Dwell in the Presence of God!
(Psalm 15)
How can we, as Christians, live our lives of faith without wavering?
How can we live in this world according to our confession of faith, without being shaken, with firm and steadfast belief?
Today, I came across a CNN news report about an explosion in a coal mine in West Virginia. Out of 13 miners, 12 were killed and one is still in critical condition.
Despite being trapped deep in the mine for 41 hours, at first there was a false report that all 13 were alive. Upon hearing that, family members, relatives, and friends who had gathered in a local church rang the church bells in joy.
They even sang the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
However, about three hours later, they found out that the report was incorrect—that 12 had died and only one had survived.
One person who had been in the church said, regarding the first (incorrect) report, “They were praising God,” but after the second (correct) report came, they said, “They were cursing.”
At that time, the president of the mining company, a man named Hatfield, said:
“We prayed for 13 miracles. We want to celebrate the one miracle that was delivered.”
While we may somewhat understand the emotions of those who praised God with “Amazing Grace” at first but later turned to cursing after hearing the correct report, it’s hard not to sense a certain instability in their faith.
But I believe such shakiness is not limited to them alone—it exists within us too.
When things are going well, we sing praise and give thanks. But during times of hardship and suffering—especially in the face of the death of a loved one—instead of offering consistent gratitude and praise, we may at times grumble against God or even curse.
I believe that the root cause of such wavering, inconsistent faith is our weakness in truly knowing who God is and fully trusting in Him.
From the perspective of today’s Scripture in Psalm 15, the reason is that we are not dwelling in the presence of God.
Looking at verse 1 of Psalm 15, the psalmist David says:
“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?”
This question essentially means: “Who can dwell in the presence of God?”
In response to this question, David gives ten answers in today’s passage.
I consider these ten answers to be “The Ten Commandments of Dwelling in the Presence of God.”
If we strive to live according to these ten commandments, we will receive the blessing declared in verse 5:
“Whoever does these things will never be shaken.”
So then, what are these Ten Commandments for dwelling in the presence of God?
The first commandment is to live with integrity.
Look at the first half of Psalm 15:2: “Who walks uprightly...” Here, “uprightly” means ‘purity’ or ‘sincerity.’ This opposes a double life and signifies a steady, unwavering character (according to Park Yun-sun).
An example of this is Job. In Job 2:3, we see God boasting about Job to Satan:
“There is no one on earth like him—a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
Although Job was enduring extreme suffering from Satan’s attacks, he firmly maintained his integrity.
Job, who dwelt in the presence of God, did not sin with his lips no matter the circumstances, even when all his children died.
He was able to do this because his character was upright, living a life that feared God.
Indeed, an upright person does not fear the environment, people, or even Satan; rather, by fearing God, they live a life that avoids sin.
David also maintained his integrity even when “fools” surrounded and persecuted him (Psalm 14).
The reason was that he knew God examines the heart and “delights in integrity” (1 Chronicles 29:17).
Look at the middle part of Psalm 15:2: “...who does what is right...” Here, “righteousness” means ‘what is right in the sight of God’ (according to Park Yun-sun).
However, Satan causes what is not right in God’s eyes to appear right to people. This is a terrifying scheme of Satan.
An example is “the woman” (Eve) in Genesis 3. When the serpent came to her and caused her to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, although eating that fruit was never right in God’s eyes, Satan made it appear “pleasing to the eye” (Genesis 3:6).
Even now, Satan deceives us by enticing us with the desires of the eyes, making what is right before God seem wrong to us, and what is wrong before God seem right.
But David, regardless of Satan’s temptations, lived a righteous life as one who was justified.
He lived righteously by doing what was right not in the eyes of people but in the eyes of God.
Look at the second half of Psalm 15:2: “… and speaks truth in his heart.” David knew that the Lord desires truthfulness in the innermost being (Psalm 51:6). Therefore, he also understood that to dwell in God’s presence, one must speak truth in the heart.
However, those with a double life and a fickle character speak lies in their hearts rather than truth. Such people cannot dwell in God’s presence. To hate in the heart but pretend to love with words is to be dishonest with oneself, and such a person cannot be said to live a righteous life before God. Since they do not do what is right in God’s eyes, they do not practice justice. The Bible exhorts us not to live such a life. Rather, it encourages us to speak truth in our hearts to both God and others in order to dwell in God’s presence.
The fourth commandment is: Do not slander with your tongue.
