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
The Psalmist talks to his hearers about what it means to be a good guest in God’s house. The imagery recalls Israel’s time of journey in the wilderness when their encampment included the tent (Tabernacle) of the Ark of the Covenant with its tablets of God’s law. Who then makes a good guest in God’s house? The psalmist answers: those who seek to rest in God’s word as they sojourn, those who abide as landless strangers who at God’s invitation find a place of rest on God’s Holy Hill.
So who would make a good guest in God’s house? Those who speak out of a faith based on God’s leading. Those who take seriously their oaths and who refrain from destroying their neighbors in their speech. Those who see possessions not as gains for themselves but as tools to benefit others and God’s creation. Where will you be guesting this Sunday?
Prayer
Holy Triune God, you have called us and named us in our baptisms and sent us into your world. Make us good guests in your Holy Tabernacle. Amen.
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