Have you ever welcomed someone into your home who would
be an extended guest? Have you ever
brought someone into your family who would be with you for a long time, maybe
even the rest of their life? Behind the
questions in verse one, is the concept of dwelling with God. “O YHWH, who will sojourn in Your tent? Who will settle in Your holy mountain?” (my translation – Please compare to NIV and
ESV and note the significant differences.)
God’s tent and His mountain are His dwelling place. King David, the author of the psalm, is
asking, “God, who gets to live with you?”
But the question is actually deeper than that. David asks, “Who will sojourn …?” A sojourner is a foreigner. He doesn’t belong there. Again he asks, “Who will settle …?” If one is settling, that person must have come
from somewhere else. He moves elsewhere
to settle.
The sense of foreignness and not belonging are important to
understanding this psalm. It takes us
back to Genesis 3 where Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden and
were separated from God’s presence.
Because of their sin they could no longer be in God’s company. They no longer belonged in God’s dwelling
place.
Ever since our First Parents sinned, all people, you and
me included, have been born sinful. Not
only that, but we have our own personal sins that separate us from God. For us to be with God is truly a sojourning
experience, we are strangers and aliens who have been reconciled to God. To settle in God’s kingdom we must leave our
old kingdom, the kingdom of this world and the Prince of the Power of the Air;
that is the Devil.
Who could be worthy to do that?
David answers that question. Such a person must be blameless, do what is
right, speak the truth, never slander, not do evil to others, never scorns
others, but despises wicked people, and honors those who fear the LORD. Such
a person would be willing to keep his oath even if it hurt him. He would be generous and take no advantage of
the poor. He would not love money or
ever take a bribe.
Know anyone like that?
The only person who fits this description to a “T” is
Jesus. This is why He took on flesh and
dwelt (literally: tabernacled or tented) among us. (John 1:14) He left His Father’s tent to
sojourn among us. He settled into our
world. Why? For what purpose? He came to reveal God’s grace, to win our
salvation, and to take us to His Father.
St. Peter says, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous
for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
(1Peter 3:18 NIV)
David’s answer to his own question is true. Only a perfect , sinless, holy person may
dwell in God’s presence. But David’s
answer is incomplete. Those whom the
perfect, sinless, holy Son of God brings to the Father, cleansed by His blood and
made holy by His innocence may sojourn and settle in God’s presence. This is how you and I find ourselves privileged
to call God, “Our Father,” and to see ourselves as people of His kingdom,
indeed His children who dwell with Him.
Father in Heaven,
Your kindness and mercy are amazing. I
sometimes take for granted that I am Yours and I get to be with you. Help me to marvel at this privilege; that I
get to sojourn in Your tent, for truly I do not belong, but in Christ Your
accept me. Thank you, Father. Amen.
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