Skip to main content
Sunday Psalms

Who may worship 
in your sanctuary, 
Lord? 
Who may enter 
your presence 
on your holy hill? 

Those who 
lead blameless lives 
and do what is right, speaking the truth 
from sincere hearts. Those who 
refuse to gossip 
or harm their neighbors or speak evil of their friends. 
Those who 
despise flagrant sinners, 
and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts. Those who 
lend money without charging interest, 
and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent. 
Such people 
will stand firm 
forever.
Psalms 15:1-5 NLT
This song of David's starts with the big question of who is good enough for God. All the rules about the priests and ritual cleansing.
And he comes up with quite a list:
Starts with our hearts.
And he's interested in how our values are lived out, how we treat those closest to us, those who stand against God, and finally how we treat those we transact with and how we treat the innocent. 
As you read this song, what stands out for you?
What resonates?
What is sharp? (Ouch)
What do you disagree with?
David answers or responds to his own question with 4 "those who". His answer reflects the complexity of what it is to be human and to have big questions.
And that it's OK to have questions for God and to wrestle with the answers.
#sunday
#psalms
#psalm15

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,  for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16 NLT OK so this is an English translation of a letter Paul wrote to a church 2,000 years ago, but does it feel like Paul is wrestling with words and ideas to try and capture all of who Jesus is, of who God is, of how does it work that the walking around Jesus was also there before the beginning of the beginning of everything we can see and touch and know. Not only that but Jesus was somehow the agent of everything that has been made in the physical, social, and spiritual.  Jesus is at the centre of it all.  Walking around Jesus. Cooking fish for breakfast Jesus. Heart aching as he ...
Post a Comment
Read more
Now rescue your beloved people. Answer and save us by your power. ... Who will bring me into the fortified city?  Who will bring me victory over Edom? Have you rejected us, O God?  Will you no longer march with our armies?Oh, please help us against our enemies,  for all human help is useless. With God's help we will do mighty things, for he will trample down our foes. Psalm 108 6, 10-13 NLT After the most beautiful and uplifting worshipful first half to this song, David takes us somewhere completely different in the second half.  It's all about victory, power, winning, it's all about him. The "mighty things" he wants God to do are all on the outside, all about power, and David's writing sounds like he's a bit lost in his quest to win. And I do the same thing. Praise God and ask him to fix my problems. Fix the classroom/online/workplace bully, fix my finances, fix my relationships, fix my problems. So as I sit with this psalm of 2 halves, its a bit of a mir...
Post a Comment
Read more
Friday! Proverbs! The Lord hates six things;  in fact, seven are detestable to him:  (1) arrogant eyes,  (2) a lying tongue,  (3) hands that shed innocent blood, ... Proverbs 6:16-17 CSB This list of things that Proverbs describes that our God stands against, are anti-God, must be things that God isn't.  It's easy to use Proverbs as a weapon, to accuse or label others, but Proverbs is about finding the way of wisdom, of life, it's about the heart, mine, yours, ours.  And it's full of metaphor. Arrogant eyes. Eyes aren't arrogant, they're just that part of my body that receives visual information aren't they? Arrogant eyes. My tongue doesn't tell lies by itself, I do that. Hands that shed innocent blood - I haven't taken anyone's life... The word here for "hands" is "yad" and it is used literally and figuratively- it means an open hand (not closed) and is about direction and use of power. Proverbs invites us to sit with these p...
Post a Comment
Read more