Who may dwell on Your holy hill?” (Psalm 15:1 NAS95)

 The Character of the Father Duplicated in His Children

“O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?” (Psalm 15:1 NAS95)

This question may be akin to the one we know from the Gospels,  voiced by the “rich, young ruler” who approached Jesus: “A ruler questioned Him, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’” Luke 18:18  The strange part of this question is the connection between “do” and “inherit.” We don’t inherit anything based on what we “do."

And so the question from Psalm 15, “who may abide in Your tent?” becomes rather simple. Only those who are part of the Lord’s family are welcome in His tent. You live there because you belong there, and you belong there if you are one of the Father’s children. Likewise, “who may dwell on Your holy hill?” is answered by understanding that the children of the Father live by the Father’s rules. Keeping the rules doesn’t make them the Father’s children. They keep the family rules because they are the Father’s children.

The psalm goes on to enumerate the “doings” of the Father’s children. It involves their walking (their conduct) and their hearts. The subject of their mouths their motives is addressed. How they treat neighbor and friend is mentioned. They don’t take advantage of others. They have little patience for those who embrace worthless practices, and they honor those who fear the Lord. Do they do this perfectly? No. No one does. But they pursue this course because they love the Father and seek to honor the Father and desire to uphold the family name. 

The critical question, then, is not the misunderstanding of the rich ruler who thinks he can “buy” or “behave” his way into heaven. It can’t be done. The critical question of Psalm 15 is a request for a rehearsal of the qualities of the Father’s character which finds itself reproduced in His children. It’s a great summary.

And so the passage reinforces something that we used to know but perhaps have forgotten: that faith is accompanied by following; that beliefs have a place, but so also does our behavior; relationship based on grace, but also the responsibility to obey. We love the Father, and so desire to please Him, but we also fear the Father (due to His majesty and perfections), and thus we dare not take for granted this wondrous grace that brought us into family relationship, but we invest it, we cultivate it, we practice and practice and practice it.