This psalm asks a straightforward question – who may abide in the Lord’s house? – and gives an equally straightforward answer – only one who is perfectly righteous. It is a detailed exposition of the truth expressed in Hebrews 12:14, Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
This truth is universal. It applies to all men, in all places and at all times. There are no exceptions to it. The Lord will not – indeed cannot, because of his own holiness – permit anyone who is unrighteous to enter his holy dwelling place.
1. The Question (v. 1)
The question of verse 1 means basically, who may enter the presence of God? The tabernacle was, of course, his house which he set up for himself to fulfill in part his promise to Abraham: I will be your God and you shall be my people. Several things are included in it: 1) who may come into the presence of God in prayer? 2) Who may come into the presence of God through the gatherings of his people? For the church is the temple of God. 3) Who may enter into heaven itself, the throne room of God?
David addresses the question to the Lord. He is the one who controls access to his tabernacle and holy hill, and he alone determines who is worthy to enter.
The question is a strange and startling question. We can see how startling it is if we step for a few minutes into David’s sandals.
There was no tabernacle. Sometime during the reign of Saul, Israel had forgotten it or enemies had destroyed it, so that, when David recovered the ark, he did not bring it to Shiloh but to Jerusalem. There he set up a tent for it and appointed priests to minister before it. We never read of David or Solomon worshiping at the tabernacle or going to Shiloh.
David also mentions a holy hill. That term describes Mount Moriah which David purchased from Ornan the Jebusite at the time of his numbering of the people. It became the site of the temple, but there was nothing there yet.
So, what is David talking about? The Lord had no tabernacle and no holy hill among his people at this time.
Even more startling are the words abide and dwell, or sojourn and dwell. The first word suggests something less than permanent residence. It applies, for example, to Abraham’s temporary stay in Egypt. The second is a little stronger: it does imply permanent residence. But no matter which word we look at, the point here is that no one except the Lord himself resided either temporarily or permanently in either the tabernacle or temple. There was no provision for anyone to live there: it had no living quarters. The people had access only to the courtyard. The priests went into the holy place to perform the necessary services of offering incense, trimming and lighting the lamps, and replacing the showbread, but they could not stay there longer than these services required. Only the high priest went into the most holy place, but that only once a year on the Day of Atonement.
The answer to David’s question is apparently, no one.
Why?
Because the Lord, the God of Israel, is holy, and the light of his holiness burns more fiercely than the desert sun. No man can endure it. When the cloud of glory descended on the tabernacle and the temple it became impossible for the priests who were ministering there to continue. Exodus 40:34,35:
Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
And 1 Kings 8:10,11:
And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
Furthermore, the Lord’s presence sanctifies the places of his appearing. When Moses approached the burning bush, the Lord told him to take off his sandals because the ground around the bush had become holy. When God descended on Mt. Sinai in fire, smoke and thunder the whole mountain became holy and he permitted no man or beast to touch it. Thus also, when the Lord came to live in his house, it became a holy house. The priests had to be consecrated, washed and dressed in the holy garments before they could enter. They had to offer sacrifices for their own sins, and they had to approach the fiery presence of God exactly in the way that he had appointed. Aaron’s sons lost their lives because they brought strange fire, and Korah, Dathan and Abiram perished when they tried to assume priestly prerogatives. God permitted no unconsecrated persons to enter.
Fundamentally, no one could live in that house with God because no one was holy as he is holy. All were sinners. The presence of God was not only a fearsome, but also an impossible, place for everyone in Israel.
In a sense, therefore, the question which David asks in verse 1 is a rhetorical one. The answer is obvious: no one can sojourn in that house, no one can dwell in that holy hill.
But that is not the answer that David gives. Instead, he tells us that the only one who can dwell in that house is one who is perfectly righteous. He lists the qualifications for entry, and fundamentally those qualifications come down to this: righteousness to match the righteousness of God himself.
2. The Answer (verse 2-5b)
David gives us a description of this righteous man in verse 2-5b. We may divide that answer into three parts. In verse 2 David describes the righteous man in a general way: he must be righteous in his walk, works and heart. In verses 3–4b he describes the righteous man in his relationships with others. And in verses 4c–5b he talks about how this righteous man refuses to put himself first. It’s worth noticing that he never talks in this whole list about the glorious virtues, the great works of love and charity that men sometimes do for each other. All the things he mentions are homely sorts of virtues, virtues that any one of us has opportunity to practice frequently in the ordinary course of life.
The man who dwells in the Lord’s house must be righteous in his walk, works and heart. He must keep God’s commandments and not swerve from them. He must be perfect as the sacrifices brought to the tabernacle had to be perfect and without blemish. His righteousness must be an active thing, a walking and working in the love of God and his neighbor. It must be a righteousness that proceeds from a heart that speaks truth. Truth must be not only in his mouth, but in his heart, and not only in his heart but in his mouth. His speech must be perfectly consistent with what is in him, and his heart must be perfectly consistent with his righteous speech. He must speak truth not only to himself but also to his neighbor, and he must conform all his thoughts to the revelation of God. He must know the truth and be able to discern clearly between truth and error.
He must also be righteous in his relationships with others.
