Psalm 15 Continued…
Psalms 15:3-4 and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,
In verses 3 and 4 there are four areas where we can sin through our words. The man who would be a guest at the Lord’s table must be able to restrain his language. Slander. We have a word which we use for that sin—GOSSIP. And there are two instruments that are frequently used to spread gossip; the tongue and the cell phone.
In Romans 1 there is a terrible catalog of sins frequently committed by people which forms the backbone of God’s indictment of the human race. The picture we get from reading Romans 1 is of mankind in a downward spiral. We are not getting better either spiritually or morally; we are getting worse. In that chapter, there are two kinds of people made to stand side-by-side, surrounded by murderers, fornicators, and homosexuals. The King James Bible calls them “whisperers and backbiters.” They’re also called “whisperers-behind-doors, stabbers-in-the-back.” That’s the back-biter, a man or woman who stabs you in the back.
The man who would be a guest at the Lord ’s table must also be a man whose words are righteous. “he who does his neighbor no wrong” The KJV translates “no wrong” with the word “evil” and that comes from a root which implies the breaking up of everything that is good and desirable. The Greek equivalent is the word poneros (from which we derive our word “pornography”). The word is used especially of moral depravity, corruption, and vulgarity.
The man who would be the Lord’s guest must be one whose words are respectful. “who despises a vile man.” The word “vile” is interesting. An illustration that may help us to understand what is meant by the word in this context is the process for refining silver. A silversmith heats the metal until it is molten. The scum, or dross, rises to the surface and the smith treats it with contempt (or as something “despised”). He scoops it up and throws it away. It is worthless. That is the idea here. The person who would set at the Lord’s table feels that way about the vile person, whose manner of life he despises. But in contrast he honors the godly man. He speaks of him with the greatest respect.
The man who would set at the Lord’s table is also a man whose words are “reliable.” “who keeps his oath even when it hurts.” Who could possibly be a better example of the reliable person than the Lord Jesus? Can you imagine how difficult it was for Him to submit to death by crucifixion? In the Garden of Gethsemane the stress of it caused him to weep and sweat great drops of blood. Then He prayed, “Not my will, but thy will be done.” He kept His word and went to the cross to die for our sins. You can count on Jesus; He is reliable.
PRAY
Father, my heart longs to move from sinfulness to righteousness. I know that I am made righteous by Jesus, but I also know that in the economy of Your Kingdom, I will reap what I sow – emotionally and spiritually. Please help me to sow good things generously. Use me to sow what please the Holy Spirit and not myself.