To enter a house whose doors and windows are locked requires a key. To get an audience with a high governmental official demands documents of identification. And in this day of terrorism, you may even have to be searched to see whether you carry dangerous weapons. How much more are there severe requirements to come before the holy God and to be a guest in His house.
Wisely does the psalmist ask in Psalm 15:1, "Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?'' There also is a reason why Jesus spoke of the keys of the kingdom of heaven.
What the psalmist writes after his question ought to be before our minds daily. He writes, ''He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart'' Psalm 15:2 . In the verses that follow, the psalmist tells us what an upright walk and doing righteousness are. But the heart of the matter is speaking truth in the heart. There will be no upright walk and works of righteousness unless we speak the truth in our hearts.
Out of the heart are all the issues of our life. Even as every cell in our bodies must receive blood from the heart in order to live, so our whole being is controlled by the spiritual ''blood'' that comes out of our spiritual center, which Scripture calls the heart.
Since by nature our hearts are spiritually dead — Adam died the day he disobeyed -- the answer to the psalmist's question is: "No one!" No one has the right to be a guest in God's house.
Listen to this versification and ask whether it describes you:
He who walks in righteousness,
All his actions just and clear;
He whose words the truth express,
Spoken from a heart sincere.
How much then ought we to appreciate the love of God that sent His Son to take away all our unrighteousness and to implant in us by His Spirit that beginning of holiness. And the evidence that this life is in us is the confession that we have no righteousness of ourselves.
Read: Matthew 5:1-20
Psalter versification: 26:2
Devotions on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #60
Sing along!!
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Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Leviticus 11 ; Leviticus 12:1-8
Mark 5:21-43
Psalm 38:1-22
Proverbs 10:8-9
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Quote for Reflection:
“Today there are innumerable abominations which would seek to capture the minds of God’s people. And who will arise to defend God’s Truth? Perhaps we will not have our names written in the history books, as did Athanasius, but every father can stand before his family as God’s representative, and proclaim and defend God’s Truth. Perhaps our efforts will not influence the entire church, as did Athanasius, but our efforts can bless and prosper our family. Perhaps we will not turn back the forces of darkness from every corner of the world, but we can say, ‘In this my house, God’s Truth will be established, and honored, and praised. The blasphemies of this world will not breech the sanctity of this place. When the pagan philosophies of our age seek to capture my family, I will stand against them, and by the grace of God, defeat them and destroy them.’“ --D. Gamble
Additional Info
- Date: 21-February