Look at the first half of Psalm 15:3: “Who does not slander with his tongue…” Here, the word “slander” literally means “foot.” That is, to go around with one’s feet spreading harmful words about others (Park Yun-sun). In other words, to slander with the tongue means to speak stumbling words that cause others to fall. Such words include spreading rumors, whispering about neighbors, and ultimately harming others. This is by no means the life of a saint who dwells in God’s presence.
Our feet should be beautiful feet that proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, not to spread harmful words about others. Truly, words are important. Starting a day hearing a warm word, compliment, encouragement, or something pleasant in encounters is truly good. But starting a day by speaking or hearing gossip or negative words brings a dark and heavy heart.
Therefore, Paul exhorts in Colossians 4:6: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” The key word here is “seasoned.” We must always speak graciously, but this is not easy to practice, and seasoning words well requires both grace and wisdom.
The fifth commandment is: Do not do wrong to a friend.
Look at the middle part of Psalm 15:3: “… and does not do evil to his friend ….” This command contrasts with the third commandment mentioned above, which says, “Practice justice.” To dwell in the presence of God means one must do what is right in God’s eyes and must not do evil to their friend. In other words, one should not harm their neighbor.
What kind of evil can we commit against our friends? For example, even if our friend has sinned, when they take responsibility and confess, a person who practices justice forgives and accepts them. This is because God sees the repentant heart as right and allows fellowship with Himself (Luke 18:13-14) (Park Yoon Sun). However, a person who does evil to their friend does not see them as right, even though God does, and instead condemns them. They refuse fellowship with them. This is doing evil to the friend and makes it impossible to dwell in God’s presence. Therefore, to dwell in God’s presence, we must not do evil to our friends.
The sixth commandment is: Do not slander your neighbor.
Look at the latter part of Psalm 15:3: “… and does not slander his neighbor.” The book of James 3:9-11 says the purpose of the tongue is to praise and give thanks to God. If the tongue is used to harm others, it fails to fulfill its purpose. Especially, the Apostle James says, “Do not boast if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts. Do not lie against the truth” (verse 14). He says such wisdom is worldly, unspiritual, and demonic (verse 15), resulting in disorder and every evil practice (verse 16).
To dwell in God’s presence, we must not slander our neighbors but instead act honestly toward them. And we must speak truthfully in our hearts.
The seventh commandment is: Despise fools and honor those who fear the Lord.
Look at the first half of Psalm 15:4: “Who despises the foolish but honors those who fear the Lord …” Here, “foolish” refers to those who despise God, and we have no need to seek the favor or respect of such wicked people (Park Yoon Sun, Calvin). However, we must honor those who fear God. Psalm 25:14 says, “The friendship of the Lord is with those who fear him …” Those who dwell in God’s presence are people who share an intimate fellowship with Him, and we cannot help but respect them. God is with those who fear Him (Psalm 103:13, 17). Therefore, we must despise those who despise God and honor those who fear Him so that we may dwell in God’s presence.
The eighth commandment is: To fulfill your vows.
Look at the second half of Psalm 15:4: “… who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind.” God delights in those who carry out what they have determined before Him (Park Yoon Sun). Here, “vows” refers to the promises made regarding God’s truth and goodness. Ecclesiastes 5:4 says, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vows.” Therefore, we must not make vows lightly. If we have made a vow, we must absolutely fulfill it. By doing so, we can dwell in God’s presence.
The ninth commandment is: Do not charge interest as a lender.
Look at the first half of Psalm 15:5: “Who does not put out money at interest …” In the old Jewish law, forbidding farmers to charge interest was one way to show compassion for the poor (Leviticus 25:35-38). Therefore, Hebrew law did not permit charging interest to fellow Hebrews. The purpose was to reduce the suffering of the poor. Those who disregard this law are people who care only about money (Park Yoon Sun). Therefore, to dwell in God’s presence, we must not charge interest in the love of our neighbor.
The final, tenth commandment is: Do not accept bribes or harm the innocent.
Look at the middle of Psalm 15:5: “… who does not accept a bribe against the innocent …” The Bible commands us: “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous” (Exodus 23:8). To dwell in God’s presence, we must not accept bribes or harm the innocent.
Look at the last part of Psalm 15:5: “… whoever does these things will never be shaken.” This is God’s promise that those who faithfully obey the ten commandments to dwell in His presence will never be shaken. By faithfully keeping these commandments, may our faith stand firm and unshaken, and may we dwell in God’s presence—both you and I.
With a heart desiring to dwell in God’s presence,
Shared by Pastor James Kim
(Wishing that we stand firm on the rock of faith, unshaken)