Who Shall Abide in His Tabernacle?
Psalm 15:1–5 NKJV
Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
We now come to the 4th Sunday of Epiphany in which we remember that the message of Christ is meant for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. The previous two Sundays, we looked at 2 psalms, the 40th and the 27th. Like today’s psalm text, they were written by King David. David wrote these psalms at particular times in his life. In these first two psalms, we can deduce that they were written in distressful times, of which there were many. This psalm does not even give us this clue. This psalm is similar to the 24th Psalm which gives us many clues. That psalm seems to have been written n the occasion in which the Ark of the Covenant was brought up from the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite outside the city of Jerusalem where it had been placed after Uzzah died after trying to steady the Ark. There is the joyous cry to open the gates and let the King of glory to come in. The question in that Psalm is who this King of Glory is. The answer comes back: “Yahweh of Armies. He is the King of Glory.
The 15th Psalm we read this morning lacks this greater context and serves instead as a means of introspection. We know by mention of the tabernacle and His holy hill that this psalm comes from the latter part of David’s reign after the Ark was brought into the city of Jerusalem. But this psalm is more introspective in that the questions it asks pierces t one’s own heart. The middle of the 24th psalm is also introspective and asks the same question, but this treatment is more direct. David asks “Who may abide in His tabernacle? There is no question that the LORD of Glory can enter the gates and dwell in the Tabernacle. He has clean hands and a pure heart. The place of His Presence is most holy. Psalm 24 responds that only those who have a pure heart and clean hands. But who has a heart pure enough (motives) and clean hands (actions). If one directs this question honestly to one’s own heart, we fall into despair. Likewise here, Who can remain in His tabernacle. Not even the High Priest could remain in the holy of holies where the presence. He could go there once a year after elaborate purification and the blood of the atonement long enough to sprinkle the blood of atonement on the mercy seat of the Ark. It is said that a rope was attached to his body in case the LORD struck him down so that others could drag his body out. Even his dead body could not abide in His presence. I am not aware of this actually happening, but one can see the terror the holy place of the LORD elicited from Israel.
The Holy Hill in this psalm is the ancient city of Jerusalem which David had just conquered. It had been occupied by Jebusites whom Israel was supposed to remove from the land during the conquest of Canaan hundreds of years ago. Jerusalem was easy to defend and had high walls to protect her. But with the LORD’s help, David was able to subdue it. The LORD chose Jerusalem for His presence to dwell. Not only was the holy of holies sacred, the entire city was holy unto the LORD. To dwell on this holy ground, the character of the people were to reflect His glory. It was because Israel failed to reflect this glory that they would be removed from the land.
We know of the corporate nature of Israel being dedicated to the LORD, but this psalm seems intensely personal. What does one have to do and be in order to dwell in the presence of God. The first thing is that this person has to be upright in character. An upright person does what is right. People can see in the way one conducts one’s self that this person is honest and fair. However, many can be deceived by a “supposedly” upright man. Some people play the game well. As Jesus would describe them, these are whitewashed tombs who are bright and shiny on the outside but inwardly corrupted. This is why David adds that the truly upright man speaks the truth in his heart. True uprightness springs forth from the heart. The inside is the same as the outside.
The other things which describe the upright man is that he does not backbite with the tongue. These are those who might praise you to your face but speak evil of you behind your back. The upright man treats his neighbor well and does nothing to harm him. An upright man keeps oaths, even if it results in some sort of loss. He keeps his word. Un upright man honors those who fear the LORD. He despises evildoers. an upright man does not let his money at interest. He does not take bribes. This is just a short description of the upright man. The psalm says that the one who observes doing or not dong certain actions from the heart shall never be moved.
Now let us look at the question “Who shall abide in His Holy Hill?” again. Who of us can perfectly keep even these things? Is there any one who is truly upright? When we add the idea of motivation, it becomes acute that none of us in ourselves could remain on His Holy Hill, no less come into His presence. We learn from Jesus that an act such as adultery can be committed in the heart, even if it is not acted out. When we read from Malachi “Who shall abide in the day of his coming?” we realize the great dilemma. If the sons of Levi are need to be purified that they can make an offering in righteousness, what hope is there for us to escape? If God is going to punish those who were especially sanctified for the service of the tabernacle, where do we stand? The Bible says that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The examples which Paul supplies of the examples of sin should lead us all to despair of being upright in ourselves. “Who can abide in His Holy Hill?” The answer seems to be: “No One.” As we have noted before “In Him is light, and there is not a speck of darkness.
But in 1John 1 we have an answer. There is One who truly lived an upright and sinless life, Jesus the Son of God. Of all born among women, He and He alone can come into the holy presence of the Father. Only He, and He alone, can abide in His Holy Hill. Therefore, if any one is to abide in His Holy Hill, that person has to come clothed in Christ. This person does not come in His righteousness but int he righteousness of Christ who is the propitiation for our sins by the shedding of His blood on the cross. If we are to abide for ever in His Holy Hill, the New Jerusalem, it is because we have fellowship with His Son. It is He who gives us standing before the Father. We come into the Holy of Holies because of a far greater sacrifice than that of the bulls, sheep, and goats of the old dispensation. And rather than just a momentary trip yearly to the holy of holies, we have the holy Presence of God in us by the indwelling Spirit.
So, how does this truth inform us on how we should live our life here on earth? If none of us can be upright and are dependent upon the grace of God for salvation, why should we even try. As Paul tells us in Romans six, the answer to the question “Shall we sin that grace might abound is a resounding NO! Paul reminds us that the Christian has a changed nature. He has died to his past. We should reflect the new nature. Therefore, we can learn from this psalm what God truly desires from us.
Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world, a light which is upon a hill which everyone can see. When we see the word “the” we understand that this light is different than all other lights. When Jesus says “I AM the light of the world” he is making this light exclusive to Himself. He who created the earthly light is also the one who spiritually enlightens all. The only way we can be the light of the world is if than light which is in us is Christ. This light of Christ lightens the Holy Hill, His Church. The world cannot see the light of God directly. No one has seen God at any time. The light the world see is the light of God veiled in human flesh. We remember that a certain privileged few saw Him, beheld Him, touched Him, and heard Him during His earthly sojourn in an earthly sense. John declares this truth to the Church that by believing we might have fellowship with the Father as well as the Son. But we are not left in the dark. The Holy Spirit dwells in the sanctuary of our hearts. We are the Holy Hill the world sees. We are not the light, but bear witness to the true light. As witnesses, we are the light that is meant to shine in the darkness and lead others to ascend the hill, indeed to all nations. So, as long as we are in this world, let us be of such pure and upright character that Christ might draw those who are in darkness to the light.
Our conduct in this world is most important. One one hand, we cannot be so sanctimonious to think that we are in ourselves perfect. It is true that sinning is contrary to our new nature. The “if” in the statement “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous is not “when we sin.” The “if” says that sinning is contrary to the fact that we are new creatures in Christ. “If” is not permission to sin. Instead, it provides a way to obtain forgiveness by confessing these sins so that the blood of Christ might cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But we are also confronted with the reality that if any says “I have not sin” that person is a liar. Note it does not say “had sin” which is past but “have” which is present. So we must beware of being sanctimonious. Let the world see the grace of Christ in His people who find forgiveness in Him, even as we implore others to climb the Holy Hill.
