1. Lord. The
Question. Jehovah, who shall be permitted to
have fellowship with thee? A sense of the glory of the Lord and of the holiness
which becomes his house, his service, and his attendants, excites the humble
mind to ask this solemn question. Where angels bow with veiled faces, how shall
man be able to worship at all? The unthinking may imagine it to be a very easy
matter to approach the Most High, and when professedly engaged in his worship
they have no questionings of heart as to their fitness for it; but truly
humbled souls often shrink under a sense of utter unworthiness, and would not
dare to approach the throne of the God of holiness if it were not for him, our
Advocate, who can abide in the heavenly temple, because his righteousness
endures forever. Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? On the grounds of law
no mere man can dwell with God, for there is not one upon earth who answers to
the just requirement of the Lord. We must know from the Lord of the tabernacle
what are the qualifications for his service, and when we have been taught by
him, we shah clearly see that only our spotless Lord Jesus, and those who are
conformed to his image, can ever stand with acceptance before the Majesty on
high.
Impertinent curiosity frequently desires to know who and how
many will be saved; if those who thus ask the question who shall dwell in
thy holy hill? would make it a soul-searching inquiry in reference to
themselves they would act much more wisely. Members of the visible church,
which is God’s tabernacle of worship, should diligently see to it that they
have the preparation of heart which fits them to be inmates of the house of
God. Without the wedding-dress of righteousness in Christ Jesus, we have no
right to sit at the banquet of communion.
2. The Answer.
The Lord in answer to the question informs us by his Holy Spirit of the
character of the man who alone can dwell in his holy hill. In perfection this
holiness is found only in the Man of Sorrows, but in a measure it is wrought in
all his people by the Holy Spirit. Faith and the graces of the Spirit are not
mentioned, because this is a description of outward character, and where fruits
are found the root may not be seen, but it is surely there. He that walketh
uprightly. He keeps himself erect as those do who traverse high ropes; if
they lean on one side over they must go. True believers do not cringe as
flatterers; they have the strong backbone of the vital principle of grace
within. Walking is of far more importance than talking. He only is right who is
upright in walk and downright in honesty. And worketh
righteousness. His faith shows itself by good works, and therefore is no
dead faith. Those who rejoice that everything is done for them by another, even
the Lord Jesus, and therefore hate legality, are the best doers in the world
upon Gospel principles. And speaketh the truth in his heart. The fool in
the last psalm spoke falsely in his heart; observe both here and elsewhere in
the two psalms the striking contrast. Saints not only desire to love and speak
truth with their lips, but they seek to be true within; they will not lie even
in the closet of their hearts, for God is there to listen; they scorn
deceptions. Our heart must be the sanctuary and refuge of truth, should it be
banished from all the world beside, and hunted from among men; at all risk we
must entertain the angel of truth, for truth is God’s daughter. Jesus was the
mirror of sincerity and holiness.
3. He that backbiteth not with his tongue. After the positive comes the negative. There is a sinful
way of backbiting with the heart when we think too hardly of a neighbor, but it
is the tongue which does the mischief. The tongue is not steel, but it cuts,
and its wounds are very hard to heal. Nor doeth evil to his neighbor.
Loving our neighbor as ourselves will make us jealous of his good name, careful
not to injure his estate, or by ill example to corrupt his character. Nor
taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. He is a fool if not a knave who
picks up stolen goods and harbors them; in slander as well as robbery, the
receiver is as bad as the thief. If there were no gratified hearers of ill
reports, there would be an end of the trade of spreading them. “Show that man
out!” we would say of a drunkard; yet it is very questionable whether his
unmannerly behavior will do us as much mischief as the tale-bearer’s
insinuating story. Our Lord spoke evil of no one, but breathed a prayer for his
foes; we must be like him, or we shall never be with him.
4. We must
be as honest in paying respect as in paying our bills. To all good men we owe a
debt of honor, and we have no right to hand over what is their due to vile
people who happen to be in high places. When bad men are in office, it is our
duty to respect the office, but we cannot so violate our consciences as to do
otherwise than condemn the men; on the other hand, when true saints are in
poverty and distress, we must sympathize with their afflictions and honor the
men none the less. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
Scriptural saints under the New Testament rule “swear not at all,” but their
word is as good as an oath. Those men of God who think it right to swear are
careful and prayerful lest they should seem to overshoot the mark. When
engagements have been entered into which turn out to be unprofitable, “the
saints are men of honor still.” Our blessed Surety swore to his own hurt, but
how gloriously he stood to his suretyship!
5. Usury.
Usury was and is hateful both to God and man. That a lender should share with
the borrower in gains made by his money is most fitting and proper; but that
the man of property should eat up the poor wretch who unfortunately obtained a
loan of him is abominable. Those who grind poor tradesmen and needy widows by
charging them interest at intolerable rates, will find that their gold is
cankered. The man who ascends the hill of the Lord must shake off this sin as
Paul shook the viper into the fire. Nor taketh reward against the innocent.
Bribery is a sin both in the giver and the receiver. Under every shape it is
loathsome to the true man of God. He remembers that Jesus instead of taking
reward against the innocent died for the guilty. He that doeth these things
shall never be moved. No storm shall tear him from his foundations, drag
him from his anchorage, or uproot him from his place. Like the Lord Jesus,
whose dominion is everlasting, the true Christian will never lose his crown. He
will not only be on Zion, but like Zion, fixed and firm. He will
dwell in the tabernacle of the Most High, and neither death nor judgment shall
remove him from his place of privilege and blessedness.
Let us go to prayer and self-examination, for the psalm is
as fire for the gold, and as a furnace for silver. Can we endure its testing
power?
Excerpt from:
The Treasury of David
By Charles H Spurgeon
