Psalm 15 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 15 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?
Verse 2Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart;
Verse 3who do not slander with their tongue, and do no evil to their friends, nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;
Verse 4in whose eyes the wicked are despised, but who honor those who fear the Lord; who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
Verse 5who do not lend money at interest, and do not take a bribe against the innocent. Those who do these things shall never be moved.
Devotion
At my one-room country school we’d play “King of the Mountain.” It wasn’t really a mountain, just the top of the storm cellar, but it worked. Who could be on that mountain? The one who was strongest -- AND the one(s) who made alliances with the strong one.
The Psalmist looks at the “holy hill,” the place of worship, the high place where God was thought to dwell. The Psalmist wonders, “Who may live there?” The qualifications listed are daunting -— impossible for humans. But God is blameless. God will not be overthrown. And I, one of God’s children, have an “alliance,” a covenant, in my Baptism. In that alliance God promises to be with me, to dwell with me. God promises forgiveness so that I can be seen as pure in His eyes. With that alliance, I am one who may dwell on His hill. I have access to His throne forever.
Prayer
Lord, when you adopted me into the kingdom, you invited me to be part of your family. You promised to dwell in my life so that I could know the blessings of your presence and the promise of your "holy hill." By your presence, keep me pure and upright in Spirit, so that I might be worthy of your dwelling place. Amen.