Rev. David Holwick ZI Series on Psalms
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 29, 2000
Psalm 15
GOD'S KIND OF PERSON
I. Entrance requirements.
A. Rebecca looking at various colleges.
1) How strict are their requirements?
2) Lots of questions on personal character.
3) They leave the money part until later.
B. Entrance requirements for heaven?
1) In a sense, God does what colleges do.
a) He does have entrance requirements for heaven.
b) Heaven is cheaper than college (it's free) but character
is going to count.
2) Psalm 15 begins with a setting of pilgrim/worshiper coming
to the temple in Jerusalem (which was on a hill).
a) The priest asks them moral questions before he will
let them enter.
b) (Mormons do same thing. No one gets into a temple
unless they put in writing they have abstained from
alcohol and caffeine and have tithed.)
3) Psalm has one question put two ways.
a) Psalm 24:4-5 and Isaiah 33:14-15 have similar questions.
1> Psalm 24 gives ritual requirements.
2> Isaiah 33 is similar to Ps 15 - ethics are required.
b) Broadens to what God expects of anyone who would live
in his presence.
1> We are going to dwell there, not just visit.
2> Note that it is not so much the identity of the
person who can enter, but the KIND of person.
II. Character still counts.
A. The presidential campaign is full of it.
1) They are quoting (and misquoting) the Bible right and left.
2) But both have been caught doing less-than-honorable things.
B. Our country seems to be lacking integrity.
A recent survey has shown just how alarming the crisis is.
Only 13 percent of Americans see all Ten Commandments as
binding on us today.
In answer to the question, "Whom have you regularly lied to?"
the statistics included 86 percent lying to parents and
75 percent lying to friends.
Most workers admit to goofing off for an average of seven
hours a week - almost one whole day.
Half admit that they regularly call in sick when they are
perfectly well.
The survey also posed the question, "What are you willing to
do for $10 million?"
25% would abandon their families.
23% would become a prostitute for a week.
7% would kill a stranger.
Think of it!
In a gathering of 100 Americans there are seven who would
consider killing you if the price were right.
#5158
III. The integrity of God's People.
A. Our character: true. 15:2
1) Blameless - not perfect, but has an attitude of the heart
which desires to please God.
a) Examples are Noah (Gen 6:9) and Abraham (Gen 17:1).
2) Has a righteous and faithful lifestyle.
a) Righteous person DOES what is right.
Character is not something you have; it is something
you are that inevitably shows itself in what you do.
The only significant test of what you believe is how
you live.
Both wisdom and goodness exist only in actions in the
real world.
Character is values lived.
In the Bible, a wise person is a person who lives
wisely -- that is, in right relationship to God --
not a person who is simply intelligent or educated.
#3559
1> Truth from heart - his mouth and heart (seat
of being) are in harmony.
2> A person of integrity in all relationships and
activities.
b) Walk, do, speak - (don't distinguish) everything we
do is in harmony with God and men.
3) Truth - what is sure and trustworthy, not merely correct.
a) What you say is at one with who you are.
B. Our words: restrained. 15:3
1) Slander - nearer to scandal (gossip) than slander.
a) John Calvin - includes those who like to listen to it.
2) No wrong to neighbor.
a) "Neighbor" has sense of any other human.
b) Our words don't cut others down, but build them up.
3) Casts no slur - enlarges on theme of Proverbs 10:12 -
"Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over
all wrongs."
C. Our allegiance: clear-cut. 15:4
1) Despises a vile man - seems pharisaical but is really
loyalty.
2) Not judging others but giving our vote, declaring what we
admire and where we stand.
3) Wicked have no sense of loyalty.
"In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises." Ps 10:2
D. Our dealings: honorable. 15:4
1) Rash promise - issue is our hurt, not another's.
a) Contrast with Jephthah (rash vow killed daughter).
b) Proverbs 6:1-5 - we can be released from rash words.
c) But if we are not released, we "face the music."
2) True to our word.
a) We keep our promises and commitments.
b) We make material sacrifices to be honest.
c) Honor is more important than our wallet.
3) No rip-offs or unfair advantage. 15:5
a) Usury - excessive interest.
b) OT condemns it in context of taking advantage of a
brother's misfortunes. Lev 25:35-38
1> In family, carry weak member.
2> Outside, discretion is allowed.
A> Extortion forbidden.
B> Generosity encouraged.
3> Psalm 15 makes no distinction between a brother and
a stranger in need.
IV. Now more than ever.
A. Roosevelt's challenge.
On March 5, 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt went to church.
