Wednesday 21 October, 2020

A psalm of David. 1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? 2 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; 3 whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; 4 who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; 5 who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken.

Psalm 15 may well be one of the shortest chapters in the bible, but it certainly packs a punch!

David essentially asks…Who is worthy of dwelling in the presence of God?

He then goes on to give the answer by explaining the attitudes and behaviour of the person who is worthy and it’s a pretty daunting account! Amongst other things David lists righteousness, honesty, edification, kindness, reverence and generosity. I know that sadly, I would not be able to keep to this list despite my best efforts and intentions.

Fortunately, God knew this and made a plan to offer us forgiveness and sanctification through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore as we set about aiming to live the way God has laid out for us, but inevitably fail, we know that we can still be in the presence of the Lord, both now and when it’s time for us to leave this earth.

Dear God, thank you for your grace and mercy and for offering us forgiveness allowing us to be worthy to dwell in your presence. Thank you Jesus, for your work on the cross that makes us righteous and washes us white as snow. Thank you Holy Spirit, for working in us to help us become more and more like Jesus. Amen

Written by Jocelyn Petschack