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 FEAR
AND FAITH IN THE SAME HEART– We have a Q and A format in Psalm 15
that may have served as an ancient catechism for persons prepared to
enter the temple gates; such was one function of an entrance liturgy
such as this.
TORAH INFLUENCE? – The responses to this the opening
parallelism--Who may worship in your sanctuary . . . who may enter
your presence? suggest that the answers have been shaped by the
influence of the Ten Commandments--though not with precise
correspondence. But whatever the final form of these moral
characteristics or however they functioned in ancient Israel, the
descriptions focus attention on the exemplary conduct of those who
would enter the Temple for worship. God’s covenant community
requires some reflection and instruction so that our lives are
oriented to and dependent on God in the way we think and speak and
act.
DIVINE FAMILY TRAITS – While Psalm 15 may be modeled on an
entrance liturgy, its present form and context suggest that its
primary purpose is to portray what it means to be constantly open to
God’s instruction (Ps. 1:2), to take refuge in God (Pss. 2;12, 5:11,
7:1, etc.), and to live under God’s rule (Pss. 2:11, 5;2, 7:7-9,
etc.). . . . The answers to the questions in verse 1, therefore, are
not requirements or prescriptions. Rather, like the content of the
Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, vv. 2-5 portray what life is
like when it is lived under God’s reign instead of in reliance upon
oneself . . . The character and behavior of the righteous will
inevitably mirror God’s character and God’s values. Recipients of
grace will inevitably be gracious.. [1]
 This psalm
reminds me of the baptismal vows that the Church as asked of her
candidates throughout the centuries. Do you renounce evil in
whatever forms you may encounter it? Do you seek to live . . .
These could be taken as point-blank prescriptions for attaining
favor before the divine Presence. But these descriptions could
push us to consider what it means to live in relationship to God.
In your own journey with God, what specific ways have you
personally sought to live a life worthy of your calling to be a
disciple of God? How do they correspond with Psalm 15 (verses
2-5)?
It might be useful--if you are considering this psalm for your
homily--to be in conversation with Colossians 1:10--Paul’s prayer
for Christians that the way you live will always honor and please
the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others.
All the while you will learn to know God better and better (nlt).
If the Christian calling can be understood behaviorally as living
in such a way that honors the high calling that God has given us,
then how then should we live?
Hold before your listeners the New Testament claim that God with
the new life that God has given us in Christ, God has also given us
a new potential for living honorably before God. I would also
move toward “Incarnational Theology,” that is, that in Christ we
become in a special sense, theotokoi, or God-bearers to the
world. To have Christ’s Spirit in our lives is to be able to reflect
at least a modicum of God’s glory and thus to be welcomed to God’s
presence in worship.
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[1] The New Interpreter’s Bible IV (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996),
page 734.
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