He had a lot to pray about - the Great Depression was still
hitting hard and World War II was just around the corner.
The Episcopalian pastor gave a sermon that really inspired the
president.
Roosevelt said something prophetic at the press conference that
followed the service.
His opening words startled the reporters.
In that trademark voice he boomed; "I ask that every newspaper
in the country print the text of the FIFTEENTH PSALM...
There could be no better lead for your story."
With those words, the president pointed not only to the state
of our country, but also to something deeper... to the state
of our souls. [1]
B. God's promise.
1) Qualities Psalm 15 describes are those that God creates in
a person, not those he finds in us.
2) Security comes not from siding with the strong but steadily
trusting in God.
3) Hebrew: "He shall not be moved, ever."
a) May experience adversities, but will never fall.
b) Maria Shriver is a well-known television journalist.
Her mom is Eunice (Kennedy) Shriver, her dad once ran
for vice president.
Niece of Robert and Ted Kennedy.
She is married to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Maria is a very driven and successful person.
A few years ago she told an interviewer she has been
taking time to examine the quality of her inner life.
"My single long-term goal, if I have one, is to find
some inner peace.
You look at people who have great faith in God, like
my grandmother, and they have that - inner peace.
They know they haven't hurt anyone on the way up,
they haven't lied or done anything that they
felt horrid about.
So no matter what, they're very centered people."
#610
C. Are you God's kind of person?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# [1] "Safe In the Palm of His Hand," sermon by Rev. Frank VanDerzwan,
Menlo Park Presbyterian Church; Menlo Park, California;
January 6, 1996.. Quote is from "Seeking Solid Ground," by
Trent & Hicks, pages 9-10.
# 610 "Maria Shriver," by Susan Price, McCalls magazine, October 1988,
page 153.
#3559 "In Pursuit of Character, Part 1," by Daniel Taylor, Christianity
Today; December 11, 1995; page 29.
#5158 "Passing on the Torch," internet sermon by Rev. Robin Crouch,
pastor of First Baptist Church; Wheeling, West Virginia;
quoting from "The Day America Told the Truth," by James
Patterson and Peter Kim, 1991.
These and 16,500 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/illust.html
=======================================================================
Commentary and Study Notes
Expositors Bible Commentary
Willem A. VanGemeren
I. Wisdom psalm.
A. Begins with a question, ends with God's promise.
B. Setting is what God requires of a pilgrim/worshiper, but
broadens to what God expects of anyone who would live in
his presence.
C. Ethical (Isa 33:14-15) more than ceremonial (Psalm 24:4-5).
II. Who - what kind of person, more than identity.
A. Only genuine servants have access to God.
1) allusion to pilgrimage to Jerusalem. (holy hill)
2) tabernacle and temple there.
B. "dwell in tabernacle(=tent)" alludes to hospitality.
C. As pilgrims walk up to temple they must examine themselves.
D. Jesus and woman at well - God is not worshipped on hills,
yours or ours, but wherever people come to him in spirit
and truth.
III. Our response: Guidelines for self-examination.
A. Specific examples, patterned on Ten Commandments.
1) Ten conditions, but don't parallel each Commandment.
2) Holistic response of godliness.
B. General attributes: blameless, righteous, faithful.
1) Blameless - not perfect, but has an attitude of
the heart which desires to please God.
a) Examples are Noah and Abraham.
b) A person of integrity before God and humans.
2) Has a righteous and faithful lifestyle.
a) Righteous person DOES what is right. Dynamic.
1> Truth from heart - his mouth and heart (seat
of being) are in harmony.
2> A person of integrity in all relationships
and activities.
b) Walk, do, speak - (don't distinguish) everything he
does is in harmony with God and men.
C. Three negative examples:
1) Slander or gossip.
a) Calvin - includes those who like to listen to it.
2) doesn't hurt neighbor, much less a friend.
a) Wicked have no sense of loyalty. 10:2
3) No guile.
D. Positive examples.
1) Discerning respect.
a) Despise vile man.
1> Someone who is hardened in sin.
2> We are not free to despise just any sinner.
b) Wise have deep respect for others - those who fear
God.
1> They must distinguish between the two types.
2) Reliable.
a) Promises and vows are kept.
b) True to his word.
1> Makes material sacrifices to be honest.
2> Honor is more important than his wallet.
3) Concern for poor.
a) Gave free loans to keep poor from selling themselves
into slavery.
b) Usury - high interest on loans.
c) Doesn't resort to bribery.
IV. The promise.
A. Wise will "dwell" with God.
B. May experience adversities, but will never fall.
1) Never shaken.
