I had been ruminating on this psalm for quite some time (even though it's only 5 verses long) and just when I was about ready to collect my thoughts and put them out there Tyler over at The Ancient Bridge went and posted something that expressed most of what I wanted to say and made me question if my post was even going to be necessary. Quite honestly, if this was going to be on something longer than 5 verses then I probably wouldn't have. But, I figured in the name of keeping things going, I may as well get my thoughts out there for you as well. I hope that you took the opportunity to read what Tyler wrote. If you haven't then I'm going to link it RIGHT HERE so that you can check that one out, too. She's a great writer and I think you'll appreciate what she has to say.
With that said, here's what I came away with...
A Psalm of David.
1 O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
This one starts out with a lofty goal. When speaking of the LORD’s tent, we need to remember that, before there was a temple in Jerusalem, there was a tabernacle. The NKJV translates this verse as, “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?” The word translated as ‘tent’ is ‘ohel’ (H168 – אהל). This is the word that was used when speaking of the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Moed – אהל מועד) in Exodus 33, and not the normal word used for tent (sukkah – סכּה). This is the place that Moses would go to meet with the LORD, in person. And the ‘holy hill’? You mean the mountain of the one true God? Yeah, who, indeed!?
That’s why the upcoming verses are so impactful.
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;
There are a few people in the Bible who are said to be blameless. This is an extremely tall order. While the term doesn’t demand that you never sin, it does demand that when you do sin you notice it and you repent (turn away with no intention of turning back). All of that being said, the Hebrew word that is translated as “blameless” is the same word that is used to describe the sacrificial animal offerings who are without blemish (tâmı̂ym – תּמים). It is also the same word that’s used when describing Noah as ‘perfect’ in his generations. So, all things considered, this is still a pretty tall order. The takeaway, though, is that this lofty goal is actually attainable. No matter how hard it may seem at first glance, this is a thing that can be accomplished. You may not be able to do this overnight (though, I’m perfectly willing to admit that with God all things are possible) but it’s something to shoot for. When a person first starts exercising they’re not able to run a 4 minute mile, or deadlift 500 lbs (at least this is what I’ve heard – I’m sure those who choose to exercise would be willing to give you more detail if you care to search out one of those types of people…); you have to bring you body into submission and train it to be able to perform at those levels. Likewise, we have to do the same thing to exercise ourselves in spiritual matters. Paul speaks to this in 1 Cor 9:27 when he says, “No, I keep on disciplining my body, making it serve me so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified.” We have to push on to the goal (Phil 3:14), but that goal is not out of reach (Deut 30:12, Rom 10:6)!
3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
I’m actually working on an article right now that dives more deeply into who are neighbor is so I don’t want to dig too deeply into that right here, but the easy answer is that it’s everyone. So if the goal is to be able to enter into the tabernacle of the LORD, this should be convicting to pretty much all of us. It’s so easy, especially in today’s social media culture, to let the tongue slip and ‘slander’ someone. The dictionary definition of slander is to make a false or damaging statement about someone. Did you notice the that I highlighted the word ‘or’? That means that, even if it’s true, speaking a damaging thing about someone is slander. Man, I’ve messed that one up quite a bit, and I owe a lot of apologies. Choose your words wisely because we have a standard that we should be trying to live up to. We read in the book of James the following:
1 O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
This one starts out with a lofty goal. When speaking of the LORD’s tent, we need to remember that, before there was a temple in Jerusalem, there was a tabernacle. The NKJV translates this verse as, “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?” The word translated as ‘tent’ is ‘ohel’ (H168 – אהל). This is the word that was used when speaking of the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Moed – אהל מועד) in Exodus 33, and not the normal word used for tent (sukkah – סכּה). This is the place that Moses would go to meet with the LORD, in person. And the ‘holy hill’? You mean the mountain of the one true God? Yeah, who, indeed!?
That’s why the upcoming verses are so impactful.
2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart;
There are a few people in the Bible who are said to be blameless. This is an extremely tall order. While the term doesn’t demand that you never sin, it does demand that when you do sin you notice it and you repent (turn away with no intention of turning back). All of that being said, the Hebrew word that is translated as “blameless” is the same word that is used to describe the sacrificial animal offerings who are without blemish (tâmı̂ym – תּמים). It is also the same word that’s used when describing Noah as ‘perfect’ in his generations. So, all things considered, this is still a pretty tall order. The takeaway, though, is that this lofty goal is actually attainable. No matter how hard it may seem at first glance, this is a thing that can be accomplished. You may not be able to do this overnight (though, I’m perfectly willing to admit that with God all things are possible) but it’s something to shoot for. When a person first starts exercising they’re not able to run a 4 minute mile, or deadlift 500 lbs (at least this is what I’ve heard – I’m sure those who choose to exercise would be willing to give you more detail if you care to search out one of those types of people…); you have to bring you body into submission and train it to be able to perform at those levels. Likewise, we have to do the same thing to exercise ourselves in spiritual matters. Paul speaks to this in 1 Cor 9:27 when he says, “No, I keep on disciplining my body, making it serve me so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified.” We have to push on to the goal (Phil 3:14), but that goal is not out of reach (Deut 30:12, Rom 10:6)!
3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
I’m actually working on an article right now that dives more deeply into who are neighbor is so I don’t want to dig too deeply into that right here, but the easy answer is that it’s everyone. So if the goal is to be able to enter into the tabernacle of the LORD, this should be convicting to pretty much all of us. It’s so easy, especially in today’s social media culture, to let the tongue slip and ‘slander’ someone. The dictionary definition of slander is to make a false or damaging statement about someone. Did you notice the that I highlighted the word ‘or’? That means that, even if it’s true, speaking a damaging thing about someone is slander. Man, I’ve messed that one up quite a bit, and I owe a lot of apologies. Choose your words wisely because we have a standard that we should be trying to live up to. We read in the book of James the following:
Do not speak evil against one
another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother,
speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you
are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he
who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4:11-12)
4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 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.
If someone fears the LORD, even if I disagree with their specific twist on a pet doctrine, why would I give them anything but honor when I’m dealing with them or referring to them? This is so convicting. Am I wise enough to discern if a person truly fears the LORD?
I always try to make it a point in my life to never charge interest if I lend money to someone. Honestly, if I do lend money out I usually give it with the expectation that it won’t be returned. More often than not, I tell the people that it’s a gift and that I don’t want repaid. I’m not saying this so that I can sound like a better person than anyone. Truth be told, the reason I do it that way is because I’m worse. If I don’t make it known that it’s a gift then I’ll obsess over being repaid and that can lead to bitterness and offense. I know my limitations and I don’t ever want to have bitterness and offense toward one of my brothers or sisters. So I guess that moral of that story is to know yourself, and know what you’re capable of (good or bad).
I hope that this has been a blessing, and I hope that you are spurred onward to living the life that the Father wants you to live.
May our allegiance to our King make us the ambassadors that He needs us to be to this lost and hurting world!
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