Psalm 15 Continued…
Psalms 15:5 who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
“Usury” is an obsolete word which has been replaced in our modern vocabulary with “exploitation” and “profiteering.” Usury, then, is the act or practice of loaning money at an exorbitant rate of interest. Bribery and usury are the two most common and flagrant sins against justice in the East. The wheels of justice never move in the Eastern countries unless they are well oiled—then they move in the favor of the highest bidder. The man who is greedy and is not too bothered about what he does to make money has no business as God’s guest in His house and at His table; his ways must be fair.
“He who does these things will never be shaken.” The man who lives according to the dictates of Psalm 15 will be God’s guest and will be assured of a permanent welcome. In other words, he will have a welcome, not only as the Lord’s guest here, but he will be the Lord’s guest hereafter. “I shall live in the house of the Lord forever!” said David in Psalm 23.
But where do we find such a man—the man who qualifies to be God’s guest? Well, we shall have to cross over to the New Testament to find Him. The only man who ever walked uprightly, working righteousness, whose innermost thoughts and whose every spoken word met the approval of God; whose words were restrained, righteous, respectful, and reliable; whose ways were always fair and whose path was firmly fixed was Jesus.
He preached the Sermon on the Mount and then—under the all-seeing eye of God and exposed to public scrutiny—He practiced what He preached. Then He passed His righteousness on to you and me. His righteousness has become our righteousness so that now we, even though we stumble, we can come into His house and become a guest at His table. What was the gracious word of Paul’s? Examine yourself: I’m sure that like me, you will find out that you are not good enough to enter God’s house and set down at His table. But when the time comes, the righteousness of Jesus will cover your every flaw and blemish, and God will say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant: You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things: ENTER INTO THE JOY OF THY LORD.”
PRAY
Lord, I ask for the desire to seek You until You shower righteousness upon me. Help me to learn to love You so completely that I will continue to seek You for the rest of my days here on earth.