Read: Psalm 15
O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? (v. 1)
Athanasius of Alexandria once wrote, “If you wish to learn what sort of person is a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, sing Psalm 15.” I don’t know about you, but when I read (or sing) Psalm 15, and I see the list of things I have to be in order to be allowed into church, I quickly see that there’s no way they’ll let me in! This psalm is like a metal detector for sins, and if I sang it while walking into the sanctuary, it would start wailing, announcing to everyone that I was full of sin and unfit to enter.
It’s psalms like this one that call us to confession. Every time we come before God, we are reminded that we are not fit to be here. But we also know the good news: Jesus Christ is blameless. He passes the test of Psalm 15 with flying colors, and because we have died and risen with him, we too are allowed in. And the promise doesn’t stop there, because God doesn’t just let us in with a free pass; he also promises to take us along the path of sanctification so at the end of all things, we will be able to enter the final tent, the heavenly city, fully cleansed and healed.
So maybe Athanasius was right: sing Psalm 15, and sing it boldly!
As you pray, express your thankfulness to Jesus for being perfect, and ask the Holy Spirit to make you more and more like Jesus.
About the Author
Steven Rodriguez lives in Rochester, New York, with his wife and four children.
