also to words, so the Lord emphasizes that the blameless one "casts no slur on his fellow-man". It is certainly bad to do harm to your neighbor, but it is just as bad, though much more common, to speak badly of him. We must guard ourselves against this. Speaking against our neighbor can be very destructive, more so even than physical harm.
Third, concerning what a blameless man honors, the Lord says: he "despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD." To "despise a vile man" may seem easy at first sight, but many of us are guilty of honoring "vile" men. The Lord is speaking of those who are "vile" in His eyes, not our own. There are many who are wealthy yet vile, high-ranking yet vile, intelligent yet vile, beautiful yet vile, that are honored much by the world. And on the other hand, there are many that seem vile to the world, but who "fear the LORD", and so should be honored by us. "When true saints are in poverty and distress, we must sympathize with their afflictions and honour the men none the less."[Footnote #11]
Finally, concerning what a blameless man values, the Lord says: he "lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent." In other words, he values love above money, and justice above money. We have all heard that "everyone has a price", but the blameless man does not "have a price" (so to speak) that will cause him to compromise his godly values. Rather than lending his money with interest, the blameless man "shares with God's people who are in need" (Rom. 12:13); rather than accepting a bribe against the innocent, the blameless man "defends the cause of the fatherless [and] pleads the case of the widow" (Isa. 1:17).
Notice that all of the requirements given here pertain to our relationship with other men (the so-called second table of the law). To be able to join with our brothers in the worship of God in heaven, we must love them on earth. As John points out: "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother" (I John 3:10) and "If anyone says, `I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:20).
The requirements given here are difficult to keep (to say the least). We could never, on our own, be "blameless" and "righteous". We could never, on our own, deserve to dwell with God. "The grace of God is absolutely necessary to enable poor, fallen man to maintain, through all temptations, the morality required by the law of God, even as expounded in this short Psalm."[Footnote #12] Fortunately for us, God in His mercy and grace has provided another way for us to dwell with Him. By sending His Son as a sin offering for us, God "condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us" (Rom. 8:3-4). What a blessing! Oh, the love of God! We would do well to exclaim, as John: "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" (I John 3:1).
He who does these things will never be shaken.
To conclude this psalm, David gives the result of keeping these requirements: "He who does these things will never be shaken." Notice the emphasis: he who "does" (not say or preach or teach) "these things"--that is, the righteous requirements of God's law. "'Tis not said he that professes this or that, or he that believes thus and thus, or he that is of such or such an opinion or way of worship, or he that sets up new lights, and pretends the Spirit for his immediate guide; `tis not he that hears much or talks much of religion; no, nor he that preaches and prays much, nor he that thinks much of these things, and means well; but 'tis he that `doeth these things'--that is actually employed about them--that is the religious and truly godly man."[Footnote #13]
Note that, in addition to the reward in heaven of dwelling with God, we have a reward here on earth for doing these things. If we do these things, we will "never be shaken." This is a great reward, make no mistake. It makes for a life of peace, stability and comfort. "A man of the foregoing character shall never so fall into decay, as not to flourish in eternal youth, never be so shaken as to lose his steadfastness, never so slip as not to recover himself, never so slide as to rise no more, never be removed from the Mount Zion above."[Footnote #14]
We thank You, Lord, for the rewards of righteousness. We thank You even more for the righteousness that You have given to us through the offering of Your Son. What have we done to deserve such great love?! Lord, by Your Spirit, help us to live righteously, so that our lives may glorify You. In the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, the only one who was blameless, we pray these things, Amen.
(Our study in the Psalms will continue in the next issue)
9. Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, Vol. I; pg. 177.
10. William Secker, cited in Spurgeon, A Treasury of David, Vol. I; pg. 181.
11. Spurgeon, op. cit., pg. 178.
12. Plumer, Studies in the Book of Psalms, pg. 209.
13. Adam Littleton, cited in Spurgeon, op. cit., pg. 190.
14. Plumer, Studies in the Book of Psalms, pg. 204.
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