Psalm 15 -Perfectly Righteous!?!



Perfectly righteous !?!

God, this psalm seems to stand in stark contrast to the description of the "fool" in Psalm 14. And, if Psalm 14 was an accurate description of who I am, this psalm certainly describes who I'm not.

And, even though this is a psalm of David, it doesn't describe who he is either. "Who does no evil to his neighbor" (v. 3). Really? He slept with his neighbor and then killed her husband. I think that may classify as doing evil to your neighbor.

And so, God, David and I are condemned by his very words. There is no way we could ever dwell in your presence - now nor for eternity.

But, Jesus, thank you that, as a great, great, great (and many more greats) grandson of David, you were the one who perfectly fulfilled the righteousness that this psalm requires. Jesus, it is easy to say that you lived a perfect life. But, much more than that, you lived the righteous life I was required to live.

Jesus, thank you gospel grace. And, thank you for gospel righteousness. Thank you for what theologians call double imputation - my sin was imputed (given to) you, and your righteousness was imputed (given to) me. And, thank you that your gift of righteousness is slowly changing me from the inside out to make me little by little like the person of this psalm.

Amen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 20 - Lord, Save the King

Image
  Lord, with some sanctified imagination, I can imagine Peter, James, and John praying this psalm in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of your betrayal. They knew the threats against you, and as they were fighting sleep, I can hear them praying for your protection (v. 1). They likely would have been praying for the Father to send help and to keep in mind how you have lived a fully devoted life (v. 2-3). Lord, maybe after you had to wake them up, they got back to this psalm and continued praying for you to receive your heart's desire and that God would grant victory to you and them (v. 4-5). And then, after being awakened by you again, they continue with an assurance that God will truly save his anointed. Others may trust in chariots, but if you had taught them anything, it was to trust in the Lord. And so, they confidently affirmed that they (and you) would rise in triumph (v. 6-8). And as they concluded this prayer with, "O lord, save the king" (v. 9), they dozed off
Read more

Psalm 13 - “How long?”

Image
                                                                                                 Orbon Alija/E+/Getty Images How long? God, unlike irritated parents on a road trip after hours of relentless “How much longer” from the back seat, you seem to invite that question. Actually, it is so much more than a question, it’s a heart’s cry. Fifteen times in the Psalter, this question is asked of you. And four of those times are in this psalm alone. For David, it’s not just that the road trip is taking so long, but he’s literally wondering if dad even knows where he’s going. And like a four-year-old who can’t take it anymore, he’s wondering if he’ll even survive this trip. God, if I were honest, I don’t allow my heart to act like a four-year-old before you. So instead, I filter my prayers through a theology that tells me that God is sovereign, his timing is perfect; he will never leave or forsake me; he knows all, so of course, he will never forget me; he has a wonderful plan fo
Read more

Psalm 24 - Every Six Steps

Image
God, we don’t know for sure the occasion for this psalm, but it certainly could have been when David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6. During that scene in 2 Samuel 6, the narrative is colored by tragedy as the Ark of God makes its way to Jerusalem. The tragedy is when the Ark begins to topple when the ox stumbles, and Uzzah reaches out his hand, touching the Ark to steady it. And, in touching the Ark, he immediately dies. Three months later, determined to get the Ark to Jerusalem, David tries again. But, knowing that he was moving You, the creator God, and that no unclean hands could touch the Ark (as in Uzzah’s case), and because only those with pure hearts could be in Your presence, they would only take six steps at a time and then stop to sacrifice a bull and a fattened calf (2 Samuel 6:13). God, every six steps a sacrifice was required to stay clean and pure! To be honest, that sounds just about right for my heart. The only reason I might think t
Read more