A Psalm of David
1. Yahweh, who may sojourn in your tabernacle?
Who may reside in the hill of your holiness?
2. He who walks perfectly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.
3. He does not slander with his tongue.
He does not do harm to his neighbor,
And he does not take up a reproach against one near to him.
4. In his eyes a rejected one is despised,
But those who fear Yahweh he will honor.
He swears to his own harm and will not change.
5. His silver he does not give for interest,
and a bribe against the innocent one he will not take.
He who does these things will not be moved forever.
Psalm 15 is about the necessity of holiness. Those who lack it may not enter God’s house and have no place in heaven. Hebrews 12:14 puts it this way: Pursue peace with all, and holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
The Psalm puts it more strongly. Perfection in holiness is necessary: righteousness in all of life, a heart of truth (v. 2), perfect love for the neighbor (v. 3), hatred of all evil (v. 4), and mercy for the weak (v. 5). Nothing less will do.
But Psalm 14 testifies that no one has such holiness: There is none who does good, no not one. We are all by nature, in ourselves, and without exception excluded from the presence of the Holy God. He can tolerate no unrighteousness. He is the light unto which no man can approach.
Christ is the only one who meets all the criteria laid out in this Psalm. He fulfilled the law perfectly and therefore sojourns now in the Lord’s tabernacle and resides in his holy hill.
From there he also works to perfect forever those who are being sanctified, so that they may dwell there with him forever. We seek by faith a full sanctification and complete deliverance from the body of the sins of the flesh (Col. 2:11), and cry with Paul, O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!