The psalmist asks, “O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?” (Psalm 15:1). The answer comes in the following verses, which look for someone who lives blamelessly: truthful in speech, righteous in behavior, refusing both interest on loans and also bribes, honoring those who fear the Lord (15:2-5).

It might be tempting to suppose that a ‘salvation by good works’ theology is in view here: do righteous deeds – perhaps, do these specific righteous deeds – and you will live. That notion would be contradicted by the many texts in other parts of the Bible that insist that salvation comes as the gracious gift of God; and it would be contradicted as well by the specific ideas mentioned here, which are generalized examples rather than an exhaustive list of required behaviors.

In my estimation, what the psalmist is actually expressing is a quest for godly character. We live in a world where ever so many people aim for a comfortable mediocrity; they don’t want to put in the effort to be any better than they have to be. But this psalm yearns for personal integrity and goodness. It is looking for a godliness that wants to dwell in the holy presence of the Lord (15:1).

This depth of character is not just wishful thinking: it has real substance. Consider, for example: if you want to be godly, how will you behave toward those around you? You’ll never wrong a comrade or cast discredit on a neighbor (15:3). But at the same time you will “despise the wicked” (15:4). This isn’t about hating individuals who do wrong: that would include you and me and all those comrades and neighbors, from time to time, wouldn’t it? Instead, it’s about an attitude that is completely unwilling to compromise with someone who asks you to go along with an action you know is wrong.

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Teach us godliness, O Lord. Save us from our slackness, where we suppose it’s fine for us to slide by with the least we can do. Give us a yearning for genuine goodness, for integrity and character: and give us the grace to make solid choices, day by day, to live out that character.

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