“O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.
He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But who honors those who fear the Lord;
He swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He does not put out his money at interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.” (Psalms 15:1-5 NASB’95)
We should always read the Old Testament Scriptures in light of the New Testament Scriptures, and in light of the New Covenant, and not in the light of the Old Covenant, which we are not under. But much of what was taught in the Old Testament is repeated for us in the New Testament, perhaps not in all the same exact wording, but with the same intent and purpose and message. For Old Testament and New Testament are from the same God.
So, we should not write off all the Old Testament teachings, presuming that what they teach is no longer relevant to us today. It is true that some of what is taught under the Old Covenant is not relevant to us today. We are not under the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, dietary, and circumcision laws of the Old Covenant. But we still have to die to sin and walk in obedience to our Lord’s New Covenant commands.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we must still be people of God who walk with integrity and who practice righteousness and who speak truth in our hearts and with our lips. We are not to be those who slander others and who do evil to our neighbors (to anyone). We are not to be workers of evil, who are not workers of good, who live for the sinful pleasures of the flesh, and who do not live for God and for his righteousness and holiness, in obedience to him.
And this is not teaching us that we must obey God with absolute perfection and never once fail, or never once sin against the Lord (1 John 2:1-2). But the New Covenant Scriptures are quite clear on this subject. Regardless of what faith in Jesus we profess with our lips, if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands, living righteously, in his power, then we are not saved, and we will not have eternal life with God.
For we are to be the people of God who honor God, not just with our lips, but with our lifestyles (practices), who walk in the fear (honor, respect) of the Lord in walks of obedience to his commands and to his will and purpose for our lives. For this isn’t just about obeying a set of rules, but this is about becoming who God created us each individually to be and us serving the Lord Jesus with our lives in the areas of ministry to which he has called us.
Now, I find some of the wording in this Psalm a bit confusing to me, so I have looked up “He swears to his own hurt and does not change” in the old commentaries. It appears that the meaning is that he does good to (what is beneficial to) his neighbor, but that this might be to his own detriment. And even if harm is done to him, in return, he will not change in his purpose or in his actions, but he will continue in them with a good conscience.
So, what would be an example of this? What comes to my mind has to do with us, who follow Jesus with our lives, following our Lord in the ways that he would have us to go, in sharing his messages with the people that he gives us to share from his word, and us not compromising with the world or with an altered gospel message, and us, then, facing much rebuke and rejection and loss of friendships because we speak the truth from God.
We must be those who follow Jesus in obedience to his commands, and in doing what his word teaches that we must be doing, as his followers, even if it means being rejected and cast aside and forsaken and forgotten even by friends, family members, “the church,” pastors, spouses, neighbors, and the like. We must never compromise truth and righteousness in order to be acceptable to other people. We must be willing to be rejected to obey God.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Lead Me Gently Home, Father
By Will L. Thompson, 1879
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
When life’s toils are ended,
And parting days have come,
Sin no more shall tempt me,
Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,
If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,
Lead me gently home.
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
In life’s darkest hours, Father,
When life’s troubles come,
Keep my feet from wand’ring,
Lest from Thee I roam,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Those Who Fear the Lord
An Original Work / April 1, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
