I Shall Not Be Moved

More than a couple of days have passed and it is sad for me not to be able to write as often as I would like to but believe me there is a great reason and it will come in diapers! My baby girl is about to be born and my wife and I were preparing for her arrival. But as things settle down a little for the last time before everything gets upside down I have found this precious time to share with you this thought.

  

Psalm 15 — Who Shall Dwell in your Holy Hill? What a strong intro to what I would consider the calling of anyone who wants to see him/herself as a worshipper. Not written for any of us to claim we have achieved these character qualities, these lines should move us to strive for God's standards. As we look up to the things above, forgetting what is at our side here on earth, we are to desire dwelling in God's tent and holy hill!

     As the bible reads from Psalms 15:2-5

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
who does not slander with his tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the LORD;
who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 

who does not put out his money at interest
and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

"He shall never be moved"... what a beautiful promise! As the ESV Study Bible explains: "The person who has embraced the covenant promises may be confident that God will ensure his stability". But if we are not to claim these actions as our doing, is this promise never to be fulfilled in us? By all means NO! Yes it is true that God through David is describing the incredible and probably unachievable qualities and actions of a man of God and divine guest to His house. But we see as we read that what is described are matters of character that go beyond what the laws of the Pentateuch required. So more than a quest for law keeping it is a matter of character building and as we say character building we are only to point to one direction, the image of Jesus Christ in us.

As no deeds are necessary to win God's grace because by the Blood of the Lamb we are to be seen as saints before His eyes, we should be inspired to align our lives to the life of this man described by David. So as I understand more and more that Jesus has already paid for my sins (what I did and what I left out undone) and the implications this truth brings to the table, I rejoice on the fact that this promise is real for me in Jesus' name.

As we invert the order of the Psalm in our heads and see these lines with fresh eyes, we understand that we remain unshaken by the Rock of Salvation and THEN are able to "walk blamelessly and speak truth in his heart" as God completes His work on everyone of us who are called His children. To not have interest in making every quality described in this passage our own is to reject a divine invitation to the presence of our King of Kings and deny the very reason we were invited in the first place... Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Yes, His work is not done in me... yes, I will not claim to be "He who does what is right"... but I wake up every morning knowing that by His grace I SHALL NOT BE MOVED.

     May your desire be with the Lord,

     Eric Rivier