Psalm 15 - The Portrait Of A True Worshipper Series

A PORTRAIT OF A TRUE WORSHIPPER

TEXT: Psalm 15:1-5

Psalms 15:1-5 KJV A Psalm of David. LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? [2] He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. [3] He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. [4] In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. [5] He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.

I. INTRODUCTION—TRUE WORSHIP IS CONNECTED WITH HOLINESS

-This Psalm needs to be one of the most regularly visited psalms in our Bibles. We often look to various psalms to encourage us, ones like Psalm 23, 42, 91, and 119, but Psalm 15 is one that needs to resonate with every child of God.

-Psalm 14 is about a polluted man, a sinner. . . the fool has said in his heart. Psalm 15 is about a perfect man, the saved. . . who will abide. . . who will dwell?

-It is a psalm of holiness that promotes true worship. This psalm when placed in practice very much mirrors the characteristics of a man who has the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5: 22-23) displayed in his life. It takes a crucified man (Gal. 5:24-25) to live out what David has penned in this psalm.

-Holiness is one of God’s most important attributes and we should be preoccupied with the holiness of the Lord. When we are meditating on the holiness of God, there are things that take place in our soul:

• We become aware of our own sinfulness.

• We become aware of the sinfulness of those around us and in society at large.

• We live a life of repentance, pleading with the Lord to cleanse us.

• We have a proper view of God and His exaltation.

• We long to give up our evil ways and then seek the righteous ways of God.

-This psalm concludes a grouping of Psalms. Psalm 9-15 are all about the godly and the wicked. David is going to help define what a godly worshipper looks like.

-While many may question the classification as this psalm being one of holiness, we must be very clear that holiness covers far more than the dos and don’ts that many immature Christians want to reduce holiness to. In fact, one of the reasons that many are struggling with apostolic identity in our day is because of the absence of the attitude that is expressed in Psalm 15.

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones—Holiness is not something to be received in a meeting; it is a life to be lived out in the detail of godly devotion.

Steven Lawson—A deep realization of the blazing holiness of God is essential for all who would rightly approach God. Not until a person has beheld the holiness of God is he able to understand the true state of his or her spiritual condition. Everyone must see himself in light of the holy character of God.

-One of the concepts that this Psalm moves toward is to encourage us to take a look at how we approach the Lord in the time of worship. Reverence is one of the rapidly disappearing values of the previous generations because we are losing the majesty of the Lord.

-This Psalm helps to move me to a place of reverent devotion so that I can go into a 21st century sanctuary that has been set aside for worship. The value of this Psalm is seen when I. . .

• Look at where my feet have taken me. . .

• What my actions have said about the condition of my soul. . .

• Whether my tongue has spoken truth or twisted it. . .

• If my tongue has participated in slander. . .

• Have I participated in evil against a brother or sister or a preacher or a godly saint. . .

• How I have looked at the actions of sinners. . .

• Whether or not there is a healthy fear of the Lord. . .

• How I have spent my money or how I have invested it. . .

-We cannot afford to enter into a house of worship whether it is private or corporate with unholy thoughts and conduct. We cannot approach God with unwholesome words that have maligned and torn down.

-Proper worship always requires proper preparation. In the Old Testament, the Levitical law was very clear as to how a priest was to come to the Tabernacle or the Temple to serve. I am certain that none of us would want a surgeon to do surgery on us without having spent the proper amount of time scrubbing his hands all the way to mid-forearm. Dirty hands are unacceptable for a surgeon and dirty hearts are unacceptable to a saint.