- Overcomer Literature Trust
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
7. THE CONDITIONS OF ABIDING Ps. 15.
1. The one question of the soul.
“Lord, who shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?” (v1).
The soul that has once known close communion with God, and the life of dwelling in His sanctuary, has no keener question or desire than to know how to abide unbrokenly in His Presence.
2. The practical conditions in detail.
a) Feet. “He that walketh uprightly” (v2).
This means the practical walk represented by the feet and their steps. “If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk” (Gal. 5 v25).
b) Hands. “He that . . . worketh righteousness” (v2).
This speaks of the hands. “God said I will dwell in them . . . Touch no unclean thing” (2 Cor. 6 v16-17).
c) Heart. “He that . . . speaketh truth in his heart” (v2).
This touches the very issues of life. “Thou desirest truth in the inward parts” (Ps. 51 v6). Truth in the heart will bring truth to the lips.
d) Tongue. “He that slandereth not with his tongue” (v3).
See Jas. 3 v2. “If any man stumbleth not in word, the same is . . . able to bridle the whole body.” “If thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth” (Jer. 15 v19). Walking in communion with God He will use our lips only for His glory.
e) Ears. “He that . . . taketh [not] up a reproach” (v3).
The margin of A.V. reads “receiveth”. The ear and what it listens to has much to do with the life of communion. How few of us are willing to comply with the conditions of close fellowship with God! We must be so satisfied with His Presence that we are content to be blind and deaf to all that would grieve Him.
f) Eyes. “He that . . . is lowly in his own eyes (v 4).
“In whose eyes a reprobate is despised; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord” Compare Jas. 2 v1-6. How opposed this is to the spire of the world! We cannot dwell in God’s Presence and countenance sin because of the worldly position of the sinner.
These six points speak of the avenues through which sin may approach the soul seeking to abide in the Sanctuary. We find the same series in Isa. 33 v15, pointed out in reply to the question, “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?” (v14). Our God is a consuming fire and He cannot keep us abiding in heart while tolerating any laxity in life. The daily walk; the work of the hands, the thought of the heart, the word of the tongue, the listening of the ears, must all be under His control and kept in accord with the Holiness of His Sanctuary.
3. The spirit of the whole life.
a) Self sacrifice the law of action.
“He that sweareth (i.e. promiseth) unto his neighbour, and disappointeth him not, though it were to his own hindrance” (v5). “He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not! (v6). Our broken promises seem but trifles, but they are not so to God. An old proverb runs ‘Straws tell how the wind blows’, and the little things of life, more than the great ones show the true character of the Christian.
b) Self sacrifice in the handling of money.
“He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent” (v5).
The handling of money is the keenest test of our spiritual life. The Pharisees scoffed at the words of Christ because they were “lovers of money” (Luke 16 v14), and self-interest in money matters secretly lies as the cause of many fruitless Christian lives.
4. The assurance of life in the Sanctuary.
“He that doeth these things shall never be moved” (v5).
Compare 2 Peter 1 v10. If we will ‘add on our part’ all diligence in taking all the supply for our need out of God’s abundant provision of grace for practical life and God-likeness, we shall have now, and by and by, richly supplied unto us an abundant entrance into the Kingdom of Christ.
“I will extol Thee, O Lord” (Ps. 30 v1).
1. “Thou hast drawn me up” (v1).
2. “Thou hast healed me” (v2).
3. “Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol (v3).
4. “Thou hast kept me alive” (v3).
5. “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing” (v11).
6. “Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness” (v11). “O Lord my God, I will give thanks” (v12).