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
When I was growing up our family prefaced meals with a blessing: "Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest." The psalmist begins, to some extent, with the inverse, wondering to whom the Lord may say, "Come, my people, be my guest."
What kind of guests are a blessing and especially wanted in God's home? Those who arrive with an appetite to love, honor, enjoy and care for the other guests at the table. "Those who do these things shall never be moved." In other words, the Lord seeks to welcome people to the holy dwelling, saying, "Don't leave yet! There's another course coming and this meal, this company, just wouldn't be the same without you!"
Prayer
Holy God, I hear the invitation to abide with you. Help me to love, honor and serve others with all that I am and all that I have, bringing me to an everlasting place in your tent, on your holy hill. In Christ's name I pray. Amen.