The Psalm Project: Psalm 15
If you’ve been following along with us online, then you know we’re in the process of reading through the Psalms this year with women all over the country through #thepsalmproject. There have already been so many (incredible!!) testimonies shared about how people are being blessed by the Psalms and the healing and freedom God’s Word is bringing into their lives. We serve the Healer and the One who brings freedom, so this comes at no surprise.
This is just what He does.
His flawless Word reveals the contrast of the hurt, pain, and shame we’ve carried or attempted to shove down below the surface. We read lyrics such as:
“I will sing my song of joy to you, the Most High, for in all of this you have strengthened my soul. My enemies say that I have no Savior, but I know that I have one in you!”
Psalm 13:6
And if joy and peace and Godly strength have not yet made a home in your heart, lyrics like this one can make you question why that is.
Some of us still have rooms we’ve kept locked in our hearts. The padlock is fastened and we’ve thrown out the key. We don’t want to give Him access to those places because we don’t want to have to deal with all of it.
But, God never barges His way in. He won’t break down the door or force it open. Instead, His Word gently shines light on the dark places. A lamp is shone on the hidden places, on the broken places we’ve decided are just too far gone.
We read David’s passionate lyrics and think, “Gosh, I want this, too. I want this type of intimate, close relationship with God.”
And this is a great thing! It’s always good to want to grow deeper in your relationship with Him.
But then, sometimes, our thoughts can take a dangerous turn.
Instead of echoing the psalms in our own prayer life and giving God access to our hurt places, we are at risk of succumbing to the lies that we’ll never be good enough to earn God’s favor and have a relationship with Him, like the one David has.
This hit my heart super hard this week when I read Psalm 15.
I read the first verse and just meditated on it for a while. I read about the Hebrew words for “dwell” (temporary visit) and “live” (permanent residence.) I heard David’s heart as he asked the Father, “Who is worthy of spending time with you?”
And then I got to verse 2.
And 3.
And all the rest.
I was beyond discouraged, y’all.
I asked Him out loud in the corner of my bedroom, “Who could possibly make the cut??”
Who is this perfect person who is completely blameless, righteous, perfect in speech, an amazing friend at all times, keeps their word even when it hurts, and stewards their money in Godly ways…all of these, all the time? Who is this person?!??!
Holy Spirit whispered back, “ahem…Jesus.”
I smiled and stopped my heart from going down the shame-rabbit-trail it loves to follow when I remember how NOT good enough I am for His infinite grace.
As I get into in the video below, anytime we’re reading the Old Testament, we have to keep in mind that its words were written before the New Covenant. Before Jesus paid the final price. Before He won the complete victory over sin.
We have to be careful to not read a list of TO-DO’s in an Old Testament passage and assume that’s what WE need to do to earn God’s love and favor.
David loved God so much that he actually did most of the things on this list, almost all of the time, just out of the overflow of his heart and the love and affection he had for God.
But, if you know David’s story, then you can find comfort in knowing that he messed up just as much as we have (and maybe even worse than the “best” of us.)
Even the “best” of us never met the mark.
THIS is why Jesus had to come into the world. This is why He had to put on flesh. This is why He had to live a perfect, sinless life. This is why He had to walk towards the cross and accept the beatings and the torture that led to His death. This is why He had to defeat hell and take back the keys “of death and Hades.” THIS is why He had to rise from the dead.
This was always the plan. This is how God fixed the sin problem. He chose to send His son to pay the final sacrifice so that our relationship with Him could be restored.
If there was a way to earn God’s favor, David would’ve done it, y’all.
And he was this close. But, even he couldn’t measure up.
Using his own list as the standard, even he couldn’t quite meet the mark of perfection.
David describes this “perfect, worthy person” as someone who does the following seven things all the time:
he walks blamelessly and does what is righteous
he speaks the truth in his heart
he does no evil to his neighbors
he opposes all evil
he honors those who fear the Lord
he keeps his word and his promise
he has a Godly use of money
Before the cross, no one was worthy of dwelling in His tent or living on His mountain. Not even David.
But, JESUS!!
“Yet look at you now! Everything is new! Although you were once distant and far away from God, now you have been brought delightfully close to him through the sacred blood of Jesus—you have actually been united to Christ! Our reconciling “Peace” is Jesus! He has made Jew and non-Jew one in Christ. By dying as our sacrifice, he has broken down every wall of prejudice that separated us and has now made us equal through our union with Christ. Ethnic hatred has been dissolved by the crucifixion of his precious body on the cross. The legal code that stood condemning every one of us has now been repealed by his command. His triune essence has made peace between us by starting over—forming one new race of humanity, Jews and non-Jews fused together!
Ephesians 2:13-15
“So when Jesus the Messiah came into the world he said, ‘Since your ultimate desire was not another animal sacrifice, you have clothed me with a body that I might offer myself instead! Multiple burnt offerings and sin-offerings cannot satisfy your justice. So I said to you, ‘God — I will be the One to go and do your will, to fulfill all that is written of me in your Word!’ First he said, ‘Multiple burnt-offerings and sin-offerings cannot satisfy your justice’ (even though the law required them to be offered). And then he said, ‘God, I will be the One to go and do your will.’ So by being the sacrifice that removes sin, he abolishes animal sacrifices and replaces that entire system with the new covenant. By God’s will we have been purified and made holy once and for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, the Messiah!
Hebrews 10:8-10
“The Holy Spirit confirms this to us by this Scripture, for the Lord says, ‘Afterwards, I will give them this covenant: I will embed my laws into their hearts and fasten my Word to their thoughts.’ And then he says, ‘I will not ever again remember their sins and lawless deeds!’ So if our sins have been forgiven and forgotten, why would we ever need to offer another sacrifice for sin?”
Hebrews 10:15-18
More scripture to study on the topic of His final sacrifice: Acts 15, Romans 3, 5, 6, 8, 1 Corinthians 5, Galatians 1, Ephesians 2, 5, Colossians 1, Titus 2, Hebrews 8, 9, 10, 13, 1 Peter 1, 1 John 2, 3.
By His one sacrifice, He broke down every wall, broke every chain, and tore the veil between us and God. He brought us “delightfully close” to our Father. We now have direct access to Him. We weren’t worthy of being in His presence, and we still aren’t. It’s ONLY because of Jesus that we’ve been made worthy.
This is the good news of the gospel, friend.
There’s nothing you could do to earn the love of your Father. And there’s nothing you could do to lose His love, either.
There isn’t a secret list of to-do’s we have to figure out in order for Him to spend time with us. There isn’t a list of things we have to do in a certain order to earn his love and acceptance. He loved us before we were even born. He demonstrated how much He loved us by sending His Son to die in our place. The curse of sin and death fell upon Him so that we could be freed from it.
I’m so in love with this middle eastern man I’ve never met. He’s my closest friend. He’s my everything.
I’m so desperately in love with this man who made it possible for me to dwell in the house of my Father forever.
Psalm 15
1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
3 whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;
4 who despises a vile person
but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;
5 who lends money to the poor without interest;
who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
will never be shaken.
I’m so glad you’re here, friend. I’m not sure how you found this post, but I continue to be amazed by the internets. It brings us together in such beautiful ways and reminds us that we’re more alike than different. More united than divided. Whether you spend a minute or an hour on this page, know that Jesus loves you like crazy. Like CRAZY. I’d love to hear how I can pray for you. Would you let me know here?
