Psalms 1, 2, 15, 22-24, 47, 68

Lot's of Psalms in today's chronological reading plan I'm going to focus on Psalm 15 and the behaviors of the righteous. King David starts out this psalm with questions: Who is permitted to dwell in YAHWEH's sacred tent? This comes right along the same timeframe that the ark of the covenant arrived in Jerusalem with much music and dancing. The sacred tent is not likely the tabernacle tent coverings from the first generation of freed Israelites from Egypt, rather according to a literal interpretation of I Chronicles 15:1 King David pitched a new tent for the ark of the covenant. 

King David asks another question to open this psalm: Who is permitted to live on YAHWEH's holy mountain? Answering this question he begins to describe good human behaviors (NIV translation):

Blameless walk who does righteous deeds.

Speaks truth from their heart uttering no slander or slur.

Does no wrong to a neighbor. 

Despises a vile person and honors those who fear the LORD

Keeps an oath even when it hurts and does not change their mind. 

Lends money to the poor without interest and does not accept bribes. 

The emphasis here is on deeds of righteousness or deeds of goodness, which is a fruit of the Spirit. I've heard goodness defined biblically as always saying, thinking and doing what is good. We know from even a casual read of scripture that God is good, man can only be truly good under the blood of Jesus through faith alone by the grace and love of YAHWEH. Goodness being a fruit of the Spirit means that man can only grow in goodness by the power of the Holy Spirit through a daily yielding and obedience. While I know many blameless men and women who fit the criteria David lays out I know certainly that man can only be so good in his own strength - transformative goodness comes by the Spirit and this supernatural goodness exceeds any a possible capacity of human goodness!

Ephesians 2:8-10 (NIV) "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."


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