David begins here with the tongue. How must the man who dwells in the Lord’s house use his tongue? He must speak truth, as we’ve already seen, but he must also refrain from all backbiting. The word that David uses here is a word that almost always means to spy. It’s used of the spies sent by Moses, and again of the spies sent by Joshua into Jericho. It suggests the kind of person who is always on the lookout for secrets about others that he can broadcast. He’s careful to keep eyes and ears open for juicy stories. The righteous man, however, may not speak to the injury of others. He must know that the tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison, and he must put a bridle on it, hold it in check, and not let anything harmful to others slip out.
David goes on to talk about how he must treat four classes of people: neighbors, friends, vile men, and those who fear the Lord.
The word that the NKJV translates as neighbor has a variety of connotations ranging from casual contact to friend. The word translated as friend also has a range of meaning but comes one degree closer. It may also include relatives. I think that the point here is that David wants to make sure to include in these two words everyone with whom a man may have to deal, however intimately or however casually. The man who dwells in God’s house must do no evil to them, either deliberately or through carelessness. Reproach is something that causes shame. Others may reproach them, but he must not take up that reproach. He must uphold the reputations of all as much as he is able. In short then he must love both his neighbor and his friends and do good to them.
In the next two lines David talks about how the man who dwells in the Lord’s house must value others. Will he value them according to their wealth, power, fame, good looks or dealings with himself? Will he turn away from the poor, the weak and the humble? No, his standard of valuation must have nothing to do with those things. He must despise the vile, those whom God rejects, and honor those who fear the Lord. He must love righteousness and hate wickedness both in himself and in others. So, he values those who are unable to give him anything in return, if they fear God. And he despises and turns away from the rich and powerful, if they are evil.
In verses 4c–5b David talks about how the righteous man must refuse to put himself first. He may, for example, make an oath, a vow or a promise, and then find out that the keeping of it will be to his own hurt. It may cost him money, hurt his pride, or put him at risk in some way. Regardless of the injury to himself, he must do what he has promised, rather than look for a way out. In this he imitates our Lord Jesus Christ who kept his promises to his people in spite of the high cost to himself. His yes is yes, and his no is no. He regards his oaths, made before the face of God, as obligations to God himself.
Again, someone who is poor may come to him for a loan. He must not take advantage of the poor man to extract as high an interest rate as possible, or to do himself as much good as possible. He must lend his money without interest. He must be more interested in the well-being of the poor man than his own. He must live by the rule of Exodus 22:25-27:
If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in?
Or he may find himself in a position of power, as judge or arbiter, over an innocent man. He must not let bribery, or flattery, or threats turn him from the path of justice. He must do what is right for the innocent man regardless of the cost to himself.
So, David’s description of the righteous man is comprehensive. He must be righteous in his walk, works, heart, tongue and eyes. Righteousness must characterize all his relationships with neighbors, friends, vile men and those who fear the Lord. He must be righteous without regard to the consequences for himself. He must be righteous inwardly and outwardly, and in every facet of his life.
Are there any such men, or is David talking in the abstract, about something that is practically speaking impossible? Do you remember what Psalm 14 says? There is no one who is righteous, no not one.
Yet even in the Old Testament the people of God lived with God in his holy house, at least symbolically. The showbread, the lampstand and the altar of incense signified their presence. The priests went in on their behalf, as their representatives, and God received them and sent the priests out again to bless them with the words of Numbers 6: The Lord bless you and keep you. the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and give you peace.
How was that possible? Only by the blood that was shed to be a covering for their sins, and only because the priests were sanctified, clothed with the garments of righteousness and drawing near according to the law.
And now, Hebrews 10 tells us, the veil has been torn and the way into the most holy place itself opened to us, so that we may indeed go in and live with God on his holy mountain, among his saints, and with him unto whose light no man can approach.
By the shedding of his blood our great high priest opened that way for us. Only he measures up to the standard of righteousness set up in this psalm. He is holy, innocent and undefiled. He is the spotless lamb of God whose blood covers all our transgressions. And He is the great high priest who has no need to offer sacrifices for his own sins but can offer his holy self for the sins of the people. He entered into the house of God to dwell there forever, in fact passed through the veil into the holy of holies, there to appear in the presence of God. With him he takes a people whose guilt he has covered with his blood, and whom he has sanctified to be like the holy one who dwells there. He washes their souls and raises their vile bodies to be like his glorious body and conforms them to his righteousness. That makes them worthy to dwell in God’s house.
That holiness which he gives, and which he alone can give, is absolutely necessary for us if we are to dwell in God’s house. Without it we will never see the Lord. With it nothing can shake us.
3. The Conclusion (verse 5c)
The conclusion is, of course, that a man who is righteous in that way may and will enter into the presence of God and God will be receive him. But the psalm goes a little beyond that in this last statement. It does not say directly that this righteous man will enter, but instead that he will not be shaken.
He who does these things shall never be moved. That means several things. First, nothing can shake him from his righteousness. As he continues in righteousness and enters more and more into the presence of God by righteousness, God confirms and strengthens that righteousness in him. Second, it means that his place in the house of God is secure. No one can take it from him. He has found a permanent and indestructible home. Third, it means that even the judgment of God himself cannot move him. That judgment will come and will shake to destruction all things that can be shaken, but everything that cannot be shaken will remain. Indeed, He who cannot be shaken will remain, and with him will remain all those who are in him.
This psalm encourages us to strive for holiness.
One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. We seek him by putting off the old and putting on the new, by righteousness after the example of, and by the power of, our righteous high priest.