Burunche’s Blog

Who May Dwell on Your Holy Mountain?

A Psalm of David.

“O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain?

He who walks with integrity and practices righteousness, who speaks the truth from his heart, who has no slander on his tongue, who does no harm to his neighbor, who casts no scorn on his friend, who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath, who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things will never be shaken.”

Want to be successful? Check out Psalm 15.

1. Walk with integrity and practice righteousness. Integrity has been defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Integrity is closely related to the following virtues: honesty, uprightness, probity, rectitude, honor, honorableness, upstandingness, good character, being principled, being ethical and moral, righteousness, morality, nobility, high-mindedness, right-mindedness, noble-mindedness, virtue, decency, fairness, scrupulousness, sincerity, truthfulness, trustworthiness. Without integrity, we are only cardboard people.
2. Speak the truth from your heart. We have all been lied to as people attempt to manipulate us. In previous generations, being a man or woman of one’s word was one of the highest compliments possible. These days, world leaders have demonstrated a complete lack of respect for truth of any kind. Such examples encourage others to lie as well. But God is a God of truth and justice; God cannot bless liars.
3. Don’t have slander on your tongue. The definition of slander is to make false and damaging statements about someone. We cannot run around spreading rumors and running down people’s reputations and then expect God to bless us.
4. Don’t do harm to your neighbor. Here in Ghana, traditionally people have lived in compounds that might house several families, each occupying one or two rooms per family. In such close situations, it is vitally important for neighbors to get along well. If one family behaves badly toward all the others, the results can be chaotic. Fights may break out, injuring many people. Neighbors should be able to trust one another and help one another. God can’t bless people who are conspiring against those trusting them.
5. Don’t cast scorn on your friends. To cast scorn on someone means to belittle them, undermining their position and trying to build yourself up by running someone else down. Even if you are speaking the truth, you should focus on someone else’s good points and not on their bad points.
6. Despise the vile but honor those who fear the Lord. Psalm 1 warns us to shun the company of evil-doers, lest we begin to copy them. True story: We knew a Ghanaian businessman who was a cheat, a thief, a womanizer and heavily involved in the occult. This man attended church to keep up appearances and perhaps because God was still tugging on his heart. At the end of a church service, we watched as the Men’s Fellowship leader at that church came up to enthusiastically compliment this man on his goodness and generosity. We wondered what the Men’s Fellowship leader expected to gain from the businessman. We also wondered if the Men’s Fellowship leader would greet a poor church member as effusively. 
7. If you have sworn an oath, then stick to it, even if it costs you a great deal to do so. There used to be a saying when someone was avowing that they were speaking the truth, “I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles.” Oaths taken in court used to require the witness to raise their right hand and to place their left hand on the Bible as a sign that they were about to speak the truth and only the truth. To swear on a stack of Bibles would indicate that you were REALLY being truthful. But if you promise something today and refuse tomorrow because keeping your word has become expensive or difficult, your word is worthless.
8. Don’t lend your money with interest. Examine Mosaic Law and you realize that Jews were not supposed to charge other Jews interest, although they could charge interest to people from other nations. This injunction refers to demanding interest from those who should be granted soft loans that they can easily pay back. Since God has given you the money in the first place, it behooves you to be generous with God’s resources.
9. Refuse to take a bribe against the innocent. To accept a bribe is to perjure oneself while harming one’s neighbor as well. How can a holy God bless such behavior?
10.   If you do these things, you will never be shaken or moved. God is the One who establishes us. Psalm 75:6-7 tells us “For exaltation (promotion) comes neither from the east, nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another.” Want to be firmly rooted spiritually? Want God to promote you? Do the right thing!

APPLICATION: In one hospital where I worked, I printed off Psalm 15 and posted it on the door of the Administrative Office as a reminder for the office workers. Was this action effective? I’m not sure how much effect it had on others, but it helped remind me of priorities.

As missionaries supported by donations, we must always be aware that the money coming in is God’s money and not ours. We must be good and careful stewards of those funds, praying before disbursing them. The two areas in which we spend the most, apart from our modest living expenses, are school fees for health worker trainees and patient bills. This last year has been brutally difficult for our patients and their families as prices have soared and incomes have plummeted.

During this rainy season, we have had to assist families whose patients require blood or medicines several times a week. For us, the requirements of Psalm 15 have assumed additional importance. Our situation is simple: either we follow Psalm 15 as completely as possible, or we cannot expect God to bring in donations.

Want God’s blessings on your life? Follow Psalm 15.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Father, help us to follow the tenets of Psalm 15 so that our lives will meet your approval. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus

This entry was posted on September 27, 2023 at 12:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.