Psalm 15

P Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?
A Psalm of David.
¹O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

²He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
and speaks truth in his heart;
³who does not slander with his tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
⁴ 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;

⁵who 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.

I love this Psalm.   There are certain passages of scripture that when I ponder them, my heart is just…moved.  To dwell in the tent of the Lord; what a powerful image of being in an intimate relationship with God.  It is one thing to be in His kingdom, and quite another to be invited to His “home.”  And what kind of person does he ask that we become?  Simply someone who speaks truth without slander, honors those who fear the Lord,  gives away his money and honors his word.   The only part that I have trouble reconciling with our New Testament teaching is “despising the vile person.”  How do you simultaneously love and despise a person? I guess the Psalms are tricky that way.  For every “I praise the Lord!” is a “and He will slay all my enemies and wipe them from the earth!”

What passages of scripture do you love?  What passages do you have trouble with?