C. Our morality has a theological emphasis.
_______________________
Derek Kidner. Tyndale Old Testament Commentary.
Psalm 15 - A Man After God's Heart.
I. Introduction.
A. Opening may be modelled on entrance questioning for temple.
1) But believer gets to dwell there, not just enter.
B. Instead of ritual requirements their conscience is searched.
1) Cf. Psalm 24:3-6 and Isaiah 33:14-17.
2) Anticipates Jesus' beatitude of the pure in heart.
II. God as man's host.
A. Tent:
1) Formal worship.
a) Holy hill.
2) Simple hospitality.
a) Sojourn, dwell.
B. Two ideas mingle: worshipper as an eager guest.
1) Pilgrimage is a homecoming.
2) Who shall sojourn? - the encounter is personal.
III. Man as God's guest. (above all, a man of integrity)
A. His character: true.
1) Blameless is a little too negative for original, which
means whole-hearted and sound.
2) Righteous - not a platitude because some moral systems
are not based on theology.
3) Truth - what is sure and trustworthy, not merely
correct.
a) What you say is at one with who you are.
B. His words: restrained.
1) Slander - nearer to scandal (gossip) than slander.
2) Friend (neighbor) is simply another person.
3) Reproach - enlarges on theme of Proverbs 10:12.
C. His allegiance: clear-cut.
1) Seems pharisaical but is really loyalty.
a) Not comparing self to others but giving our vote,
declaring what we admire and where we stand.
b) Compare Abraham's attitudes to the two kings of
Genesis 14:17-24.
D. His dealings: honorable.
1) Rash promise - issue is one's hurt, not another's.
a) Contrast with Herod and Jephthah.
b) Proverbs 6:1-5 - we can be released from rash words.
2) Money at interest - condemned in context of trading on
a brother's misfortunes. Lev 25:35-38
a) In family, carry weak member.
b) Outside, discretion is allowed.
1> Extortion forbidden.
2> Generosity encouraged.
c) Psalm 15 makes no distinction between a brother and
a stranger in need.
E. His place: assured.
1) Qualities psalm describes are those that God creates in
a man, not those he finds in him.
2) Security comes not from siding with the strong but
steadily trusting in God.
a) Hebrew: "He shall not be moved, ever."
=======================
Related illustration:
HOLWICK COMBINED COLLECTION Number: 3556
TOPICS: Traditional Values, Virtue, Character, Politics, Compassion,
Conservatism
TEXT: Deut 15:7-15, Prov 22:6, Ps 15, Col 3:12-14, Phil 4:8, 1 Jn 2:6
SOURCE: Online Christianity Today (America Online)
TITLE: Books: Replenishing America's Moral Capital
AUTHOR: Spencer Perkins
DATE: 11-14-94
ILLUSTRATION:
Over the past decade, William Bennett has become an increasingly
prominent figure on the national scene. As chairman of the National
Endowment for the Humanities, secretary of education, and director of
drug control policy, Bennett was a forthright and articulate spokesman
for conservative values.
Now Bennett has published two books that extend and deepen his
engagement with our cultural malaise. The first, "The De-Valuing of
America: The Fight for Our Culture and Our Children," diagnoses what has
gone wrong and prescribes a reaffirmation of traditional values. It is
largely autobiographical, as Bennett draws on his extensive firsthand
experience of the culture wars. The second, "The Book of Virtues: A
Treasury of Great Moral Stories," is an anthology intended primarily to
help parents instill traditional values in their children. Both books
can be recommended to Christian readers.
In "The De-Valuing of America," Bennett confronts the assault on moral
absolutes. It seems so obvious, but apparently it is not, that without
deep-rooted values to guide how we live our lives, how we make our laws,
and how we teach our children, eventually everyone will do what is right
in his or her own eyes, whatever the cost to others. And that, Bennett
suggests, is the difference "between social order and social anarchy."
America's civic order, Bennett argues, cannot be understood apart from
its religious roots. "No one demands doctrinal adherence to any
religious beliefs as a condition of citizenship," he writes, "or as
proof of good citizenship, here. But at the same time, we should not
deny what is true; that from the Judeo-Christian tradition come our
values, our principles, the animating spirit of our institutions. That
tradition and our tradition are entangled. They are wed together. When
we have disdain for our religious tradition, we have disdain for
ourselves." While broadly affirming the "Judeo-Christian tradition,"
Bennett's emphasis is on nonsectarian American values ("our tradition,"
as he refers to it in the passage just quoted); rarely is he addressing
issues from an explicitly Christian perspective.
#3556
*
